Pulse (Collide) (34 page)

At this, Dillon lifted a curious brow, his eyes as narrowed as Gavin’s.

“Ah yes, my
friend,”
Gavin continued. A slow “
I’ve got you now motherfucker”
smirk slid across his mouth. “I know about your big ticket. You’re churning out your transaction-based accounts in order to make more money on the buy and sell side with your clients. Your return on assets is higher than some of the most powerful drug lords in Columbia. No wonder you don’t need my cash flow any longer. I wonder where you’re harboring all that money. You don’t live like you’re on top of the world, so I’m sure it’s buried somewhere. When one partakes in illegal doings, it’s safe to assume they need to appear… frugal in their spending.”

“Fuck you,” Dillon hissed. “I only make money for my clients.”

“Right,” Gavin drawled. “Will that be your defense when the Security Exchange Commission starts ripping into your files? The investigation’s a phone call away.” Gavin slid into the booth right next to Dillon. If it was possible, Dillon leaned farther against the wainscoting. Gavin chuckled at Dillon’s attempt to all but camouflage himself alongside a signed photo of Magic Johnson. “Emily,” Gavin said calmly, staring into Dillon’s eyes. “Go ask the hostess for a piece of paper and pen for me, sweets.”

“Okay,” Emily answered, turning to do as he said.

Nostrils flaring and breathing picking up, Dillon cleared his throat. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Gavin popped a smirk, resting his chin in his palm as he continued to stare at Dillon. “I’m getting rid of poison. We’re about to come to a… truce, Dillon. A halfway mark. You’re going to sign, in your finest penmanship, a piece of paper saying you’re no longer going to fuck with me or Emily. I’m no fool. I know you can petition the courts to try to gain access to the doctors’ visits and delivery. I’m willing to be a nice guy and allow you to the doctors’ visits because I’ll be there and I’m more than sure you’ll be on your best behavior in front of
my
girlfriend. That’s where I draw the line.

“You will
not
be in the delivery room while she gives birth. You have no right. That’s reserved for her and me, no matter whose child this is. You’re also not dragging me to court because I beat your ass when you deserved nothing less than a slow death. Try to challenge me by not signing, and I’m on the phone first thing in the morning with my lawyer, who’s a pitbull who’ll rip you to shreds in court, and the SEC.” Gavin paused, his smirk widening. “Looks like you and I might be doing a bid upstate together, Dillon. And orange would most definitely look better on me than you.”

Before Dillon had a chance to mutter a word, Emily returned with a blank piece of paper and pen. She handed them to Gavin, and he started writing down everything necessary to cover his ass. Once finished, he slid the paper and pen to Dillon. Gavin’s dimple deepened with his beaming smile. “Your John Hancock makes this relatively easy for us all. No Hancock, and my phone call tomorrow makes it quite difficult. Wouldn’t you agree?” Gavin could recall two times in his life when he wanted to stop time dead in its tracks. Hold the minute hand down, preventing it from ticking by another second. The most important was the first time he saw Emily. Next was right now, staring at the man he loathed more than words could define. Gavin observed Dillon’s eyes drooping in this battles defeat. His shoulders slumped, and his face held not a hint of victory. After what appeared to be a moment’s hesitation, Gavin watched Dillon sign the paper. Rising from his seat, Gavin swiped the paper from the table. For the second time tonight, without another threatening reminder spoken, Dillon surged to his feet, exiting the dinner like a flaming bat out of hell.

Eyes like two confused saucers, Emily looked at Gavin. “What just happened?”

Gavin twined his fingers through hers, leading them through the diner. “I just saved us from arsenic with an insurance policy.”

Gripping Gavin’s hand tighter, she shook her head. “I don’t understand. What was all of that Security Exchange stuff? How did you know he did something wrong?”

“I didn’t. It was a guess,” Gavin said, reaching for the door.

“A guess,” Emily repeated, the exasperation in her voice heavy.

As they stepped into the cold air, Gavin pulled her into his arms. “Well, it wasn’t a complete guess.”

She tilted her head. “Can I get some elaboration, please?”

Gavin chuckled. “Ah. Let me think.” He dipped his head, resting his lips on her hair as he spoke. “Over the summer, Trevor came to my house and we indulged in a wicked game of Texas hold’em. I have to add, I took him down.” Gavin heard Emily sigh, and he smiled. “He got pretty fucking trashed and started talking about some illegal dealings with annuities Dillon said he was thinking about getting involved with. I was pretty tanked, so I didn’t think too much about it. I did start watching the funds Blake Industries had tied up with him more closely though. I never found anything wrong with our accounts, so I allowed him to keep making me money.

“What did I just do in there? One: I rolled the dice that even though Trevor had a good bit of Jagermeister running through his system, he wasn’t making the shit up. Two: I banked on your ex following up with his plan. I think we got lucky.”

“I think we did too,” Emily said, looking at him. “Why didn’t you bring that up earlier?”

“I honestly didn’t remember what Trevor said until I was halfway through my little speech. I hoped my father being a lawyer would get the asshole to back down without me resorting to murdering him at the table.”

“You’d murder for me?” she asked softly.

“There’s not a thing I wouldn’t do for you, Emily.”

She draped her arms around his neck and pushed up on her tiptoes to kiss him. The temperature might’ve been below freezing, but Emily felt warm through and through as Gavin’s mouth coated hers like a glaze of honey. His heat surrounded her like a heavy down comforter. Slowly pulling away, she bit her lip. “How do we know he won’t go to the cops even though he signed that paper?”

Gavin reached for her hand and led her toward his car. Opening the door, he gestured for her to get in, but she didn’t. She stared at him, her nervous eyes waiting on an answer. He lifted his hand to her cold cheek and shook his head. “I don’t want you worrying about what he’s going to do.”

Asking that of her was like asking her not to love him, like asking her not to breathe. She was scared to death Dillon would find a way to work holes through whatever agreement he and Gavin came to. Right about the same time her heart jumped into her throat at the thought of Gavin being sent to jail, so did something else. However, this jump was in her stomach. A little flip-flop that almost made her bust out in laughter. Emily quickly placed her hand on her slightly protruding belly, and her lips turned up as another burst of butterfly wings fluttered.

“Oh my, God, Gavin,” she breathed, reaching for his hand. She slipped it under hers. “The baby’s moving. It’s moving.”

Gavin swallowed, his eyes locked on the bright smile kissing Emily’s lips. His hand shook, but not from the cold. He’d suddenly become scared, yet a surge of excitement rushed through his blood.

“Can you feel it?” she asked, her hand pressing harder against his. She giggled, leaning back against his car. “Can you?”

Gavin shook his head. “No,” he whispered, finding himself fully consumed by the undeniable happiness filling Emily’s expression. God, she looked more beautiful than ever. His heart pounded with a burst of adoration, and his fingers tingled to feel what she was. Gavin realized the decision he made tonight was the right one. Dillon had wanted to bottle up the contentment that would come from watching him and Emily squirm, but in that moment, Gavin wanted to bottle up the feeling he was experiencing watching Emily.

He also added a third moment in his life he wished he could stop time dead in its tracks.

“Did I hear you correctly?” Olivia’s brown eyes shone wide like pennies. Hand in midair, holding a bundle of French fries, she cocked her head to the side. “He’s going to be at each doctor visit with you guys?”

Emily swallowed down a bite of her burger. After taking a sip from her bottle of water, she nodded. “Yes, you heard correctly. Why do you seem so shocked? Besides, you still think he should’ve known all along.”

Olivia let out a deep, heavy sigh and stuffed the fries into her mouth. “Yeah. I think he should’ve known,” she said, chewing. “But I never said I think Dilly the small Willy should be allowed at your doctors’ visits. And you know why I said that, so please, let’s not go there again. I love you too much, friend.”

Emily rolled her eyes.

Fallon stabbed her fork into a piece of iceberg lettuce drowning in ranch dressing. “At least Gavin got him to back off the delivery room.” She swiped her tongue over her lip ring. “Everyone wins. No one goes to jail. No battles in court.”

“True,” Olivia chirped, sucking down the remains of a vanilla shake. “But it would’ve been cool to see Gavin gain some street creds.”

“Street creds?” Emily asked.

Olivia nodded. “The slammer. Joint. The clink. Crowbar hotel. The big house. Any amount of time in jail gains you street credit.”

Emily jerked her confused head back. “Liv, why would it be cool to see him gain street credits?”

Clearly trying to contain a grin, Olivia drew up a perfectly plucked brow. “Well, he already has a delectable tattoo. Adding jail time to his background can only make him hotter. I’m telling you, Em, after he got home, you’d appreciate the spectacular sex you’d get from that boy. Jail turns them into fiends.”

“Like they’re already not two sex fiends. To top it off, I remember reading that women turn into a ball of walking hormones while preggos.” Fallon nodded knowingly at Emily, her mouth puckered into a smile. “I bet you’re keeping him busy in that department.”

Ouch. Sore topic. To avoid eye contact with Fallon and Olivia, Emily plucked a fry from her plate and glanced around the café. Her gaze landed on a couple buckling a toddler into a highchair. Appearing frustrated by his confinement, the hyper, little blond-haired boy squeaked his displeasure and kicked the table. A chuckle from the father, a stern finger wagging from the mother, and a juice box later, the child fell into a quiet state of bliss.

Emily sighed, wiped her mouth, and reached for her purse. “Are we ready to go?”

Olivia squinted at Emily, her forehead pinched. Emily prepared for the smart-allecky statement she was sure was coming. “Holy shit, Em. You’re withholding sex from him, aren’t you?”

Yep. There it was. Cue eye roll and another sigh. “No, Liv. I’m not withholding sex from
him
. He’s withholding it from
me
.” Annoyed, Emily flagged down the bouncy teenage waitress.

With a smile, the girl approached, her brown hair secured into pigtails. “Can I get anything else for you, gals?”

“No. We’d like our check please,” Emily replied, pulling her wallet from her purse as she stood.

“Actually, I’d like to order your double fudge chocolate sundae,” Olivia piped up, staring at Emily. “Extra fudge.”

The waitress scribbled down the order. “Be right back.”

“Aww hell no, Em,” Olivia clipped, patting the chair. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that without divulging what’s
not
happening in your bed.” Olivia looked at Fallon for back up. “Am I right, or what?”

Fallon nodded, patting the chair too. “Completely. Sit and spill, Country.”

“You two suck,” Emily whispered as she reclaimed her seat. “What?”

“What?” Olivia parroted, blinking in surprise. “Like Fallon said… Spill.”

“I’ve already spilled. He hasn’t had sex with me since we went for my first sonogram.” Looking away, she shrugged, her chest expanding on a deep, sexually frustrated breath. “He’s afraid he’s going to hurt me or the baby.”

“What, does he have a sword for a penis?” Fallon asked. “It’s the end of February, and you two haven’t had sex since the beginning of January?”

Chin lifted, Olivia crossed her arms, accentuating the cleavage spilling out of her hot pink cashmere sweater. “For real? Are you being serious?”

Emily puffed out a sigh. “No, I’m lying. I felt like making up some ridiculous story today.” She loosened her hair from its bun. The dark, wavy curls spilled down her back. “Yes, I’m serious. He’s… nervous.”

“He’s being an asshole,” Olivia vehemently noted, accepting her sundae from the bouncy teenager.

“I agree.” Fallon dug her spoon into Olivia’s dessert. “Something’s up. Do you think he’s cheating? I mean, I’ve read that some dudes get freakish about doing the deed when their girl is preggos. Maybe he’s hitting it elsewhere.”

Emily’s eyes went wide.

Olivia shot Fallon a look. “That’s twice you’ve mentioned reading shit on pregnancy. You and my brother better not have any ideas flying through your heads.”

“I like to stay informed,” Fallon answered, going in for another scoop of ice-cream.

“And I’d like to answer your question,” Emily said, insistence heavy in her tone. “No, I don’t think he’s cheating.” Well, the thought hadn’t crossed Emily’s mind until now. Damn Fallon. Emily shook the idea from her head as quickly as it entered. “He wants to talk to the doctor at my next appointment and get all the facts.”