Chapter 14

Stephanie

I follow Simone up to the front door of Lucas’s house. I’m ashamed to admit it didn’t take much for him to get me to come over after the hockey game, but I am not ashamed to admit I had a blast at the game. Simone was the perfect person to sit next to. She’s wild, uninhibited in her enthusiasm, and generally made a spectacle of herself as she cheered on her brothers and heckled the other team. While they were very focused on their jobs when the puck was in play, they would sometimes cut their eyes her way as we sat in the front row right beside the penalty box and I could see they were amused at her antics.

Well, most of them were. Van glared at her a lot.

I’ll also admit a little shamefully that I was a wee bit jealous that Lucas didn’t look at me once. Not during warm-ups, not during commercial breaks, and not after the game was over and they skated off.

Of course, the fact that Lucas was quite insistent I come over to his house after the game makes up for that little snub. He was so insistent about it this morning as I woke up with his hand between my legs and his mouth kissing my neck that he wouldn’t let me climax until I agreed to spend the night at his house.

What’s a girl to do?

Simone unlocks the door and I step inside behind her. I haven’t been here since that first time three weeks ago after we had dinner at Max and Jules’s house. Lucas has invited me a few times, but he’s never pushed it. I assumed we always met at my place because he has a roommate and I don’t. I also think that kept things very casual and in the realm of just a hookup. But tonight we’re crossing more boundaries and I freely admit we’re not just about hookups anymore.

The Cold Fury kicked the Cougars’ asses tonight. They have to be riding high as this last week of regular season play winds down and they gear up to meet the Florida Spartans in the first round of the play-offs a week from today.

“I’ll pull the steaks out of the fridge to season them up,” Simone says over her shoulder as she drops her purse right in the middle of the living room floor, where she leaves it without a backward glance. “Any chance you know how to get the baked potatoes ready to fire up?”

I laugh as I glance around the living room, which bears the mark of Hurricane Simone. There’s a pillow and blanket on the couch, along with what looks like an empty bag of popcorn and three cans of soda on the table. She has some clothes slung over the back of the couch including a white lacy bra. “Yeah, I can handle the potatoes.”

“Oh shit,” Simone says, and I turn to look at her. She’s watching me looking at the mess. “I thought I picked all that crap up before I left for the game.”

I grin as Simone starts grabbing the clothing and stuffing it behind the back cushion of the couch. It’s not being hidden from anyone, as there’s enough clothing back there that the cushion now sticks out.

“Sucks not having any room for anything,” she mutters.

“Have you thought about getting your own place?” I ask her.

“God, yes,” she says with a huff of frustration. “But first things first. I need a job. Lucas has been really cool letting me stay here, but I need to totally get my own apartment.”

“I imagine it can’t be all that fun living in a house with two stinky boys,” I tease her as I walk into the kitchen and put my purse on the table. I expect Lucas and Van will be here within the next hour and we can have everything ready to go but the steaks on the grill, which Lucas said was his specialty and we were not to cook them.

“No fun at all,” she mutters again, but I don’t comment on the apparent frustration in her voice because she’s already back in the kitchen and chattering away about the game.

We work side by side in the kitchen seasoning steaks, getting the potatoes in the oven, and gossiping. Simone sips on white wine while I drink water, and I find her easy to talk to. She doesn’t try to pry into anything personal and has the amazing ability to make casual chitchat almost…fun?

Yeah, Simone is a fun girl. She not only looks like her brothers but seems to have the same easygoing, happy-go-lucky personality, which I’m going to have to assume has been handed down by their parents.

The front door opens and Simone and I turn that way. My breath catches as Lucas walks in wearing a silvery-gray suit that’s fits his body to perfection. His hair is still slightly damp from the shower he took after the game and he’s carrying a huge duffel bag over his arm. His eyes come to me immediately and his smile makes my legs feel jelly-like. He smoothly steps over Simone’s purse lying in the middle of the floor as he walks toward me, setting his bag on the couch as he passes it.

“Son of a fucking bitch,” Van curses loudly, and my eyes catch him stumbling behind Lucas. He rights himself and his eyes go immediately to Simone. “For the love of all that’s holy, can you once again please not just leave your shit in the middle of the floor?”

The harshness of his words shocks me and I notice two things at once as I glance around the room. Van’s anger is lost on Lucas, who doesn’t react at all, and Simone’s eyes heat up with mischief as she looks back to Van, who is truly pissed off.

Now that’s very interesting.

“Sorry,” Simone coos innocently, but she doesn’t offer anything more.

Van mutters something under his breath and stalks off down the hallway, presumably to his room. I catch a hint of an amused smile on Simone’s face before she turns away, but then Lucas has his hand behind my head and he’s pulling me in for a kiss.

For a moment I hesitate, because Simone is standing two feet away, but the minute his lips touch mine there’s no more thinking for me.

It’s only about feeling, and I let myself just fucking feel.

Just…no words at all to describe it.

Lucas pulls back only slightly so he can skim his mouth over my cheek on the way to my ear, where he whispers, “Can’t tell you how much I really like seeing you in my home.”

I shiver over the combined warmth and desire in his words, even as I feel uneasy that my being in his home is important to him.

Pushing it aside, though, I change the subject as he pulls his head back to look at me. “You played an amazing game.”

His voice is still low, soft and meant only for me to hear. “Glad you think so. I feel like I struggled the entire time not to look at you because I knew you’d distract me.”

Oh wow. Not just a shiver. A full-body shudder.

And a sweeping sensation of belonging overtakes me, at first feeling amazing and then overwhelming that I can affect someone that way. I step back from him and give a tremulous smile. “Don’t say things like that. You know it freaks me out.”

He’s not chastised at all, and this is a bolder Lucas Fournier I’m dealing with when he says, “You’ll get used to it. Don’t worry.”

My mouth drops open and he turns to Simone, swiftly hooking an arm around her neck and pulling her into him. His other hand curls into a fist and he rubs it quickly over the top of her head, giving her a furiously fast noogie. She shrieks, sloshes her wine, and tries to pinch him on the inside of his leg to get him off of her.

I just watch, fascinated as two siblings wrestle playfully with each other, and it makes my heart hurt and feel good at the same time.

“You asshole,” Simone grunts as more wine spills from her glass and she tries to get loose.

“Come on, Simone. What’s the problem? You used to be good at getting out of these holds,” Lucas taunts her.

“I’m holding a glass of wine, for fuck’s sake,” she yells.

Movement behind me catches my attention, and I see Van come back into the room. We haven’t been officially introduced and I start to do so, but I notice his eyes are locked on to Simone, and whoa boy, I don’t like that look. It’s dark and filled with intense dislike from what I can read.

Lucas abruptly lets Simone go and Van’s face smooths out into bland impassiveness. He cuts his eyes to me and gives a lift of his chin. “I’m Van.”

“Stephanie,” I reply, and then he pushes past me to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

“I’m not staying,” he says to Lucas. “Going to head out for a while.”

“You sure, man?” Lucas asks. “I got a steak with your name written on it.”

My eyes cut to Simone and I see she’s disappointed but watching Van closely. He doesn’t look her way at all but just shakes his head. “Nah…got hot and dirty plans tonight.”

“All the more for me.” Lucas shrugs, and my chest tightens a little as I see the hurt look on Simone’s face.

Van’s gaze comes back to me and he gives me a quick smile. “Nice to meet you, Stephanie.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say softly to his retreating back as he nimbly sidesteps Simone’s purse still in the middle of the living room floor and walks out the door.

Now there’s a story there between them and I wonder if Lucas knows anything about it.

“I think it’s fair to say I’ve never been this nervous in bed with you,” Lucas says as we lie on our sides staring at each other. His cellphone sits between us and his gaze drops to it.

We’re both still fully dressed, having spent a really nice few hours eating dinner on the back deck and talking to Simone. I heard story upon story about the Fournier family, and I reveled in learning what a normal childhood would actually look like. I actually memorized details and committed things to memory, intent on using them for my own knowledge on how to raise a child with love, patience, and absolute presence of body and soul.

Simone left a little while ago, snagging Lucas’s car keys and saying she was going to head to the mall for some shopping. Not sure how a girl trying to get her own apartment and a job has money to shop, but I didn’t say anything. Simone’s a bit of a mystery still to me, and I think there’s some tremendous discord between her and Van, but Lucas seems oblivious to it so I don’t give it much thought. Not my place anyway.

“We don’t have to do this right now,” I suggest, and I’m a little hopeful he’ll agree with me.

Lucas’s gaze comes back to me and he grins. “Let’s just get it over with. Me first, then you.”

I take a deep breath, drawing through my nose and then letting it out slowly through my mouth. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

We look at each other for just a moment more, perhaps trying to convey confidence and strength to the other, and then Lucas reaches down and dials his mother’s number. When she answers, he puts her on speakerphone.

“Hi, sweet boy,” his mother says in a lilting voice.

“Not a boy, Mom,” Lucas says dramatically, and then grins at me.

“Always you are,” she returns sweetly, and then says, “You and Max were wonderful tonight. Did Simone go to the game?”

“Yeah, she did,” Lucas says as his jaw tightens with resolve. “But listen…I need to talk to you about something important. Is Dad around he can get on the phone?”

“He’s not,” she says, and I can hear the worry in her voice. “He’s on call tonight at the hospital. Should I dial him in on this?”

Lucas shakes his head although his mother can’t see this. “No. It’s nothing bad, at least I don’t think so. You can fill him in later.”

“Okay,” she says with no hesitation, trusting her son implicitly, which I find to be very endearing and also very weird because it’s beyond my imagination. “What’s up?”

Lucas takes a deep breath and lets it out. I give him a nod of encouragement, reaching my hand over to take his. “Okay…not sure how to lay this out to you, but bear with me.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll get through it the way we always do, supporting each other,” she assures him, and damn it, my eyes actually start to prickle over the unconditional acceptance and love she’s showing. It’s almost unreal, and part of me can’t even understand it, while the other part feels like my heart is going to swell and burst out of my chest.

“So, I’m seeing someone,” Lucas begins.

“Oh honey…that’s fabulous. I can’t wait—”

“Mom…let me get it all out,” Lucas interrupts her.

“Okay. I’m sorry. Go on,” she says with a laugh.

“Her name is Stephanie and she’s here on speakerphone with me.” He’s begun with the end of the story and not the beginning.

“Hi, Stephanie,” his mother gushes. “I’m thrilled to talk to you.”

“Hi, Mrs. Fournier,” I reply as I watch Lucas roll his eyes. “Nice to meet you.”

“Please, call me Marilyn.”

“Mom…Stephanie…please,” Lucas growls. “Let’s get this on the table before you become besties.”

His mom falls silent but I can’t help chuckling.

“Okay,” Lucas starts again, and then pauses to make sure he’s not interrupted. I incline my head toward the phone, prodding him to get it done. “Okay, we’re seeing each other now, but it didn’t start out that way. It actually started out as sort of a brief encounter and unfortunately—or fortunately as the case may be now—our method of birth control didn’t, um…hold up very well.”

I drop my eyes from Lucas before I burst out laughing over his awkward attempt to explain a shredded condom, even though I know it’s highly inappropriate to be laughing at this point.

“She’s pregnant,” Marilyn breathes, and I hear neither anger nor joy in those words. Just wonder, perhaps a bit of bit of censure, but mostly an underlying tone of acceptance.

“Yes,” Lucas says softly, and his hand squeezes mine. “She’s pregnant. We didn’t want to tell you until she had her first doctor’s visit and we were sure things were okay with the baby.”

“Oh wow…a baby,” Marilyn murmurs, now with more wonder and a definite hint of joyful surprise. “A baby. As in I’m-going-to-be-a-grandma baby?”

“A baby,” Lucas says in an emotional sort of whisper, and I can tell he’s deeply touched by his mother’s response so far.

His mom is silent for a moment, but when she talks again, we can hear clearly that she’s crying. “Oh, Lucas…a baby. I can’t even…just…I wasn’t ready for this, but actually, wait…I am ready for this. You’re clearly ready for this so I’m ready for this. And you’ll make a wonderful father, and we can’t wait to meet Stephanie, and I need to call your dad. We’ll need to book a trip to Raleigh to all sit down and talk about it, and Stephanie…I can help you plan, involving whoever else you want, of course. I’m not going to butt in or be a busybody, but I’m here if you need it and just…Oh my God…a baby!”

Lucas’s face tilts to me and our eyes lock. We both grin at each other while his mom continues to ramble on, and I breath out a sigh of relief at how easy that was. I know she’s going to have lots of questions and this is still a big shock for her, but I lay my head on the pillow and settle in while Lucas starts to tell mom exactly what’s going on in his life.