Pulse (Collide) (40 page)

And there, standing in his office with the woman he couldn’t live without, the woman who showed him what it felt like to have his faith restored by her simple touch, Gavin was no longer afraid of not being this child’s father. Instead, he drowned in the fact that not only did the woman with him believe he was, and was in love with every fear he had, but another life was already in love with him.

Climbing the mountainous stairs to the second floor of Gavin’s home in the Hamptons proved a more difficult feat than the year before. With a bottle of water in one hand and a hearty plate of reheated Chinese food in the other, Emily reached the last step quite winded. As she made her way down the hall, she couldn’t help but stop outside the room she and Dillon had slept in the last time she was there. Tainted memories of their stay stormed her mind. But as she stared into the space, one memory trumped the rest. It knocked them all to the ground. This particular memory would never taint her. She’d hold on to it forever.

A small smile lifted the corner of her mouth as she entered the room. Placing her water and food on the large dresser, she flicked her eyes to the nightstand flanking the queen-sized bed. Simple curiosity had her pulling open the drawer. She giggled when she saw the sweatshirt Gavin had given her to wear while she played her first ever game of “Toss the Bottle Cap into the Pot” with him. She gathered it in her hands, bringing it up to her nose. Though faint, it still held his smell. She remembered wanting to burn his scent into her mind. Little did she know then she’d be lucky enough to wake up to it every morning. Warmth flooded her as she pulled it over her tank top. Closing her eyes, she hugged her chest, overcome by visions of that night. She looked around, picked up the plate and water, and made her way out of the room holding both beautiful and bad memories.

On a sigh, she stepped into the room holding her heart and future. Leaning against the doorway, Emily surreptitiously watched Gavin. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of light cotton pajama pants, his focus was zeroed in on his laptop. Though he’d promised he wouldn’t work over the Fourth of July holiday, Emily found that was all he’d been doing. She knew he was trying to keep busy, drowning himself in whatever he could. He was trying to avoid dealing with their new waiting game, the paternity test results game. She couldn’t help but remember a year ago when their lives were very different.

Heart heavy for what he was going through, Emily moved across the room. After placing her food and drink down, she crawled onto bed and pulled the laptop away from Gavin. With a mischievous smile, she snapped it closed and straddled his lap.

Gavin lifted a brow, a slow smirk toying at his mouth. “You’re very lucky I saved the doc I was working on.”

“Sounds like a threat.” Placing her hands on his bare shoulders, Emily cocked her head to the side and mimicked his expression. “Are you going to do harm to my body, Mr. Blake? Better yet, may I
beg
for a little pleasurable harm to my body?” He chuckled, and his blue eyes twinkled with the playfulness Emily had desperately missed over the last week since they’d gone for the test.

Gavin sucked in his bottom lip and slid his arms around her waist. “I’ve turned you into such a dirty, kinky, little masochist. Do you have any idea what that thought does to me?”

Emily giggled. “Yes. I can feel what it’s doing to you right now.”

“That obvious?”

“Very.” Emily nuzzled the crook of his neck, biting him softly. Dragging his musky scent through her noise, she curled her fingers in his hair. “Your head’s so consumed by my newfound dirty kinkiness, you didn’t even notice something on me.”

Gripping her thighs, a groan crawled up Gavin’s throat. “And what you’re doing is supposed to help?”

“Okay, I’ll stop,” Emily quipped, pulling back.

Gavin frowned. “I’m tossing out the caveman card here and demand you continue your dirty, kinkiness on my neck.”

“Nope,” Emily giggled. “Not until you figure out what’s new on me. Seriously, it’s not that hard.”

Gavin buried his hands in her hair and guided her down to his lips. “Wrong,” he whispered as he spoke between kisses. “It’s painfully… tortuously…agonizingly, I’m-about-to-rip-the-panties-from-your-body
hard
.”

Right about the same time Emily started thinking about how deliciously, intoxicatingly, and addictively wonderful his kisses were, his cell phone rang. As usual, Gavin showed no intentions of answering.

Emily pulled back and looked at him. “You really should answer that.”

He guided her back down to his mouth. “No way,” he groaned as he scooted against the headboard, bringing her with him. “Whoever it is will wait.”

“Uh, uh, uh,” she playfully warned, her smile as teasing as ever. “It could be your parents calling to let us know what time they’ll be here tomorrow.”

Gavin blinked. “You get off on this, don’t you?”

Emily batted her lashes. “In so… many…many ways. Now answer it.” She laughed and carefully maneuvered from the bed, more than enjoying the swat on her ass he gave her.

As she watched him take the call, Emily felt her stomach tighten. Though not in pain, she definitely wasn’t comfortable as a Braxton Hicks contraction balled her belly. With her breath somewhat depleted, she sank into an overstuffed chair and tried to relax. Playing it safe, considering she was within three weeks of her due date, she glanced at her watch and started timing it. As her stomach loosened from the mild assault, the baby made his presence known. Hammering his foot in what Emily believed was anger at his own discomfort, he hit his mark somewhere below her right ribcage.

“I hear ya, buddy,” she mumbled, rubbing the area he’d attacked. “Soon.” Emily watched concern edge Gavin’s eyes when his gaze landed on her.

Promptly ending his call, he moved across the room and fell to his knees in front of her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, placing his hand over hers. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and pulled in a deep breath. “Fake contraction.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m starting to get used to them.” She swallowed and, with Gavin’s help, stood. Smiling, she draped her arms around his neck. “So, can you tell what’s new on me?”

Startled by her nonchalance, Gavin shook his head, smoothing his hands down her waist. “Emily, I think you should lay down.”

“Why?” she asked, her brows furrowed.

“You’re getting contractions.”

“Silly man, I had a Braxton Hicks.” She waved dismissively and walked across the room. She plucked her water from the nightstand, took a sip, and nearly finished the whole bottle. “I’m fine.”

Gavin shoved a nervous hand through his hair. Yeah, he was pretty damn sure his girl was losing it. “How do you know you’re fine?”

“Well, let’s see. It’s my body, and I’ve come to know it quite well over the last twenty-five years.” She padded back over to him, a smile on her face as she once again slid her arms around his neck. “Want to know two things I bet you didn’t know?”

Gavin released a sigh, attempting to go with the flow. “Sure.”

Emily wiggled her brows. “One: you’re very, very shmexy when you’re worried.”

Gavin chuckled. “Am I?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“I’ve said it before”—Gavin smirked, loving her playfulness—”and I’ll say it ‘til the day they bury me. You’re pretty shmexy yourself.”

“Why thank you, sir.” She pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Two: While losing yourself in all my dirty, kinky, Braxton Hicks-filled shmexyness, you failed to notice I’m wearing the sweatshirt you lent me one year ago tonight.”

Gavin flicked his eyes down to the gray Zenga Sport sweatshirt he’d sworn disappeared into thin air. “No shit. Look at that.” Grinning, he flipped the hood over Emily’s head. “It definitely fits you better this year.”

Emily’s mouth dropped open, and Gavin laughed. Giggling, she swatted his arm. “You take that back right now.”

“You know I’m kidding.” Gavin kissed her pouting lips. “Do I need to make it up to you?”

“As a matter of fact, you do.”

“Name it, sweets.”

“Bottle caps.”

Gavin popped a brow. “Bottle caps?”

Emily nodded. “Yep. A friendly game of toss the bottle caps.”

“Is this some kind of wager for your forgiveness?” Gavin’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “And
when
you lose, what happens then? Am I cast into one of the guest bedrooms for the night?”

Emily scoffed, heading for the French doors. “Why would you assume I’m going to lose, wiseass? And yes, you sleep solo if you don’t let me win.”

Chuckling, Gavin watched her stick out her tongue in true Emily fashion as she disappeared onto the balcony. In true Gavin fashion, he was about to test his girl’s memory. Grabbing a remote and flicking on the surround sound, he hit repeat on one particular song. He tossed on a long-sleeved T-shirt and started for the doors. With the freezer bag filled with caps in hand, Gavin breathed in the salty smell of the ocean. Emily was leaning against the railing when he emerged into the cool night air. She smiled, sinking his heart the same way she’d sunk it a year ago. Hell, if there ever came a time she couldn’t steal his breath, he’d know the world around him had gone crazy.

Dropping the bag of memories onto an Adirondack chair, he reached for her hand and gently pulled her to his body. “May I have this dance before we play our little game?”

“Looks like you’ve already decided that for me,” she teased, resting her head against his chest as they swayed.

Gavin kissed the top of her hair. “Would you’ve been able to say no?”

“Never,” she whispered.

“That’s what I figured.”

“You push your luck every chance you get, don’t you?”

He chuckled lightly. “Always.” With one hand splayed along the small of her back, he took the other, intertwined with her fingers, and pinned it to his chest. Staring at her, he smiled. “Do you know what song this is?”

“I do,” she breathed, her gaze transfixed on his lips. Her muscles warmed as the memory of the first night they’d made love spilled through her. “Louis Armstrong’s
La Vie en Rose
. I also remember the first time we danced to it.”

“Very good, Miss Cooper. You continue to impress me.”

He stopped moving, and Emily’s heart sputtered as he bent his head, brushing his lips against hers. A tease of a kiss. Never enough. But Emily knew from the moment he’d first kissed her, she’d never get her fill of him.

“You know I’m going to dance with you to this song at our wedding one day. That is, if you’d have me?”

Emily swallowed, her breathing increasing. As her hair whipped around in the light summer breeze, a tear slipped down her cheek. One year. One full circle had been drawn around their lives, and although they’d been tested in every way possible, they were still together. “I could never not have you, Gavin. Never,” she whispered, falling more in love with him than she’d ever thought possible.

As Louis Armstrong belted out soulful melodies about casting magic spells, Gavin cast his on Emily, as he always did. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her slowly, deeply. Emily’s heart dropped, knowing one year ago tonight on this very balcony, beers, memories, and tears were shared. Little did she know then, a stolen moment, a sweatshirt, many bottle caps, and few layers peeled back later, her life would never be the same.

And she thanked God for every minute it wasn’t.

“How the heck did you talk him into going out on the boat?” Olivia smeared a heavy dose of suntan lotion across her chest. “You seriously have that man whipped. He adamantly declines the fishing trip every year.”

Emily coated her legs with suntan lotion. “I didn’t talk him into it. Colton did.” She placed the bottle on the wrought-iron table and adjusted the umbrella above her. Sighing, she shook her head and lay back in her poolside chair. “I’m curious to see how sick he’s going to be when he gets back. He insisted the water was calm enough. Now look at it.”

Olivia nodded. “Oh, he’ll be hugging the toilet, I guarantee it. He thinks because he stuck that stupid sea sick thing behind his ear, he’s covered. Not a chance. I’m surprised he doesn’t heave after swimming in the pool.”