Now and Forever (3 page)

“Fuck,” he mumbled, panting.

“Yeah, that was amazing.” Layla sighed with satisfaction as Ben gently lowered her to the floor. “I’ll feel that tomorrow.”

She pulled her skirt back down her hips and Ben looked at her shredded stockings with a smirk. “Eat in bed?” He raised his brows expectantly.

“Yes, perfect.”

He turned toward the kitchen to get their dinner and Layla went into the bedroom to change clothes. A tingle of excitement hit her while she searched her closet for a pair of sweats.

“We’re engaged!” she yelled happily. “You’re going to be my husband! We’ll be living together!” She turned and saw Ben walk into the closet, grinning. “Sorry, didn’t mean to yell in your ear, I thought you were in the other room.”

“No, yell all you want.” His eyes sparkled with happiness.

“I’ll get to wake up next to you every morning! And I can wear a gorgeous dress! And change the sign on the front of my office!” Her mind was spinning with thoughts of what getting married to Ben would mean, and she couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Yeah, you’ll be Layla Montrose soon. None of that hyphenated bullshit.” He arched his brows seriously and reached his arms around her waist. Layla bit back a comment about her last name being her decision. She’d take up the matter another time. Tonight she just wanted to feel blissful.

Chapter Two

Bundled pedestrians filed down the city sidewalk, all lost in their own worlds. Like those around him, Cole was absorbed in his thoughts. He nearly plowed into a woman who charged past him, talking loudly on her cell phone.

A warm surge of pride filled him when the illuminated yellow ‘Emmaline’s’ sign came into view. Running a bakery was hard work, but she was committed to it. Though she sometimes didn’t make enough money to pay her own salary, Emma was covering everything else. Everything but the construction loan.

A lead weight settled deep in Cole’s stomach. He hadn’t told Emma about the loss of his bonus yet. She had enough on her mind, and he was supposed to be the one who took away her worries, not someone who added to them.

He still wondered some days how a moody asshole like him had managed to win her over. He’d kept everyone else in his life at arm’s length; but Emma, the shy, awkward girl who’d grown up across the street from him, had crumbled all his walls.

The bakery’s lobby was darkened, and Cole headed toward the single bulb that lit the alley behind the building. The thought of Emma alone in this alley after sunset unnerved him.

Pushing the steel door to the kitchen open, Cole sighed with frustration. “You need to keep this door locked, babe,” he said.

Emma murmured her dismissal, her brow furrowed in concentration as she bent to pipe frosting onto a tall white cake. Her caramel hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her dark apron was marked with her trademark flour smudges.

“How was your day?” Cole asked, walking to the giant butcher block island to lay a hand on her back while she worked.

“Uh . . . fine,” Emma muttered. Cole ran his fingers up her spine to her shoulders, massaging gently as the silence stretched. Emma usually gave him a wide smile the second he walked in, no matter how busy her day had been.

Pastries and cookies lined the stainless counters on waxed paper, and cupcakes in a rainbow of shades were stacked on tiered trays. The large commercial kitchen was covered in more baked goods than Cole usually saw in here.

“You’ve been busy,” he said, kissing her exposed neck gently. “Need some help?”

Emma turned, her eyes lighting a little like they were just registering his presence.

“Oh. Um, yeah, that’d be good. Those cookies all need boxed. Wash your hands first, though.”

Cole reached for her hand, stilling it in mid air as she was about to continue frosting the cake. “Hey, are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself.”

She sighed and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “Just tired.”

“Did you have dinner?” Cole approached the sink to wash his hands.

“Hmm? Oh, I don’t know,” she murmured.

It wasn’t like her to be distant, and worry started to nag at Cole. He slid out of his dark suit jacket and hung it over a chair, staring at Emma’s back while he rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. By the time he’d lined 20 dozen cookies in boxes, the silence was overwhelming.

“Okay,” he said, turning and noticing the way the corners of Emma’s mouth were turned down slightly. “What’s next?”

“The big wall oven should be ready, so you can put those two baking sheets in,” she said, not looking up from the cake. What the fuck? She was like a different woman tonight. He knew he hadn’t forgotten their anniversary or her birthday.

Cole reached for a wide silver baking sheet with doughy cinnamon rolls arranged in neat rows.

“You want these buns in the oven?” he asked.

Emma’s face crumpled and she pressed a hand over her lips. Cole felt his own lips part and eyes widen in confusion.

“I’m pregnant,” Emma said, her eyes meeting his at last. Was it her anguished tone or her news that left him as breathless as a punch to the gut?

“What?” The word was barely audible, even in the still silence of the bakery. He leaned against the counter and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Shit.”

He thought he’d been under pressure before, but that had been nothing compared to the vise that tightened around his chest as he wondered where they’d find the time, energy and money for a baby.

His eyes flew open when he heard Emma sniffle. She was swiping a thumb beneath her eyes and another weight settled against Cole’s chest -- this one for being an asshole.

“Em,” he said, covering the few steps between them. “Hey, you’re okay. Don’t cry.”

But as soon as his arm wrapped around her shoulder, a flood of emotion burst forth from her, and she cried long and hard, pressing her face into Cole’s chest. He wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her close.

Her shoulders shook, and Cole’s anxiety dissipated. She needed him to be the calm one right now.

“We’ll be okay,” he said, brushing a flour smudge from her forehead. “I know it’s a shock, but you’re . . . I mean, it’s my baby, so . . .?”

His question sparked an anger Cole hadn’t seen in Emma before.

“Are you seriously asking me whether it’s yours?” she cried, her eyes flashing. “Are you asking me that right now?”

“Christ, no, Em! I’m not asking that. I’m saying it’s our baby, we’re together, and we’ll just have to . . . make the best of things.”

“What?” If possible, she got even angrier. She backed up a couple steps and gave Cole an icy glare that matched her shrill tone. “It’s not a dog, Cole, it’s a baby! A person! And we aren’t even married! And my parents are going to—” Her face fell into her palm. “I can’t even think about it.”

“Your parents love me, Em! And my parents love you! It’s not like I’m some asshole who knocked you up on our first date or something.”

“So that makes it better? You think knowing our nice neighbor boy got me pregnant is going to make it all fine?”

Cole took a deep breath and let it out slowly, vowing not to say the wrong thing and incite her further. “Look. We live together, we’re in love and we would’ve gotten married eventually. This is just doing things . . . out of order.”

“You’re an asshole!” Emma cried. “Out of order? Like it’s just semantics? Tell that to my dad!”

She’d never come unglued this way, and Cole didn’t know whether he should hide behind something or try to calm down. He stepped toward her and was encouraged when she didn’t move away.

“Listen, baby, we’ll be fine,” he said softly.

“Fine?” Her eyes were full of disbelief. “I can’t believe this. I’ve been stressing and crying all day because I thought you’d kill me for this, and you act like I just told you we’re having chicken instead of beef for dinner.”

“Getting upset over it isn’t going to change things. We’ll figure it out.”

She scoffed. “How can you be so calm about this? I’m a complete mess!”

Cole gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “Maybe it’s hormones, babe. I know that happens—”

“Get out!” she screamed, tears pooling in her eyes. Cole’s brow furrowed with disbelief.

“Out? You want me to leave you here?”

Emma squeezed her eyes shut. “Yes. I need some time.”

“What the fuck? You’re mad that I’m not mad enough?”

“I don’t even know,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “I’ve been a wreck about this all day, and I don’t even know how I feel right now. But everything you say pisses me off right now.”

“You noticed that too?” Cole said, an edge in his tone.

“I will throw this cake at you if you don’t get out.”

“Where is my girlfriend? This isn’t you, Em. This kind of crazy is what I’d expect from your—”

“Don’t you even,” she said, warning in her tone as she advanced on him. “Don’t you dare bring my sister into this. I’m on the edge already.”

Cole blew out a breath and reminded himself that reaching for her was a bad idea right now.

“Alright.” He threw his hands in the air. “I’ll wait for you in the alley.”

“I’ll be at least another hour. Just go home and maybe we can talk when I get there.”

“We’re talking, Em. There’s no maybe about it. And I’m not leaving you here alone. So I’ll be in the cold goddamn alley until you’re ready to go.”

“Fine,” she said hotly.

Cole shook his head when the steel door closed behind him. He sank to the single concrete step and leaned back. His breath made a cloud in the air as he wondered what the hell had just happened.

***

Ben hung up on his sister Bree’s voicemail greeting. He wasn’t telling her about his engagement that way. Not being able to share the news in person was bad enough.

She wouldn’t be surprised; he’d told her he was planning to propose. She was happy he’d found someone he wanted to spend forever with. Given their fucked up childhood, they’d both turned out relatively normal, but Ben had still never imagined himself settling down this young, in his early 30’s.

But Layla brought something new out of him. Something he’d never had before. She challenged him like no woman ever had, and she was never intimidated by his broad six and a half foot frame or his domineering nature.

The night of his proposal, she’d fallen asleep in his arms after more than an hour of the best sex of his life. Knowing it was his future wife panting his name and screaming had brought it to a higher level for him. When they’d come together the first time that night, he’d felt . . . emotional? That was a new one. Ben Montrose, emotional and in love?

But fuck if she didn’t do it for him in every way possible. She hadn’t even looked at the ring when he’d proposed. Layla had seen the diamond flash and then looked at him. Even after she accepted and they’d made love, she’d been content to fall asleep in his arms.

It wasn’t until this morning, when they were both getting ready for work, that she actually saw the ring. He brought it into the bathroom while she was putting on makeup.

“Don’t you want to wear the ring?” he asked in a slightly sulky tone.

“Of course I do. I wanted to wait for you to put it on my finger.” Layla set aside her tube of lipstick and looked down at the ring in his outstretched palm. He’d never forget the way her eyes widened when she picked it up and noticed the two-carat diamond for the first time.

“Ben!” She looked at him almost accusingly. “This is too much. We can get another ring. Something more sensible.”

He reached for her hand and slid it on. “Perfect fit.” He’d snuck a ring out of her jewelry box and taken it shopping to get her size.

“I’m serious,” she said. “I don’t need this expensive ring. All I want is to marry you.”

Layla wasn’t the material girl she’d been when he met her. She still dressed well and had her hair and nails done often, but she no longer saw things as her biggest reward in life. He told her she was keeping the ring and a shadow of uncertainty crossed her face.

“Don’t worry that I can’t afford it,” he said. “I’ve been good with my real estate money. Better than you probably realize.”

“It’s not that. I just . . . don’t feel like I deserve this. I’m not one of those women men want to have a fairytale with.”

“Fuck fairytales.” She still stood in front of the bathroom sink, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and met her eyes in the mirror. “That shit’s boring, and you are anything but. Let’s go out for dinner tonight and talk wedding plans.”

“We’re supposed to go to my parents’ tonight, remember? Dad’s birthday?”

He’d forgotten. But they couldn’t miss that. So he’d agreed and left for the office. And he’d come to her apartment after work. He was waiting for her to get home now so they could go see her family. He loved her parents; they were the kind of people he wished his own parents were. And Emma was okay, too. But Cole was an annoying prick. He barely spoke to Layla and he got jealous if Ben was within ten feet of Emma.

Layla sailed in to the apartment with a thousand watt smile and came straight for him with a kiss.

“Hi there, fiancé,” she said, her fingers winding up the nape of his neck into his hairline.

“Mmm.” He bent to reach her round, firm ass and squeezed it, pressing her body into his. Her sweet, familiar smell always made his body react without thought. He kissed her deep and hard. His stiffening cock meant business, and he’d have to hurry since they were due at her parents’ place.

“Ben,” she murmured. “We need to go.”

Her words were half-hearted, and he wrapped his arms around her back and lifted her to carry her into the bedroom. Her straight black skirt kept her from being able to wrap her legs around him.

“
This
needs to go,” he said, using one hand to work the skirt up to her hips.

“We really don’t have time,” Layla said with a pleading look. “We’re already gonna be a little late. I want to, I really do, but can we wait ‘til we get back later?”

He groaned and returned her feet to the floor. “You want me to stay here tonight?”

“If you want to.” She reached up and pulled her hair loose from its bun. Ben watched the dark waves falling over her shoulders and considered telling her he didn’t give a shit about being late.