Bad Boy's Bridesmaid (19 page)

Early pregnancy raised
a woman’s heart rate.

Whoops.

Rick tucked his
stethoscope around his neck. He checked the wound, careful to keep the bloody
rag far from his pristine coat.

“Bet people
don’t normally bleed on your rounds,” I said.

“We generally try
to prevent hearts from bleeding in the cath lab. This does look pretty nasty. We
should do a couple stitches. Let me clean you up and get you sewed together.
I’ll have someone write you a script for antibiotics.”

He wheeled a
chair over and had a nurse help set out the supplies. Lindsey sighed and
grabbed her phone. Rick pounded on the computer to enter my information.

“Birthday?” he
asked.

My mouth dropped
open. “You jerk.”

“Kidding.” He
winked. “August…?”

“Don’t make me
wipe blood on you.”

“Thirteenth. On
any meds?”

“Nope.” I
flinched. “Well, a vitamin.”

“One-a-day?”

Sure. That was
close enough. The pre-natal vitamins
were
taken once a day. I nodded.

“I’ll whoop your
butt if you’re taking drugs. Alcohol?”

“I wish.”

He chuckled.
“Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant?”

He meant it as a
joke, but I stiffened. The world faded in that instant, and I stared at my best
friend. He probably deserved to hear the truth regardless of his medical degree
or willingness to stitch me up.

But Lindsey was
right behind me. The lights got too bright, and the blood and panic and truth
twisted in my stomach.

I couldn’t lie.

Not this time.

Lindsey couldn’t
see my lips moving from where she sat. I shook my head no.

But I mouthed
the words I hadn’t admitted to anyone yet.

“
Yes
.”

Rick didn’t
scream, throw a fit, or Hulk-smash and rip off his scrubs to murder Nate. His
eyebrow twitched, but he nodded to Lindsey.

“Hey, Linds. Go
get my idiot brother. Tell him to buy me a sandwich from the cafeteria. I
haven’t eaten all day.”

Lindsey was
already texting Bryce. She didn’t watch where she was going and nearly bashed
into me. She waved a hand.

“I’m making him
take me to the craft store for more tissue paper. We’ll bring you a sandwich
when we pick up the walking wounded over here.”

I didn’t answer,
and I don’t think Lindsey was listening. Rick closed the door behind her.

God, I hated
that ominous click almost as much as I loathed the buzzing florescent lights.
It was the first time I was with a doctor
and
a friend for this
discussion, but it didn’t make it any easier.

Rick sat. He
pulled off his pager and set it on the counter.

“You’re
pregnant?” His voice weakened, defeated and shocked.

Just how Nate
would probably sound.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Who…” He
answered that question easily. His jaw clenched. “Son of a…how far along are
you?”

“About…eleven
weeks.”

“
Eleven weeks
?”

The entire ER
heard. I shushed him.

“How could
you…you’ve known for two months and didn’t tell anyone? Does Nate know?”

It sounded
crazier when he said it aloud.

“No.”

“Why?”

I pointed at the
door. “Lindsey’s wedding? My parents’ divorce? It wasn’t the time to tell
them.”

“I know they’re
fucking self-absorbed, but Jesus, even they’ll notice you popping out a
baby
.”

At least the
blood pressure cuff came off. I’d have popped the glass on that sucker.

I took a breath
to calm myself, but that didn’t seem possible. Having a male best friend wasn’t
always easy. He never tried to listen or understand. Rick always wanted to
fix
things.

Well, this was
one thing he couldn’t fix.

“My family
doesn’t need any more drama,” I said. “I was going to tell them after the
wedding…once I hit the second trimester and the pregnancy wasn’t as risky. Then
Lindsey would be normal again, Mom wouldn’t be worried about the party, and they
wouldn’t stroke out when they heard the news.”

Rick crossed his
arms. “And Nate?”

“…He doesn’t
know yet.”

“When are you
going to tell him?”

“I already
tried. A couple weeks ago. But then he told me about this brewery he wanted to
open in California. He was already scheduling visits to the property. I
panicked. I didn’t want to take that dream away from him. So I waited, and I
hoped I’d find a better moment to tell him.”

“You haven’t.”

“The timing’s
always off.”

“How can it be
off
?
The timing is
always
right for something this big.”

“
After
the wedding. When we can actually sit down and talk and figure things out
without worrying about dress fittings and dances and caterers.”

“You’re making
excuses.”

“I’m thinking
objectively.”

“No, you’re
hiding it. Please, tell me you’ve been to a doctor.”

“Of course I
have—”

“Then why? Why
haven’t you told anyone?”

“Because I’m
terrified
!”

I said it too
loud and covered my mouth with my hands. I blinked away tears and cradled my
belly instead, something I hadn’t really done, a simple comfort I couldn’t
believe I denied myself.

“I’m scared,
Rick.” My voice wavered. The rest of my body trembled too. “I’m really scared.
I don’t know what Nate is going to say. I don’t know how my family is going to
react. I don’t know what will happen because I…I want the baby. It’s scary, and
I have no clue what I’m doing, but it’s like…me and the baby are in it
together. I have this little buddy who is keeping me calm because I know I
can’t get upset and risk hurting her. Or him. I have to be strong, and I’m
doing the best I can.”

Rick rubbed his
face. He took my good hand and nodded.

“Okay. I
understand. It’s only three weeks until the wedding. You really want to keep it
quiet until then?”

“Yes.”

“All right. We
will.” He shook his head. “But Nate can handle it. He should hear it.”

“I know.” I
nibbled on my lip. “I don’t want to keep it from him anymore. We’ve been
getting…closer. Very close. I feel like there’s something between us—and don’t
say I’m imagining it, and don’t say it’s because I’m pregnant and
want
there to be a spark. It’s real.” I lowered my gaze. “I’m afraid I’ll screw it
up if I tell him about the baby.”

“He has a right
to know.”

I nodded.

Rick exhaled.
“Nate’s a commitment-phobe, but he’s not a total asshole. He’ll step up.”

But I didn’t
want him to
step-up
. I wanted him to be there with me, every step of the
way.

But Rick was
right. He deserved to know. The only way I could make anything happen between
us, to even have a chance at making
something
work, was if I revealed
the truth.

“Okay,” I said.
“I’ll talk to him.”

“When?”

I wasn’t working
on anyone’s schedule but my own…or the baby’s. That little bugger woke me up
every night at three AM to go to the bathroom and had me throw up at noon on
the dot.

“I’ll tell him
soon,” I said. “But I need you to keep quiet. You’re the only one who knows.”

He sighed,
cleaning up and donning his gloves to start my stitches.

“You better name
me godfather,” he said.

“You got it.”

I offered my
hand and looked away as he got close with the needle. My cell rang the instant
he pricked my skin. I glanced at the screen.

“It’s Lindsey,”
I said. “If I don’t take this, she’ll freak.”

He shrugged.
“Put it on speakerphone. I don’t want you moving. I haven’t done a stitch in
years.”

“
What
?”

“Answer your sister.”

I didn’t get a
chance to say hello. Lindsey freaked out, yelling so shrilly the tiny speakers
popped.

“Mandy, you are
not going to believe this! Great Aunt Mildred
died!
We’re so totally
screwed!”

The emergency
wedding meeting began the instant Mandy and Lindsey returned from the hospital
at eleven at night.

They hadn’t
scrubbed the blood out of the living room carpet yet…or told me
why
it
looked like the set of a slasher movie.

Why the fuck were
they at the
hospital
?

“So, I busted my
ass to get over here…” I tried to catch up. “I had to call my bartender on his
day off to cover the pub because your great aunt died, and that means the
wedding is…?”

“
Ruined
!”
Lindsey curled into a ball on the couch. Bryce cradled her to his chest, and
her mom stroked her hand. “It’s all
ruined
.”

It was the first
time Lindsey cried any legitimate tears for her wedding. She wasn’t mourning
any mis-printed invitations or off-beat dance moves. This crisis actually
seemed to worry her.

And the family.

And Mandy.

Mandy shuffled
from the couch and tried to put on a smile. “Tell you what. I’ll go make us
some coffee, and we’ll brainstorm. We’ll figure it out.”

Lindsey sobbed
into Bryce’s shoulder. Even he looked distressed.

What the hell
was going on?

I followed Mandy
to the kitchen, but I had forgotten how damn awkward she got around me when her
family was close. She bumbled making the coffee and avoided looking directly at
me.

God damn it. How
many times did I have to fuck this girl before she dropped her guard? I’d do it
as often as it took, but I wished she just meet me halfway
once
and act…

I didn’t even
know how I wanted her to act. Calmer? Relaxed? Like she wasn’t so afraid of
what she might say or how quickly her legs would spread so near me.

I was used to
women presenting themselves to me tits or ass first. Every word out of their
mouths was something fake and flirty, and that had been fine for one fun night.
Mandy wasn’t like those cheap and easy dates. I knew the real her, the one who
came out when we laid in a bed, embraced on the couch, or pleasured each other
under the stars.

I liked
that
girl. What did I have to do to convince her to be that girl with me?

“What happened
to your hand?” I asked.

Mandy measured
out the coffee grounds. She peeked inside the pot, grimaced, and rushed the entire
contraption to the sink for a good rinsing.

“Well…” She
dared to look at me. I loved the little peek of those almond eyes. “I tried to
help Lindsey with some crafts.”

“And?”

“I lost.”

“Lost what?”

She smirked.
“Rick said I was lucky I didn’t lose the use of my thumb.”

“Jesus!”

I reached for
her hand to check the bandage.

I didn’t know
why I did it.

I had no idea
what I expected.

I cradled her
hand, savored its warmth, and I didn’t let her pull it from me.

Touching her jolted
me more than the god-awful coffee she brewed. Her heat sliced through me just
as sharp as whatever she used to take her finger nearly off.

Mandy’s eyes
widened, but she pretended her breathing hadn’t shifted when I touched her.

It had.

So had mine.

This intimacy wasn’t
something that happened to me. Ever. But I liked it. I liked that she caused
it. And I liked that she denied feeling it too, if only because life offered me
a new challenge.

It wasn’t enough
to hear her groan my name or sleep with her cuddled against my chest. Mandy
kept her distance from me because she knew how dangerous it was to let me close.

And she had no
reason to worry.

In that simple
touch of her hand, I was changed. I hated that she was hurt, and I hated even
more that I wasn’t there to help her.

It wasn’t often
that I wanted to be with a woman when we were both clothed, but for this goddess?
In this moment?

I didn’t want to
be anywhere else.

“Are you okay?”
I asked.

“No.” She held
my gaze. “But I will be. At some point. I hope.”

We weren’t
talking about the cut. I didn’t like her hesitance. A surge of adrenaline raged
through me.

God, this woman.

What made me so
possessive of her? Why did I want to protect her? She had no reason to feel
anxious or uncertain if I was there.

I’d never
pretended to be a good man, but that just meant I got shit done that others
couldn’t. If she was worried, if the wedding was stressing her, if this latest
complication was going to make her sick again, I wasn’t putting up with it.

The problems
with her family could wait until after she had a decent night’s sleep.

And after I
tucked her in.

Twice.

I set my jaw. “How
can I help?”

“Why do you want
to help me?”

“Because you
need it.”

“And you’re the
one to give it?” She giggled, reaching into the cabinet for the coffee cups.
“Thanks, Nate. But you’ll understand if I refuse.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Come on.” She
tried to pull attitude with a hand on her hip. It only accentuated the gentle
swell of her thigh. “You’re gonna joke about something cute. I’m going to get
flustered. Then you’ll get all deep and sexy and say things that make me…
receptive
.
And we’ll just end up where we left off.”

“And where’s
that?” I shrugged. “Bed? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, if
this was simple.”

“And it’s not
anymore.”

“I think you know
it’s become way complicated.”

“So?”

“I don’t want
either of us to get hurt,” she said. “I really, really don’t.”

“I’m not going
to hurt you.”

She bit her lip.
“I wish I could say the same.”

“You’re worried
about
me
now?” I grinned. “What happened to all your fears about the
future and plans and fairy tales?”

She let the
coffee brew and leaned against the counter. For some reason, she seemed honest,
genuine, and sincere.

And that made
her even more secretive.

“I don’t think
you’ll ever realize how much those nights meant to me,” she said. “I know
they’re just your normal, run-of- the-mill one-night stands—”

“They weren’t.”
I said it too harshly but didn’t apologize. “You gotta stop assuming I’m only
after another night. I told you weeks ago…I don’t chase girls. I don’t do
second nights. But with you? I never want the night to fucking end.”

“Nate—”

“I wanna wake up
with you, take you again, and spend the day with you so you don’t run away and
leave my bed empty.”

“We...really
should get the coffee out to them. Lindsey’s upset.”

I blocked her
path with an outstretched arm and edged her into the corner of the counters.
She trapped herself willingly, but she didn’t look at me.

“You don’t
believe me?” I asked.

She shook her
head. “No, I believe you.”

“Then why do you
shut down when I say our nights together were special? That I want
more
.
That I’m chasing you because I’m goddamned crazy about you?”

“Are you?”

“I can’t get you
out of my head. All I think about every minute of every day is the next time I’ll
get to see you, hold you. And don’t pretend you aren’t thinking of me either.”

Her voice
softened. “I am. A lot.”

“You know where
I live. You have my number. You say the word, and I’m there.”

“It’s more than
sex, Nate.”

“Yeah. It’s
you
.”
I leaned close, surprised when she immediately kissed me. “I’ve never wanted
someone as bad as I want you. You gotta tell me why.”

Her eyes timidly
met mine, so dark and expressive. They went wide with surprise and…fear?

“
Why
what?” she asked.

“Why the only
thing I can think about is kissing these lips. Or taking you under the stars.
Or talking with you, no secrets, nothing hidden. I want you to trust me.”

“It’s not that I
don’t trust you.” She rested her hands over my arms, tightening her fingers in
my shirt. “I asked you once to give me space until the wedding.”

“Do you still
want space?”

“No. But I need
it.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m
falling for you, Nate. And the only way I’ll catch myself is if—”

“You don’t have
to catch yourself. I’ll grab you. I’ll keep you safe.” I edged closer to her. “Give
me the chance.”

“I can’t…” Her
palms flattened on my chest. She didn’t push me away. “Things are going to get
crazy.”

“Why?”

“Because now
that Great Aunt Mildred died, the family has to come in for the funeral.” She
shrugged. “We have two hundred and fifty on the wedding guest list, third
quarters of them are
our
family. They’re
all
from out of town.”

I didn’t get it,
but Mandy had a bad habit of thinking a couple steps ahead of where her feet
were hitting. She glanced at me.

“They’re all
coming
now
. For the funeral this weekend,” she said. “They’re not able
to take time off again in three weeks to come back for the wedding. We’ve lost
over a hundred people from the guest list already.”

Shit.
Now
I understood. No wonder Lindsey was bawling in the other room.

“I mean, we have
Bryce’s family.” She shrugged. “But God, I don’t want to know what happens if
we put Mom in a room with Mr. Washington. And I know—you and Dad said not to
worry, but…”

She wanted to
edge away. I didn’t let her. Her hands warmed my chest so perfectly. How was
this woman so soft and gentle in everything she did?

Mandy frowned.
“I need space. I can’t manage my family and figure this out at the same time.”

“Why not? Let me
help.”

Her voice
wavered. She looked at me, her eyes a beautiful honey sweetness that glistened
as she gnawed her kissable lip.

“We need to
talk.
Really
talk, about a lot of things.”

I wasn’t going
anywhere. “Then let’s talk.”

“Not here.”

“Yes, here.” I
bumped my forehead against hers. “I’m serious, Mandy. If you think you’re
walking out of this kitchen without agreeing to come home with me tonight…”

“Nate, what I
have to say is important. And it’s not something we can just…it’s going to
change everything. Especially how you feel about me.”

If she feared
I’d bolt because she said she had feelings for me, she was wrong.

I never expected
I’d find someone who tempted me to stick around, to talk, to get involved. I’d figured
every other man who trapped himself was following convention, damned to a life
of responsibilities and emotional servitude to a woman who’d control his life.

Jesus, I was
wrong.

Mandy wasn’t a
trap. If anything, I bound my own hands and handed her the rope.

“Nate, when I
slept with you that first time…when we were together?” Mandy’s words trembled.
“Something happened. And I really wish…no. That’s not it. I’m happy that it
did, but I don’t know if you’ll…damn it. This is so hard.”

Fuck it. We’d
talk later.

In that moment,
I realized how I could solve all our problems.

I grabbed her,
tugging her close for a victorious kiss. She melted into me, and the heat of
her body pulsed right to my cock.

But I wasn’t
fucking her tonight. We wouldn’t have the time.

I had an idea, and
it would save the fucking day.

The wedding was
in trouble, and Mandy was too preoccupied trying to fix it that she didn’t have
time to sort through what she felt for me. That ended now.

I dragged her to
the living room. Lindsey hadn’t stopped crying, Bryce rubbed his temples, and
Sandra argued on the phone with another family member cancelling their rsvp.

They quieted
when I faced them.

“Your family is
going to be in town this weekend?” I asked.

Lindsey sniffled
and nodded.

“And Bryce, your
family is local?”

He nodded.
“Yep.”

“Fine. Have the
wedding this weekend.”

Mandy collapsed
against the couch. “
What
?”

“We’ll do it
this weekend. Everyone will be in the area. It’s supposed to be good weather.
You can get married at my dad’s church, and we’ll have the reception outside in
the pavilion. Everyone can be there, and we’ll get it done right.”