Dare to Hold (19 page)

Scott knew exactly what had him on edge. Olivia was intuitive and would notice any problems. His sister had already warned him about hurting Meg, and looking back, Scott should have listened harder. Thought more. If Dylan got a whiff of tension tonight, he’d be in even more trouble.

To make matters worse, his sister couldn’t be trusted not to dig into private, personal conversations better left alone. Especially when it came to his love life. Knowing how much Olivia cared about Meg, he could only hope she was smart tonight.

They started with football, a conversation that was always fun and easy, and segued into Scott’s new position within Tyler’s firm.

“I’m enjoying the freedom involved, catching up on client files and getting to know what everyone needs. It’s been challenging on a whole different level,” Scott explained.

“I bet,” Dylan said. “It’s great to do something you enjoy.” As travel director for the Thunder, Dylan knew what he was talking about. The man loved his job. “Meg, how are things at school? Kids still keeping you on your toes?” Dylan asked.

And just like that, easy conversation ground to a halt.

“Umm, I—” Meg stammered.

“Meg is fine,” Scott said, hoping to help Meg bypass the answer entirely.

“Actually I’m not. I’m on temporary leave,” Meg said, going on to explain how the situation that her ex had escalated, leading to the principal strongly suggesting she take leave.

“Oh my God! Why didn’t you say anything?” Olivia asked. “I’d have come over … called, something,” she said, offering all the support she could.

“I’m going to kill the bastard,” Dylan said, his hands curling into fists.

“Well, get in line, because when
I
find him, he’s going to wish he’d never been born.” Though Scott appreciated Dylan backing Meg, when it came to protecting her,
he
wanted that job and didn’t mind letting the other man know it.

Olivia studied him, eyes narrowed, and Scott swallowed a curse.

“I don’t want anyone confronting Mike for me. He’s dangerous,” Meg said. “But I’m meeting with his parents on Wednesday.”

“
We’re
meeting with his parents,” Scott reminded her.

Meg raised an eyebrow. “I was going to discuss that with you in the morning. I think it’s better if I go alone. Rick will keep an eye on me.”

Scott tensed, clenching his jaw and wondering when things had spiraled out of his control. “We’ll talk about it when we’re alone,” he said, well aware of Dylan’s and Olivia’s intense stares, taking in every word and action that Meg and Scott made.

“Well, regardless, I’m not worried about meeting with them anymore. Luke said the background check turned up all good things. Lydia and Walter seem to be rational, decent people. They support children’s charities and—”

“What the hell do you know about what Luke found?” Scott asked her. Everything about Meg’s case was supposed to be his domain. Luke had no right to jump in with answers Scott had planned to give her, and he’d intended to have this conversation in the morning before the lunch meeting.

Meg merely shrugged, ignoring his sharp tone. “Luke called earlier today.
He
filled me in.”

“I was going to tell you everything. There just hasn’t been time.”

Dylan braced his arms on the table. “Meggie, I can’t imagine one good thing about the people who raised that asshole,” he said skeptically.

At the old nickname Dylan called her, Scott’s jaw locked in place.

“Actually, it’s not what you think,” Meg said to Dylan. “The Ashtons adopted Mike when he was a baby. I didn’t know that. He also had fetal alcohol syndrome, so there’s that component too. I suppose I can’t necessarily blame them for how Mike turned out. There’s definitely something to genetics.”

She trembled as she spoke, and Scott could guess where her mind had gone. His anger fled in the face of her obvious fears. He knew for sure what she was thinking.

“Don’t think that way.” He settled his hand over hers, hoping to comfort her. “Your baby will be fine even with that bastard’s genes. He has
you
.” And a deep-seated longing arose inside him because he wanted to claim that position in the baby’s life too.

Shit. He was in so much trouble.

“Meg, are you okay?” Olivia asked softly.

Scott glanced her way.

Her eyes looked suspiciously damp. “Actually, I’m going to go to the ladies’ room. Excuse me.”

Scott rose as she stood and headed for the other side of the restaurant.

He lowered himself back into his seat.

“Scott, what the hell is going on?” Olivia asked.

“I’d like an answer to that too,” Dylan said.

Emilio walked over with food in his hands, and Olivia waved him away. “A few minutes, please?”

The older man nodded.

“Talk fast, big brother,” she muttered.

“Shit. Everything was fine until I told her about Leah.”

Olivia glanced at Dylan. “His ex-wife. I told you about her,” she said.

Dylan nodded. “What about her?” he asked, his tone chilly.

“It’s not about her, it’s about what she did. Before her, I didn’t want kids. When she got pregnant, I got excited. Invested. I really wanted to be a father. But she never came around, and instead of talking about it with me, she had an abortion. Just like that, everything I’d dreamed about was gone.” He snapped his fingers in the air. “Telling Meg reminded me of the pain, and I said something stupid.”

Dylan narrowed his gaze.

In for a penny, Scott thought. “I said, the whole family thing is for suckers, and happily ever after only happens in fairy tales.” He ducked his head and groaned. “I pretty much put any nail in the coffin of whatever was happening between us.”

“So explain you don’t feel that way anymore!” Olivia glanced over her shoulder, but there was no sign of Meg yet.

“What if I do?”

“Excuse me?” his sister asked, sounding appalled.

“Look, Liv,” he said, ignoring Dylan because he really couldn’t deal with the other man at the moment. “I love her, okay? What if I let myself get so involved with her and the baby and then we wrap things up with her stalker ex and she doesn’t need me anymore? She can pick up and move out, and that’s it. Everything gone again. Except this time, I don’t know if I’d get over it.”

His sister’s jaw had gone slack. “You love her?”

Scott couldn’t believe he’d said it out loud either. Hell, he hadn’t admitted it to himself before now. But what else was this driving need to be with her, to protect her, to get so involved in her life that she wouldn’t want to leave?

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then man up,” Dylan said.

Scott clenched his hands beneath the table. “What the fuck do you know about me or my life?” he asked the other man. “Just because you are or were Meg’s best friend doesn’t give you the right to tell me what to do.”

Dylan’s hand came down on the table hard. Olivia jumped, then wrapped her fingers around his hand. “Stop it and listen. Both of you.”

She turned to Scott. “I, of all people, know how hard it is to get over the pain in your past.”

His sister had lost a baby when she was young, been betrayed by both that baby’s father and their own parent. So yes, Olivia understood better than most.

“But the risk is so worth it,” she said, glancing at her husband, her eyes shining with love. “Dylan stuck by me. He never gave up on me. On us. And because of that, I was able to come around and believe that I deserved a future that included kids … and a good man,” she said, her voice thick and full of emotion.

His sister’s words wrapped around him, making sense not because of the logic but due to the fact that she’d all but experienced the same feelings of loss. She’d closed herself off to more. And she’d come out the other side because she’d been brave.

“Look, man. You knew Meg was pregnant when you started this thing. Are you really going to bail now because it’s getting real?”

“Dylan,” Olivia said, warning him to shut up with her tone.

“What? It’s the truth,” Dylan muttered.

“He gets what I said, don’t you?” his sister asked him.

Scott met Olivia’s gaze and nodded, because he did. Olivia had done what he would have thought was impossible and gotten through to him. Dylan was right. He had to man up. Not necessarily throw Meg’s life into further turmoil by dumping his feelings on her in the middle of her current nightmare, but he had to stop waffling. He’d told her from the beginning he was all in.

Then he’d turned around and backed off when messy emotions had gotten involved. Shame on him, he thought.

“Here she comes,” Olivia said softly.

Scott looked from his sister to Dylan. “I heard you. Both of you,” he said, rising to his feet as Meg approached the table.

He held out her chair so she could sit, and Emilio returned with their food. The rest of the meal passed with general conversation. Scott was ready to get Meg home and fix things between them as best he could. The rest would come with time. He hoped.

*     *     *

Meg walked out of the restaurant and headed for the parking garage. The balmy air settled on her shoulders, too humid for comfort. She glanced at Scott, who seemed … calmer somehow. Which she didn’t understand considering how intense so much of the conversation had been.

“Would it be okay if we stopped by my apartment on the way home?” she asked. They weren’t too far from her place, so it wasn’t out of the way. “I need more comfortable clothes, since I’m not going to be working, and while I’m there, I can grab my mail.”

“Not a problem.”

He braced his hand on the small of her back as they walked, and she did her best not to visibly react to his warm touch. Even if her body responded to him, would always respond to him, her brain was sending out warning signals to keep her emotional distance.

“I should have told you what I knew about the Ashtons,” he said, surprising her. “I just figured you needed time to breathe before we jumped into that again on Wednesday.”

She smiled grimly. “And you didn’t know Luke was going to tell me first, which pissed you off.”

“It’s not that,” he said, too quickly.

She deliberately cleared her throat, giving him a chance to change his mind.

“Okay, it’s that,” he said, obviously caught. “It’s just… I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

They paused outside the garage where they’d parked. “But you didn’t. You decided to wait. We’ve talked about this already. You can’t keep making decisions about what I need to know and when.”

“You’re right.” He tilted his head, looking into her eyes as he spoke.

“I am?”

“But you have to admit we’ve had a lot of different emotional topics going on. I can’t always know what’s best or get it right.”

She sighed, and the weight on her shoulders eased a little. “I’ll give you that.” Nothing between them was simple. Or easy. Not anymore.

His hand slid from her back to her hip, and he turned her to face him. “Don’t give up on me,” he said in a thick tone, his eyes a darker navy than she could remember seeing them, his expression serious. “I know I’ve given you reason not to trust me. I came on strong, and I pulled back … but that’s over now.”

She shook her head, not understanding. But her heart beat faster inside her chest.

“You’ve been great,” she told him honestly. “You stepped up when nobody else did. You’re making sure both me and my baby are safe. I’m grateful.”

His hand tightened on her waist. “I don’t want your gratitude, baby.”

Her heart tripped at his use of the word in
that
tone. He sounded more like the Scott who’d pushed his way into her life and promised he’d never leave and less like the man who’d pulled away emotionally.

She ran her tongue over her lips, gratified when his eyes followed the movement. “What do you want?”

“You,” he said gruffly, pulling her against him and kissing her hard.

If he was trying to make a point, he did it well, his tongue swiping over her lips, demanding entry she willingly gave. As he consumed her mouth, he held her hard against his hips, her body well aware of his hard length pressing into her. Excitement and yearning filled her veins, a liquid pulsing desire that spoke of true need and longing for this man. She kissed him back with everything she had, ignoring the warnings that tried to intrude.

Suddenly a loud car horn sounded, and she jumped back. “Get a room!” a man yelled out the window of a car that had pulled up the ramp of the parking garage. She and Scott were blocking the driver from leaving.

Certain she was blushing, she stepped to the side and waved. “Sorry,” she called toward the car’s open window as Scott joined her, laughing.

They didn’t discuss the moment outside the garage or the words he’d spoken, and Meg was grateful. Her head was spinning as it was, and she needed time to unwind and just
be
, something Scott seemed to sense.

Once they arrived at her apartment, they stopped at the mailboxes downstairs, and she pulled out the stack of letters and a bulky soft package that barely fit into the box.

Scott waited while she packed up a few more casual tops and other things she’d forgotten before rejoining him. “I’m just going to look through the mail here, so I only take what I need. I have my checkbook so I can mail out any bills I don’t do online.”

“Take your time.”

She sorted junk mail from bills, tossing the former into the trash. Her eye caught on the package, and she picked it up, looking for a return address. “Huh.”

“What is it?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know.” She grabbed a scissor from a drawer in the kitchen and cut straight across the top. She turned it upside down and shrieked as a small baby doll, the head separated from the body, fell onto the table.

Meg stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Holy shit,” Scott muttered. “Don’t touch it.” He grabbed her and pulled her back, away from the doll.

Shaking, Meg glanced up at him. “He’s lost his mind,” she whispered.

“He’s not going to get near you or the baby,” he promised, wrapping his arm around her and leading her away from the counter and the offending package.