Reilly's Wildcard (7 page)

“I’m very serious.” His muscles stiffened as Lucy continued to glare at him as if he’d lost his mind. Hell, maybe he had. “I’d be a good husband. You would want for nothing.”

Her mouth dropped open, and for several seconds, Lucy simply sat there. Finally, she said, “Oh my God, you really are serious.” At his nod, she sighed. “Neither one of us is anywhere near ready to settle down. I’m not sure I ever want to get married again, but if I did, it would be to a man I loved. Not a man who was merely doing the right thing for the sake of the baby.”

“You think it’s so impossible that I could love you?”

“You don’t love me any more than I love you, Reilly.”

“Maybe not now, but over time I think we could make it work.”

She shook her head and started to stand, but he was quicker. He knelt in front of her and placed his palms on her thighs. “Fine, no marriage, but at least let me apologize for the way I treated you that night at my house. I was such a fool, Lucy. I don’t know why I jumped to the worst possible conclusion. Please forgive me?”

She bit her lower lip and stared down at the floor. “I would never sleep with someone just to get a job. Never in a million years.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I was an ass, and it cost me big-time.” He paused, then asked, “Give me a chance to make it up to you?”

She narrowed her eyes, and her body stiffened a fraction. “How?”

“Come back tonight and audition.” When she started to speak, Reilly rode over her and said, “I really would love to hear you sing.”

“You haven’t hired anyone yet?”

“I refused to,” he replied, smiling at her surprise. “I wanted you to get the first shot. I owe you that.” He shrugged. “At the very least.”

She was quiet for so long Reilly was afraid she was going to say no. Finally, she said, “As long as you’re honest with me, then I don’t see what it could hurt.”

Reilly grinned. “If you suck, I’ll be sure to tell you.”

“Gee, thanks,” she mumbled as her lips curved upward.

“You won’t regret this, Lucy, I promise.”

She laughed. “Yeah, but you might. I’ve never sung for an audience before. This is new to me.”

“Consider me warned.”

“Also, not that it’s any of my business, but who was the woman who showed up at your house that night?”

“Jeanette,” Reilly quickly answered. “She’s a good friend, nothing more. She’s been carrying a torch for my brother for years now. The night she showed up at my house, she was upset by something River did. She needed a shoulder to cry on, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Lucy said in a softer voice.

He stood and tugged her to her feet. “So, maybe after the audition you’ll let me take you to dinner. We have a lot to talk about, don’t you think?”

She laced her fingers together in front of her. “Yes, I suppose we do.” She licked her lips nervously and looked away. “Dinner sounds nice.”

He wanted to shout in his triumph, but he had other ways of celebrating a victory. Reilly cupped her face in his hand and tugged her around to look at him. When her gaze was once again on his, he murmured, “God, I’ve missed you.” Then he dipped his head and tasted heaven. Oh, hell yeah. The woman was made for loving. Damn, he’d missed her taste. Her scent. Even her sassy mouth. No woman had ever gotten to him the way she did. It was as if she knew just which buttons to push.

Reilly locked his thoughts away and devoured Lucy’s plump lips. He licked, torturing her with ideas of more. Then he teased his tongue back and forth over the seam of her mouth. He was only too glad when her lips parted. It was a small sign of surrender, but Reilly would take whatever he could get. She twined her arms around his neck and melted against him. He ached to be inside her tight heat.

Bending at the knees, Reilly lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the desk. Without really paying attention, he swept everything to one side. Lucy’s spine went stiff, and she attempted to push him backward. Reilly let her, but only so he could taste the delicate skin on her throat. He kissed the ivory skin, and his cock went hard.

“Reilly, wait.”

He lifted his head and looked into her pretty blue eyes, seeing need reflected there. “Did you miss me, Lucy?”

“Yes, very much,” she admitted, “but we’re moving too fast. Again.”

Reilly smoothed his palm down her body until he encountered her tapered waist. He squeezed and felt her shudder. “You’re right. Damn,” he groaned as he tried to get himself in check. As he thought of the reason she’d come to him, Reilly’s gaze zeroed in on her belly. It was still as flat as ever, but his mind imagined it rounded with his child. On a whim, Reilly leaned down and kissed her there, through her T-shirt. He thought he heard her say his name, but it was so faint he couldn’t be certain.

He lifted away from her, then helped her down off the desk. A blush turned her cheeks a cute shade of pink, and Reilly’s heart squeezed tight. For all her bravado and sass, she had a soft inner core that sent a rush of fierce protectiveness through him. That she’d soon be the mother of his child only made him more determined to keep her safe.

“Come back at seven o’clock. It’s Sunday, so the restaurant will be closed by then. You can sing to your heart’s content. Sound good?”

She nodded. “Thanks.” She started for the door, then turned. “And I’m looking forward to dinner.” A smile curved her lips upward.

“Me too,” he replied, unwilling to so much as blink until she walked out the door.

Reilly crossed his arms over his chest and forced himself not to reach for her and stop her. “Slow,” he reminded himself. Then another thought struck him. “I’m going to be a dad.” He wondered if she would have twins. His knees nearly buckled, and he was forced to take the chair Lucy had vacated. What the hell did he know about raising kids? Holy shit.

Chapter Five

Lucy had shown up fifteen minutes early at the restaurant, and Reilly was nowhere in sight. It was just as well, considering how utterly frightened she was about singing for him. Her hands shook, and her stomach hadn’t stopped rumbling all day. For the fourth time, she gave her outfit the once-over, hoping the pale yellow skirt and cream-colored blouse weren’t too dressy. She hadn’t known what to wear for the audition or the dinner afterward. Jeans seemed too casual, but she hadn’t wanted to go the little-black-dress route either. Summer had just begun, and the light, cotton fabric was cool against her skin. Of course, if she sang like a frog, the outfit wouldn’t matter, would it? Oh God, there went the butterflies again.

“Hi, beautiful.”

Lucy had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t even heard anyone coming through the front door. She did recognize the voice, though, but the endearment confused her. She’d heard Reilly call her sweetheart, but never beautiful.

She turned and faced him. Lucy remembered the feel of his ever-messy, shaggy, dark hair beneath her fingers. His pale green eyes, which were trained on her now, would rob any woman of her breath. The fitted black T-shirt he wore allowed Lucy to get a good eyeful of the ridges and planes of Reilly’s muscled chest beneath. Damn he was built. His pectorals were solid rock and his abs didn’t possess an ounce of fat. She knew firsthand.

Lucy quickly forced her gaze back to the relative safety of his face. Her heart tripped with excitement at the delicious sight of him. Well, didn’t that just stink? “I got here a bit early, and Eddie let me in. I hope that’s okay.”

A smile lit Reilly’s eyes, but there was something different about him. Lucy didn’t get that zing of pleasure that Reilly usually gave her. She looked him over, noting the tight fit of the faded blue jeans. He looked good enough to eat.

“Fine by me,” he replied as his gaze journeyed down, then back up again. “Definitely fine.”

Yeah, he was definitely acting strange. “Are you feeling okay?”

“How about we put off the audition and take this somewhere more private?” he asked as he wrapped his fingers around her upper arm.

Immediately, Lucy knew something was off, because his touch inspired…nothing. No spike in temperature, no rapid heartbeat. Nada. Could this be pregnancy hormones messing with her? “What’s going on here?”

“River,” another male voice, one awfully similar to Reilly’s, barked.

She turned and very nearly fell on her ass. Reilly stood in the doorway to the restaurant. Lucy looked back at the man standing next to her, and the pieces finally fell into place. “You’re River?”

He winked. “The one and only,” he murmured.

Lucy smothered a laugh as her gaze went from one man to the other. “Wow. I mean, I knew you two were identical twins, but it didn’t occur to me that I could be tricked.”

She’d seen them in high school, knew how much they looked alike, but up close and personal it was quite a shock. They both sported the same shaggy, dark hair, same cocky smile, same confident stance. However, the longer she looked, the more the differences began to show through. Reilly’s gaze was softer, while River’s had a steely edge.

Reilly crossed the room until he stood on the opposite side of her. He glared at River and bit out, “That was very bad-mannered.”

River wasn’t at all repentant when he said, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“Damn it, River,” Reilly growled, “this isn’t high school. Grow up.”

River laughed and waved his brother’s warning away as if swatting at a fly. “Take it easy, bro, I just like yanking your chain.” He extended his hand and said, “River Jennings, the better-looking twin. You must be Lucy Rice.”

Lucy didn’t quite know what to think. She took River’s hand and shook it. “Uh, it’s nice to meet you, but how do you know my name?”

“My brother filled me in about the audition today.” He looked down at her stomach, and his smile vanished. “And about the baby. I guess congratulations are in order, huh?”

Lucy’s face flamed. “I need to sit down,” she replied as she slowly lowered herself onto a stool.

Reilly cupped her chin and nudged her face upward until their gazes locked. “Are you okay?”

Lucy swatted his hand away. “Of course. It’s just a lot to take in. I wasn’t expecting the both of you here tonight. And man you two sure are identical.” She bit her lower lip. “That sounds dumb, doesn’t it?”

Reilly shrugged. “Actually, even our closest friends sometimes have a tough time telling us apart.”

Lucy wriggled until Reilly grudgingly dropped his hand. “The resemblance is amazing, really.”

River’s smile broadened. “You see? She thinks we’re amazing.”

Reilly frowned. “You’re on thin ice, River.”

River ignored him and spoke directly to Lucy instead. “My brother is a bit greedy where you’re concerned, I’m afraid.”

Her grin came out of nowhere. “Yeah?” River’s flirty attitude was just the thing to take her mind off the upcoming audition.

Reilly’s arm went around her shoulders. “My brother’s right about that, at least. I definitely don’t share well with others.”

River chuckled, and Lucy found herself totally at ease with the two of them. “I bet you two were a handful growing up,” she said, curious about them.

Both men nodded, but Reilly spoke first. “We tried our damnedest to fool Mom, but she’s always been able to tell us apart and see right through our shenanigans.”

“Dad got us confused a time or two, though, didn’t he?” The mischief in River’s eyes couldn’t mask the love he obviously had for his father.

“It was loads of fun tricking him,” Reilly replied, “right up until he’d tan our hides.”

She stifled a laugh. “As I thought—a handful.”

“Enough about us,” Reilly said as he pointed to the small stage at the far end of the restaurant. “So, ready to belt out a tune?”

And then the nervous jitters returned. Lucy stepped off the stool and took a deep breath, then let it out. “Sure, but like I said it’s my first time to sing for anyone other than my bath sponge.”

River patted her on the back. “You’re going to do great.”

“River’s right. Besides, I happen to know for a fact that you don’t suck.”

Lucy frowned. “You do?”

Reilly crossed his arms over his chest, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I asked Sarah about you. She told me you have the voice of an angel.”

Sarah and her big mouth. “She caught me off guard once at my apartment and overheard me singing,” she explained. “I’m going to kill her.”

“Aw, don’t be mad at her,” Reilly said. “I sort of grilled her about you when you wouldn’t return my calls.”

River gave her a nudge toward the stage. “Quit stalling, beautiful.”

Lucy counted to ten, then turned and started walking across the room. Why did she suddenly feel as if she were on a pirate ship and she were about to walk the plank? When she reached the small, raised area that acted as the stage, Lucy stepped onto it and took hold of the mic stand. “I’ve chosen a slow country tune. Will that do?”

“Perfect, sweetheart,” Reilly said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

With both of the men’s attention on her, Lucy dived in headfirst. God, how she wanted to knock Reilly’s socks off with her voice, but her nerves were rioting out of control, and the first few lines were shaky. Lucy closed her eyes and absorbed the music. Soon, her worries fell away, and she found herself drifting along with the tune. The romantic words caught in her heart, and without realizing it, Lucy thought of Reilly. His rugged features, intense green eyes and sensual lips. As she sang, Lucy imagined Reilly touching her, loving her. She swayed to the beat and caressed her own neck, where she ached to feel his lips. Her hands smoothed down her sides as she imagined Reilly’s hands caressing her curves. Warm breath brushed her cheek, startling her out of her fantasy. Reilly stood in front of her, staring down at her with a look that sent her pulse into a tailspin.