Having My Baby (12 page)

Smiling, he turned toward the door, but Brad had already joined the others. Not a single solitary soul had seen his magnificent shot. If they weren’t related, he would have nothing to do with the lot of them.

He made his way to the kitchen where Zoey and Rachel stood behind the stove cooking omelets, while four of his brothers sat at the table eating.

“The usual?” Zoey asked when she spotted him. Zoey and Rachel, although not the youngest of the brood, were still Dad’s little girls—the spoiled brats of the family.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” he told her. “I had oatmeal before I came. I think I’ll head back to my apartment to get some of my things.”

Zoey set the spatula on the granite counter top. “You’re not moving back home yet, are you?”

No, he wasn’t going anywhere. “Why? Would that be a problem if I was?”

Jake took a swig of his orange juice and then said, “I think Rachel has a hot date tonight with Jim Jensen.”

“She better not,” Derrick said with a smile.

Everyone became quiet.

A worried frown crossed his sister’s face. A wave of heat swept through him as it dawned on him that Jake was serious. Jim Jensen was a rookie quarterback just picked up by the Condors. The kid was just waiting for Derrick to crack a rib or take a bad fall so he could sweep in and take his place as starting quarterback.

“He’s never done anything to you,” Zoey said.

“That’s right,” Rachel agreed. “Why do you hate him?”

“The man doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder,” Derrick said, “he has a boulder, for God’s sake.”

Rachel plunked a hand to her hip. “And?”

“And he’s a player, a snake charmer, a rat. Stay away from him,” Derrick said. “You can do better.”

“And if I decide
not
to take your advice?” she asked.

Derrick was tired of this. He’d come home today to get away from it all, to give Jill a break—a chance to spend a day with Ryan without feeling as if he was spying on her. Mostly, he’d been afraid of leading her on in case there was any truth to what Sandy had said about Jill having feelings for him. He liked Jill and he wanted to be her friend. Without taking his eyes from his sister, he rubbed his stubbled jaw. “I’m going now. Jensen is not allowed in this house—
my
house.”

“You’re being childish.”

He pointed the same finger at Rachel. “I mean it.”

Before she could protest further, Derrick exited the kitchen and made his way across the marble foyer and out the door.

Back at his apartment, it was eleven o’clock by the time he climbed out of the shower. His knee gave, but he managed to get a hold of the bathroom counter and stop himself from going down. Determined to ignore the pain, he stood on one leg in front of the sink and dried himself with a clean towel. Catching a glimpse of shades of color around his eye, he stopped to take a closer look at his reflection. The bruising from the hit he’d taken last week was fading, but there was still enough color to make him look like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. His brothers all figured he’d deserved what he got. Aaron had told his siblings to ask Derrick what had happened if they wanted answers, but not one of them had asked him. They just figured he was guilty. Hell, he wasn’t going to tell them he’d kissed Maggie. His family already treated him like the black sheep. It was obvious they preferred Aaron over him.

What did he care anyhow? He would do it all over again if he had the chance. Someday, hopefully sooner rather than later, Maggie would come to her senses and see that they were meant to be together. Until then, he had Ryan and Jill to keep him occupied.

Jill, he realized, was pretty much the opposite of Maggie—quiet and sort of shy at times, although she definitely had her moments. Maggie was capable of using words to slice through the air and put people in their places while Jill seemed to think long and hard before speaking, worried about offending. When her hormones weren’t spiking, she was sensitive and sweet, which summed her up perfectly: sweet and unassuming—that was Jill.

He finished towel drying his hair. A glint of silver right above his ear caught his attention. When the hell had he grown a gray hair? He wasn’t even thirty, for God’s sake. He leaned in closer to the mirror, got a good grip on the little bastard, and plucked it out of his skull.
Ouch
!

He was feeling on edge, he realized. His life felt as if it was off-kilter. For starters, Maggie had been avoiding him ever since the kiss in the courtroom. She hadn’t returned his last two calls. His mom was angry with him for upsetting Aaron. His sisters and brothers had been favoring Aaron ever since he moved back to town. Jim Jensen’s name kept coming up, which was not amusing. His knee wasn’t getting any better either. And now Jill might have a crush on him when all he wanted to do was get to know his son and be her friend.

He opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the cream he used to relieve muscle and joint pain and rubbed some into his knee. He washed his hands and then hopped on one leg to his room and pulled on a clean pair of basketball shorts. His next stop was the kitchen. He filled a plastic bag with ice, hopped to the couch, and then plopped down and placed the ice on his knee. He laid his head back on the sofa and shut his eyes.

Twenty seconds hadn’t passed before he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

For a moment there he figured whoever had been at his door had gone away, but then the door creaked open and Jill poked her head inside. “Hi there.”

He lifted his head. “Hi.”

She looked at his knee. “Are you okay?”

“Just a little too much basketball with my brothers this morning.”

“Mind if Ryan and I come inside?”

He waved a hand through the air and said, “Be my guest.” Then he tried to push himself up from the couch.

“Don’t move,” she told him. “I can manage.”

He didn’t like the idea of not helping her with the baby, but then he remembered what Sandy had said about Jill falling for him, and he decided to stay where he was.

She opened the door wide enough to push the stroller inside without disturbing Ryan. “He’s asleep,” she said with a smile. “A true miracle.”

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling back at her. She looked happy and that made him happy. “You look great.” She looked better than great. This was the first time he had seen her wearing something other than sweats. Her jeans were snug, showing off slim hips and long legs for such a short woman. Her yellow shirt contrasted nicely with her hair, which looked like three shades of brown, depending on the lighting. It was the first time he recalled seeing her hair untangled. It looked soft and shiny, full of body, the kind of hair a man liked to comb his fingers through. He shook his head, attempting to clear his wayward thoughts.

“Thanks,” she said. “I feel great.” She shut the door and set her purse on the coffee table in front of the couch. “I finally managed to catch up on my sleep yesterday. It’s funny, but ever since I talked to those women at the park I’ve felt different…better. When I called the doctor last week, the nurse told me it was perfectly fine to let Ryan cry sometimes, so when you didn’t show up this morning, I let him cry while I took a shower and did my hair. I’m even fitting into my old jeans, which is why I’m here.”

“Those jeans look amazing.”

When she laughed, her eyes sparkled right along with her straight white teeth.

“I didn’t come looking for compliments,” she told him, “although I appreciate them all the same. I came to tell you thank you and to apologize for being so rude yesterday. My actions were uncalled for and I’m embarrassed. You’ll also be glad to know that I apologized to Chelsey and she’s back on the payroll.”

“I’m glad. She’s a very enthusiastic employee.”

She nodded. “I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all you’ve done.”

“Don’t give it another thought. Under the circumstances, I think you’ve handled everything going on around you, me included, quite well.”

“Look at me,” she said. “I’m doing it again, blabbing on about myself when you’re sitting there in pain. It’s that knee again, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean again? How could you know about my knee?”

“I noticed you were in pain the first day I met you, the day my water broke and you scrambled to get out of the car.”

“We’ll definitely have a few good stories to tell Ryan when he’s all grown up, won’t we?”

Her blush was followed by an awkward bit of silence before she asked, “What can I get for you?”

“If you could grab me a glass of water and that bottle of ibuprofen over there on the counter, I would appreciate it more than you know.”

While she busied herself in the kitchen, he watched her through new eyes. She was a ball of sunshine. A little extra sleep had literally transformed her.

“Here you go.” She handed him the water and then opened the ibuprofen. “How many do you want?”

“Two would be great.”

She handed him the pills, and then waited while he downed them with the water before she took the glass from him and returned it to the kitchen. “Another reason I came,” she said from the kitchen, “was to see if you wanted to come with me to Ryan’s first appointment with the pediatrician.”

Derrick smiled at her and realized how drab his day had been until she walked into his apartment. He wanted to spend time with Ryan. Hell, he realized, he wanted to spend time with Jill, too.

“Your leg hurts pretty bad, huh?”

She was hovering over him now, moving the bag of ice so she could take a good look at his knee. “It is swollen. You should probably stay off of it today.”

“No,” he found himself saying. “I think going with you and Ryan is just what the doctor ordered.” He removed the ice.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” And it was the truth.

“Here,” she said, helping him up. “Lean on me. I’ll serve as your crutch so we can get you to the other room so you can get your shirt and a pair of shoes.”

“I might hurt you.”

“Ridiculous.” He was bare-chested but that didn’t stop her from taking his arm and placing it over her shoulder. “Now go ahead and walk. Lean on me. It’s okay.”

He did as she said, surprised by the strength in her small arms as she helped him down the hall to his room. They walked into his bedroom, but as he headed for the bed and she tried to let him loose, he tripped over the backpack he’d taken to the gym earlier, and brought Jill along for the ride. They fell onto the king-sized bed. Instinctively, and in hopes of protecting her from harm, he wrapped his arms around her waist as they fell to the mattress. When they landed, he was on his back and they were face to face, nose to nose.

She laughed, her breath minty as she tried to push off of him.

A creak and then a loud crack brought her right back down on top of him as the old bed frame gave way, bringing them both sliding to the corner of the mattress.

The two of them had become one. “Are you all right?” he asked, his lips pressed against her ear.

“I’m fine,” she said. Still laughing, she grabbed one of his pillows and bopped him on the head with it.

“Oh, so you want to play rough, do you?” He rolled to his side and tickled her.

She laughed so hard she could hardly talk. “No tickling,” she squeaked. Swatting feebly at his arm, she slunk further into the puddles of blankets and pillows in an attempt to squirm away from him.

Laughing, he tickled her some more, but then pulled his hand away the moment he felt a tightness in his groin. Nothing seemed humorous suddenly as he realized there was no denying the unexpected heat sizzling between them.

Their gazes met and he knew she felt it too. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, her lips plump and full. He already knew he wanted to be her friend, but now he realized he also wanted nothing more than to lean closer and kiss her, feel her lips against his and put an end to the unexpected and tantalizing vibration swirling about inside.

Chapter Eleven

Since entering Derrick’s apartment, Jill felt as if everything was happening in slow motion. Getting him ibuprofen, helping him to his room, the frame of the bed breaking, and now this—this wasn’t what she had come to his apartment for. But now that she was pressed close against Derrick’s hard, naked chest, every part of her felt warm and tingly.

More than anything, she wanted him to kiss her, but he seemed intent on pulling away. Filled with a lustful urge to feel his lips against hers, figuring it was her hormones, but wanting to know for sure, she decided to go for it. She leaned in close and brushed her lips against his. He smelled as good as he looked and the moment her lips met his, and he pressed closer, something snapped. She lost control. It was like awakening after being in a coma.

Letting instinct take over, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her body close to his, close enough to feel him thick and hard against her thigh. A whimper escaped her as she brought a splayed hand up and over well-developed back muscles and higher still until her fingers swept a path through his hair. He deepened the kiss. Her leg circled around his. She touched him, devoured him really, one hand sliding across solid abs and lower over the silky fabric of his gym shorts until she felt him hard against her palm.

“What the hell is going on in here?”

The moment Jill heard her father’s voice, she knew that her mind had to be playing tricks on her. But then Derrick pulled away and said, “Who are you and what are you doing in my apartment?”

Jill looked over her shoulder and saw her father standing in the doorway. “Dad! What are you doing here?”

Her father walked away. He wasn’t angry. He was livid.

Sandy poked her head through the open door next. She looked down her nose at the two of them. “Wow,” was all she said before she disappeared too.

Derrick pushed himself to his feet. Once he was on sturdy ground, he helped Jill up, and she found herself peering into gorgeous eyes.

“I’m sorry about all of this,” he said. “I don’t know what came over me.”

I’m sorry
? She’d already been fantasizing that the kiss might be the beginning of something wonderful, while he, on the other hand, felt the need to apologize. She dropped her gaze from his. “I better go check on Ryan.”