Signed, Sealed, Delivered (12 page)

Juliana handed the glass of soda to Connor and then poured one for herself. What she truly wanted was tequila, but getting drunk wouldn’t solve their little problem. It would only delay the inevitable.

“So…” He fiddled with his glass.

“So…” She did the same.

They’d dressed quietly, neither commenting on the enormous elephant in the middle of the bed. Then he’d led her to the kitchen, and she’d asked if he wanted a drink, holding up a half-empty bottle of Riesling she’d grabbed from the fridge. He’d thought it over a good long while before pointing at the two-liter of Diet Sprite instead.

A good choice.
They both needed clear heads to figure out what to do next.

The silence was killing her.

“You know,” Juliana said, finding some courage, “it might not really matter.”

“Are you on the pill?” He gave her a hopeful smile.

Unfortunately, she squelched it with her reply. “No. Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He held out his hand, palm up. “Shit happens.”

At least he was being supportive. That boded well. She set her hand in his. “I guess I could go to the pharmacy and get a morning-after pill.”

“No.” His response was swift and filled with a touch of anger.

“It would make sure nothing… bad happens.”

Connor cocked his head and slowly pulled his hand back. “Why would you say that?”

“Say what?”

“That it would be
bad
if anything happened. Who’s to say it’s not destiny?”

A baby.
They were both tiptoeing around it, but that’s what this boiled down to. Did they just create a baby?

She didn’t have time to be a mom. Not now, especially not when her new career was on the launchpad. It wasn’t the right time to scrub the mission.

A baby.

Her thoughts followed a familiar path back to the first year she’d spent with Jimmy. Being nothing but kids themselves, they were never as careful as they should’ve been. And she was honest enough to admit, if only to herself, she’d wanted to get pregnant. After all, she’d married her college sweetheart. Wouldn’t having a baby lead them to that elusive happily ever after?

Instead, Jimmy had blown his top, something he’d done with alarming frequency after the wedding. He’d pressured her about having an abortion, and she’d waffled. At first she’d refused simply to be stubborn, but with each passing day she’d realized she couldn’t go through with it. Then she’d miscarried, and his relief had been one of the things that made her love for him reach such a swift demise.

No one with a soul should be happy to lose a baby.

She, on the other hand, had cried more over that lost child than anything else in her life. Once she and Jimmy split, she’d thought—several times—about having a child on her own. Something always stopped her from driving to Chicago and making a withdrawal from a sperm bank. There was always a new extracurricular she had to supervise, another trip to Europe, a challenging group of special needs children. Excuse after excuse after excuse.

But now?

Now her excuse was more than valid. Kelley-Wilson Realty was getting started, and a pregnancy could kill it, at least
her
part of it.

“I was pregnant once before,” Juliana admitted. “I had a miscarriage.”

“That must’ve been terrible.”

“It was, but… I got through it. Not like my ex was much help.”

“I’m sorry.”

Juliana gave him a curt nod. “We’re getting the cart miles in front of the horse. It was only a broken condom. Despite what they taught us in high school sex ed, it usually takes more than once.”

Connor watched her, his gaze steady but unreadable. “What do you want to do?”

“You’re involved in this, too.”

“Not really. Your body, your choice.”

“I love a liberated man.” The sarcasm came through clearly in every word.

His mouth twitched to a grin, forcing her to do the same. Then his lips fell back into a grim line. “It really is your choice.”

“I’d like it to be
our
choice.” Unable to sit still a moment longer, Juliana popped to her feet and paced the kitchen. “Isn’t that the way everything is between us? Fifty-fifty? A partnership? Why should this be anything different?”

He watched her pace, sipping his soda.

His calm raised her temper. How could he stay so cool and collected when a broken piece of plastic might have ruined their lives?

Probably because it would be
her
problem. Not his.

“Can’t say I like the way you’re glaring at me right now.” He set his now-empty glass aside. “What horrible thoughts about me are you having?”

As usual, she held nothing back. “I figured out why you’re so fucking nonchalant about this. You can be. You’re a guy. I get pregnant, you can walk away.”

He rose, setting his hands on his hips. “That’s what you think? That I’d knock you up and walk away?” He ran a hand over his face then shook his head. “That hurts.”

Anger she’d expected. Wounded came as a surprise. It also made her realize exactly what she’d said. She hurried to him but stopped short. “I’m sorry, Connor.”

“We’re partners, Juliana. In everything. Even a baby—if there is one.”

When he opened his arms, she hesitated.

This was so much more than she’d bargained for. She’d wanted a new job. That was all. A chance to do something different and make enough money to support herself.

Instead, she found herself with a real estate firm, a partner who was now her boyfriend, and maybe a baby on the way.

Too much, too soon.

“I should go to the pharmacy and then we won’t have to worry.” Juliana’s words were a whisper, and she knew the moment she said them that heading to get a morning-after pill was the last thing in the world she wanted to do.

But what did he want?

“If you really want to go, I’ll drive you.” Connor had let his hands drop to his sides.

She wanted him to open his arms to her again. She needed him now.

Oh, fuck. No. Not that.

Blinking hard, she forbade herself to cry. She’d always been a realist. Always. Love was something that got in the way of everything. Although she’d avoided that trap since putting Jimmy behind her, it seemed that she was now firmly caught.

I’m falling in love with Connor.

* * *

Juliana suddenly went pale.

While Connor had never seen a woman faint before, he was positive that was exactly what she was going to do.

She might have been avoiding his embrace, but he wrapped his arms around her anyway, if only to be able to catch her when her knees buckled.

He should be mad at her. Furious, even. After all, she’d implied he would knock her up and then just disappear. Not his style. Not in the least.

Sure, he’d made some serious mistakes in his life, but the only person he’d ever let down was himself. He’d lost his parents in a traffic accident only two weeks after his father had retired. The only blessing in that tragedy was that they hadn’t witnessed his abject stupidity and his downfall.

Of course, they hadn’t witnessed his redemption, either. If he truly was redeemed.

The past was the past, and he intended to keep it there. Juliana didn’t need to know his less-than-savory exploits, nor could he stand seeing shock, pity, or condemnation in her eyes. Tracy had helped him learn to walk the straight and narrow again, and he wouldn’t stray from that path. No matter what life tossed in his lap. Even a…

Baby.

Shit, it was hard wrapping his mind around that. But when he did, his reaction was a shock.

He wanted this baby.

How odd that the notion of having a child used to seem like a death sentence, but now he wasn’t frightened. Not when that child would be created with Juliana. He could almost picture the wonderful little family they could share. Pushing a stroller around the neighborhood. Watching a munchkin on the park swing. The whole package.

Connor really had changed. For the better.

“Shouldn’t we take some time to think this through?” he coaxed softly.

At least she was staying in his arms and not trying to get away. He’d have to find a way to let her know he wouldn’t be a deadbeat dad without pressuring her to have a kid she didn’t want. A fine line to walk, for sure.

She sighed and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “If you want me to get a morning-after pill, we don’t have much time. Thinking might take too long.”

He knew very little about the subject of what to do when the condom broke, but he did know hesitation when he heard it. Not in her words. Her tone—a cross between sad and resigned—tugged at his heart. “Juliana, we promised each other honesty, right?”

“We did.”

“I don’t want you to get one of those pills.”

Her arms were around his waist, and she squeezed him tightly. “Really?”

“Really.”

“But what if—”

“We made a child?”

She nodded against his shoulder.

“Then we raise it together.” He kissed the top of her head. “Think about that kid’s future. He’ll have it made.”

She raised her face to his. “What are you talking about?”

“Your DNA and mine together? He’ll be a born salesman.”

Her laughter made him smile. “So what are we going to do, Connor?”

“Much as you hate waiting, I think that’s our best choice. Wait and see what, if anything, happens.”

“And if I’m pregnant?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. One day at a time. Best way to handle most anything. Okay?”

Juliana pressed a kiss to his lips. “Okay. Hey, wanna bet on whether I’m pregnant? With my usual bad luck, I’ll even give you fantastic odds. Considering this is probably the worst moment in my life to consider having a baby, I’d wager I am.”

“No!” Connor took a steadying breath. “No, Red. No betting. Especially not on this. It’s too important for both our futures to make light of it.” He rubbed the backs of his knuckles against her cheek. “For the record, I think you’d be a fantastic mom.”

Her only reply to his compliment was a bright blush.

“How about breakfast in the morning?” he asked. “I need to run home and grab a shower and some clean clothes.”

He sure wasn’t looking forward to another freezing-cold shower. At least Ben was going to get the new water heater in soon. Then Connor could linger in a nice, hot shower when he had time. Which was probably never. “Looks like I need to head home soon. It’s close to midnight.”

“What time is the first closing tomorrow?”

“Ten.” He thought about asking Juliana if he could just stay. Then he could shower at her place, but he didn’t have any clean clothes and was loath to change back into dirty ones. He might be a slob about housekeeping, but he was meticulous about himself. “I’ll be back at the office in the afternoon. We’ve got that meeting scheduled with Robert, too.”

Juliana kept shifting her gaze from him to the hallway leading to her bedroom. “You know, I wonder…” When she took a deep breath, he braced himself, having grown accustomed to her doing that every time she was getting ready to deliver bad news. She was having second thoughts about the morning-after-pill nonsense.

“I thought we had this decided,” Connor said.

“What?”

“I thought we’d agreed to wait and see about any pregnancy.”

“We did.”

“Then what are you so worried about now?”

Setting her hands against her hips, she tossed him a scorching glare. “Don’t you dare snap at me.”

About to say he hadn’t, it dawned on him that he had. “Sorry. You worried me. Something’s obviously bugging you, and I just figured it was our predicament.”

“Not that. I was thinking you’re here all the time at the office. Your house is still a mess. Now that we’re involved again, you could keep some stuff here, maybe. For a while. Until Ben gets done at your place.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Well… temporarily. Like I said, ’til Ben finishes your place. Why waste money on a hotel when you’re gonna be here most of the time anyway?”

“Just like that?”

“Not ‘just like that.’ I’ve actually been thinking about it since I heard how bad your house is.”

The offer was tempting enough Connor almost took her up on it. Immediately. Then he allowed himself to consider the ramifications. “You realize how much time we’ll be spending together, right? Literally twenty-four hours a day some days.”

“Yeah. But we’re bound to have a lot more mornings like this one. You have to leave just to get a shower and something clean to wear, then you come right back here. A big waste of gas, don’t you think? I mean, I’m only thinking about Kelley-Wilson Realty. We’re trying to keep costs down. Remember?” She grinned.

Somehow he kept himself from grinning at her teasing. Instead, he rubbed the stubble on his chin with his index finger and thumb while humming, as though carefully thinking over her offer.

“It would save a lot of time,” she added.

“It might.”

“And gas.”

“You already mentioned that.”

Juliana finally caught on to his banter and punched his upper arm. “The master closet’s full, so you can have a little space in the guest room closet.”

“Nope,” he replied. “Half the master closet and three drawers of the dresser or no deal.”

“Two drawers and a quarter of the closet. And you’re lucky you’re getting that much for a temporary move.”

“Throw in one drawer in the master bath, and I think I can make it work.”

Connor didn’t give her a chance to reply. He tugged her into his arms, kissed her with far more passion than he’d intended, and then pulled back to kiss the tip of her nose. “I’ll bring my stuff over this weekend.”

“He’s not at all what I expected.” Bethany inclined her nearly empty beer bottle at Connor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Juliana snapped.

Why was she barking at Beth? For God’s sake, the woman was adorable as a fluffy bunny. She’d only said he was different from what she’d anticipated, and Juliana was biting her head off.

Sitting on the enormous deck Ben had built in their backyard, Mallory glared at her.

Juliana beat her to the punch, not wanting to receive a scolding, even if she deserved one. “I’m sorry, Beth. It’s just, I’m worried about what all of you think of him.”

When Danielle opened her mouth, Juliana braced herself for her friend’s usual bluntness.

“What we think,” Dani said, “is that you’ve done a one-eighty in every aspect of your life so damn fast we’re all a little concerned.”

Both Beth and Mallory nodded as Dani pressed on. “We don’t know Connor well enough to judge his character.”

“But”—Mallory jumped into the conversation—“he seems nice enough. Ben knows him better than any of us, and he likes him.” She shrugged. “It’s that you’ve gone from being a single teacher to living with your new real estate partner. Think about it from our perspective, Jules. What would you say to Dani or Beth in the same situation? Geesh, what did you say to me when I started dating Ben and you thought things were moving too fast? And now the two of you have moved in together into your house?” She heaved a sigh. “Of course we’re worried.”

“I can’t believe you let him move in,” Dani grumbled. “He’s a stranger!”

“For heaven’s sake, you’re all overreacting. It’s only temporary! His house is a wreck,” Juliana insisted. “And he’s not a stranger—he’s my partner.” She shrugged. “Besides, we spend a good eighteen hours in the office. It was nothing but a technicality to have him move in.”

“Eighteen hours a day in the office, and the rest in the bedroom,” Bethany said with a wink that was closely followed by a blush.

Danielle rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try to lie to us and say you don’t want this to be a permanent arrangement.” Leveling a piercing stare at Juliana, she frowned. “How do you know he’s not some serial killer?”

A scoff slipped from Beth. “Now who’s being silly? Connor’s not a serial killer.”

“Fine,” Dani conceded. “But he could be running from a slew of debts or a fraud investigation or a real estate swindle. You don’t know him at all, Jules. None of us do.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right.” Juliana took a long pull from her soda, choosing her words carefully.

She wanted her friends to not only understand why she was going through so much change, she needed them to accept and like Connor. Not just for her, either.

For him.

Connor might not talk about himself much, but she’d quickly learned one important thing.

He was lonely.

Sure, he spent a boatload of time with clients, other agents, and people at the title company. But friends? Family? He never talked about either, nor had he introduced her to anyone from his personal life.

The Ladies had a point. What if he did have a checkered, or even criminal, past? He was running away from something, because no one ran
to
Cloverleaf—Barrett Foods plant on the horizon or not.

She couldn’t believe he was dishonest, no matter how hard she tried. He was a person to whom she gave her normally cynical faith. Her friends wouldn’t be as blindly trusting. They’d want to put a private investigator on the poor guy and hound him until they knew everything from his blood type to the name of his girlfriend in the first grade.

Maybe he was just an introvert. Maybe there simply wasn’t anything to tell.

Maybe he was hiding his past.

She knew there was something, hopefully not someone, who’d sent him running from Indianapolis. He’d never said that, not in so many words. But she heard the envious tone in his voice when she talked about the trip to Europe she’d taken with her parents and how they lived in Arizona but still managed to Skype with her from time to time. They knew all about her change of profession and supported her wholeheartedly.

As far as they knew, Connor was her new real estate partner. If they suspected more, they hadn’t said so, and Juliana wasn’t about to tell them. Not yet.

Connor wasn’t ready for Kevin and Sharon Kelley.

His parents were gone—lost to a car accident, according to him. No siblings, either. Juliana had never heard him mention aunts or uncles or cousins. So different from the Kelley clan. They might be scattered by the four winds, but there weren’t too many days that went by that someone she was related to didn’t e-mail her, even if only to pass along some ridiculous joke.

Tracy was the only person he mentioned ever spending time with, even before he moved to Cloverleaf. While the head of Barrett Foods might be a nice person, he needed more in his life, and she wanted the Ladies to like him. They filled her life with friendship. Connor deserved no less.

Right now, they acted like they were ready to ride him out of town on a rail.

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Mallory drew Juliana back into the conversation.

“Ask him what?” Juliana asked.

“Whether he has a record,” Danielle replied. “Why he left Indianapolis. Whether there’s a warrant out for his arrest. How many women he’s slept with. Whether he’s been tested. Every damn thing you can think of.”

“She’s got a point,” Mallory added. “The man is your business partner and now lives in your home. You really should know more than the fact you sell houses together.”

With a weary sigh, Juliana nodded. “You’re right. I know you’re right…” She sounded like a stuck record.

“Then why the hesitation?” Dani had worked herself up far too much to ever back down.

If she shrugged, Juliana was likely to get an earful, but she honestly couldn’t put her finger on exactly what she was afraid of. “I’ll start asking questions. I promise.”

Beth did a little clap. “Now on to better things. Is he any good?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Juliana blinked at her friend, unsure if she’d heard the question correctly. Bethany was sweet and positive and everyone’s cheerleader, almost painfully prim and proper. Innocent Beth was asking whether Connor was good in bed?

“He must be really good,” Beth said with a nod. “You must be, too! Seems like I see Kelley-Wilson signs in almost every front yard!”

Faith in humanity restored, Juliana nodded. “Damn good.”

In so very many ways.

* * *

If this was what Ben could do with his house, Connor had every hope he’d work the same miracle on his money pit. The Carpenters’ house was a showplace, and the multilevel deck where Ben flipped ribs and steaks on his gas grill was not only functional but beautiful.

Odd that Connor felt so relaxed around Ben and Robert, and he could easily let himself form friendships with the men.

Friends had fallen by the wayside as his real estate career had developed. Not that he’d shunned anyone on purpose. He’d simply been too busy and too focused on building a name for himself in the real estate market to keep bonds fresh by going out or even calling. Unless, of course, someone needed his house sold or was looking for a new one.

What few friends he’d kept had left him as fast as lightning when Connor’s life had hit rock bottom.

So be it.
He had Tracy. He didn’t need anyone else.

Except Juliana.

He had to force himself to stop thinking about her when his body physically reacted. He’d never been one to have the kind of sexual appetite that distracted him from business or made him hop from bed to bed. No woman had ever affected him so profoundly, and he hoped to hell no other woman would.

Juliana was almost more than he could handle.

She’d been right—they should have kept things between them strictly professional. He simply couldn’t. Lord knew he tried, especially since Kelley-Wilson Realty was his fresh start. It needed to succeed. It had to or he was sunk. Maybe permanently this time.

What the hell’s wrong with me?

Had he been a weaker man, he’d have blamed her. Connor knew better. Juliana wasn’t at fault here. She’d been the one to try to put some limits on their relationship. He’d pushed for more.

Why?

Because he had to. Simple as that. Unless she pushed him away, he was never going to let her go.

Ben popped the cap off a long-neck beer. He held it out for Connor.

Connor waved it off. “Not my brand.”

With a shrug, Ben took a drink.

“Can’t wait for fireworks,” Robert said with the glee of a child. “Went all out. Spent a buttload on illegal stuff. Should scare the shit outta all the dogs in the neighborhood.”

“I love fireworks,” Ben added. “Makes me feel like a naughty kid.”

Connor couldn’t help but smile at the banter. “I wasn’t allowed to have too many when I was growing up. Sparklers, firecrackers, sure—but the big stuff?” He gave his head a shake. “My parents were afraid I’d burn the house down.”

“But you set some off anyway, didn’t you?” Robert asked.

“Of course,” Connor replied. “Trace and I set them off at the park. Watched the pyrotechnics then ran the hell away before the cops came.”

“And said park was where?” Ben asked.

“South side of Indianapolis.” Since this was the first time he’d spent with Juliana’s friends, Connor had expected questions. He braced himself for the answers he could give.

“Born a Hoosier or was it an unfortunate accident?”

“Unfortunate?” Connor chuckled. “It was good for me.”
For a while…
“I actually moved to Indiana when I was five. Don’t remember much of New Jersey, where I was born, so Hoosier is pretty much all I’ve ever known or been.”

“Except now you’re an Illini,” Robert said. “What brings you to our fair town?”

“Real estate.” Leaving it at that, even knowing it wouldn’t suffice, Connor grabbed a plastic cup, scooped some ice out of the open cooler, and poured himself some soda.

“Bullshit.” Robert set his beer down. “No one comes here for
real estate
.”

After a drink, Connor wiped the back of his sleeve over his mouth. “I did.”

“Goddamn it!” Eyes full of anger, Robert slammed his bottle down. “Look, we all care about Juliana. A lot. We’re not about to let some jerk—”

Ben put a restraining hand on Robert’s arm. “Easy there, buddy.”

After a few tense moments, Robert nodded curtly.

“Connor’s not a jerk,” Ben said. Then he leveled a hard stare. “What he
is
, however, is far too private. And that’s just not gonna cut it with us.”

Since Juliana had shown him some of Robert’s houses, Connor couldn’t afford to piss him off. They needed to work together. Plus, Connor genuinely liked the guy. “Can we start again?”

“What?” Robert’s brows gathered.

“Can we start again? Let me explain,” Connor set his glass down. “I
did
come to Cloverleaf for real estate, but I came knowing something you don’t—something no one here knows yet.” Tracy would have to understand that he needed to share this information with Juliana’s friends. It was the only way to keep them from condemning him, and he wanted their trust. “I’m going to tell you both, and I’m trusting you to keep it under your hats.”

He’d obviously piqued their curiosity, because both men leaned in as though Connor was about to reveal the elusive secret of understanding women. He contained a smile they probably wouldn’t appreciate.

“I’m here because Barrett Foods is coming to build a new factory. With it comes a couple thousand new jobs. Real estate will definitely be shoved into overdrive.”

Ben let out a low whistle, while Robert simply looked catatonic.

“Juliana was supposed to clue you in on this soon, Robert,” Connor added. “Tracy Barrett is coming in a few weeks to make the announcement, and she wants you to build her new house.”

“Tracy Barrett?” Robert’s eyes were wide. “She wants me to build her a house?”

“Yep. Juliana swears up and down you’re the best builder in the state. I have to say after seeing a few of the places you’ve built, I agree.”

“Holy shit.” Snatching up his beer, Robert drank it dry. “Holy shit.”

“It’s only her home away from home, mind you,” Connor added. “She’s only wanting a few acres and a nice house. She’d like to keep it under a million, if you can—”

“A
million
?” With a shake of his head, Robert pointed at the cooler. “You better get me another beer, Ben.”

Ben obeyed, chuckling the whole time. He opened it and handed to Robert, whose hands trembled. “I’ll give you this, Connor. You know how to rattle a guy. How do you know about all this?”

“Tracy and I are close. We’ve been friends since middle school.”

“Is she the ‘Trace’ with the fireworks?” Ben asked.

“Yep. We’re close friends,” Connor replied.

“Friends?”

“Nothing more. Since you two were blunt with me, I’ll return the favor. I care for Juliana—professionally and personally. I need our firm to be a success every bit as much as she does. I have no intention of playing her or using her. She means the world to me. Okay?”

Ben’s smile was genuine as he cuffed Connor on the shoulder. “Glad to hear it. You understand, though, that your announcement about Barrett Foods and that little declaration don’t change anything?”

So much for laying the inquisition to rest. “Pardon?”

“You might have just bribed Robert into thinking you’re the best thing since sliced bread, but once he sobers, we’ll both still be keeping a close eye on you.”

“As will the Ladies Who Lunch,” Robert added.