Sixteen
Spence sat on the edge of his bed at Derrick’s place, trying to reason out what Abby had said. He still thought she’d mixed up events and created a big thing that didn’t exist. The running away issue...he had to own up to that. It was his go-to move and giving it up would take everything he had.
But he’d do it for her. He’d do almost anything for her.
“Why are you here?”
Spence looked up to find Derrick leaning in the doorway. He looked comfortable. Like a man who had finally found some peace At least until the screaming baby came.
“That’s welcoming.” Spence didn’t bother to get up or move over. He knew Derrick would loom there, waiting for the right time to impart some wisdom. That was his go-to move.
Derrick let out a long and very loud exhale. “You should be at Abby’s, insisting you two can work things out.”
“Can we?” That was the question that kept bouncing around in Spence’s head. He’d never wanted anything this much.
“You know the answer. You’re just feeling sorry for yourself.”
As pep talks went, this was not one of Derrick’s better ones. Spence was hoping for more. “Thanks, man.”
“You have a right to. Your life is a mess.” Derrick did step inside then. He walked over and sat next to Spence. “But she’s the right one for you and you know that. Put away the fear and set down roots. You belong here. You belong with her.”
He sounded like Abby. Their comments mirrored each other. Apparently, everyone else could see his fear. So much for the theory he did a good job of hiding it. “You make it sound easy.”
Derrick laughed. “Oh, it’s scary as hell. I know.”
“And I have this.” Spence reached beside him and picked up the unopened envelope from Eldrick. This was part of the requirements that would allow Derrick to take over the business. What needed to be done to make Eldrick slip away permanently, because Spence knew Derrick feared Dad would just walk into the office one day and try to run things again. The ownership percentages allowed him to do it.
“Open it.” Derrick shrugged, acting as if his entire business future didn’t ride on whatever was inside. “You may as well face everything at once. Let’s see if you balk.”
Spence ripped the top open. “And my list of requirements is...wait.”
The air punched out of his lungs. Spence blinked a few times, trying to bring the simple sentences into focus. This wasn’t a legal document; it was...he didn’t know what it was.
Derrick frowned as he grabbed the paper out of Spence’s hands. “What?”
Go find Abigail. Beg her to take you back. She never betrayed you.
“Come on. Is our dad taking responsibility for something? That can’t be right.” It seemed impossible. Spence couldn’t even get the words to register in his brain.
“Yes, but even weirder, I think he’s matchmaking.” Derrick turned the paper over then flipped it back again. “This can’t be from Beth or her doing. The envelope was here long before the engagement party, and that’s where she found out. That’s all Dad.”
“Our dad?” The one who harassed Abby and kissed her. The one who sent them down this awful road. “No way.”
“Apparently people can change.” Derrick handed the paper back to Spence. “Your turn.”
* * *
An hour later, Spence stood at Abby’s door. Without saying a word, she gestured for him to step inside. Didn’t slam the door on his face.
That alone seemed like a step forward. “Thanks for letting me come in.”
“You still have the key and the security codes.”
Some of the hope inside him died. Her voice sounded flat and there was nothing welcoming about a conversation about security codes. “Is that why you agreed to see me?”
She stopped in the middle of her living room and faced him. She wore oversize sweatpants and a T-shirt with a rip along the shoulder seam. Her hair was half in and half out of a ponytail holder.
She had never looked more beautiful to him.
She sighed. “No, I agreed because I love you.”
His mind went blank and his mouth went dry. He was pretty sure he made that up in his head. There was no way she said those words. “What?”
“There, I said it. I love you.” She threw up her hands then let them drop to her sides again. “You ran out on me, and I am terrified you will do it again, but that’s the truth. I love you, you big moron.”
He was even fine with the last part. “Abby—”
“I believe in you even though you don’t believe in yourself.”
His brain finally signaled his legs to move. In a few steps, he was in front of her, had his hands on her waist and pulled her in closer to him. “Don’t stop.”
She frowned at him. “What?”
They really did need to work on their communication skills. He decided to start now. “I can’t deny that there’s this whirling sensation inside me. When things blow up and a fight that could shred everything looms, I go. It stops the arguing and I can catch my breath. I’ve been using that defense mechanism since I was a kid.”
She started to pull away. “Right.”
“Not with you.” He hugged her even tighter. Pressed his lips against her eyebrow in a kiss that was meant mostly to soothe her but ended up calming him. When he pulled back, some of the wariness had left her eyes. “See, every other time, I walked away and the feelings, the churning, the reason I fled in the first place, disappeared. With you, the need only got stronger.”
Her fingers clenched against his forearms. “You didn’t come back to me. I waited for some sign. Any sign.”
“I felt broken, Abby. I knew I had already fallen for you and then my dad...” Mentioning him could ruin everything. He wasn’t the problem between them now. Not really. “Forget that. This was my fault. I left and I missed you every single day. I couldn’t visit my brother because I worried I would see you.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. For a few seconds, she didn’t say anything and he held his breath...waiting.
When nothing happened, he tried again. “It was a crappy thing to leave and then to make you wait. You suffered. I suffered. I don’t want to do it anymore.”
She brushed her fingertip over his bottom lip. “Can you break the cycle?”
She’d asked the question but he sensed she was starting to believe. To hope.
“Before you told me about the possible pregnancy, I wanted to tell you how I felt.” He nodded toward the living room. “Sitting right there on that couch, I was going to tell you I loved you. That I’d figured out I would always love you. That you were worth sticking around and fighting through the mess.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “Spence.”
He rushed to get the rest out. “I didn’t tell you then because I didn’t want you to think I did it because I had to, but I’ll tell you now.” He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled. “Baby or not, I want to build a life with you. That gnawing sense of wanting to bolt will likely always be with me, but I don’t want to leave you. Ever.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Sounds like I’d have to go with you then.”
The words were muffled in his neck, but he heard them. Also picked up on the happiness in her tone. How much lighter she sounded.
“That also works.” He lifted her head and stared down into her eyes. “But really, I love my brothers. I’ve even gotten used to the office, which is nothing short of a miracle.”
She smiled. “What are you saying?”
He recognized hope when he saw it. It soared through him, too. “Take a chance on me. I know I’m a risk, but—”
“Stop.” She shrugged as she hugged him close. “It’s too late. My life is already bound up with yours. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
“I love the sound of that.” He kissed her. Let his lips linger over hers, loving the feel of her body pressed against his.
“Good, because I plan on making it a requirement for the next fifty years or so.”
He didn’t try to fight the smile. “Then we should start now.”
“I like your style.”
* * *
It was well past two in the morning. They were in bed, lying side by side, recovering from what she might call the greatest make-up sex of all time. She’d mentioned that to him and he hadn’t stopped smiling. Until right now.
She looked at his hands, those long fingers. Saw the white stick he held in a death grip. “You keep staring at it.”
“It’s so little and has the power to change everything with a plus sign.”
He’d insisted on the pregnancy test after their last round. She’d wanted cake, but he won the argument. Now, if only the panic screaming through her would stop.
“I could make a joke about how babies disrupt lives, but I’m not sure you’re ready for that.” She also wanted to point out that the Jameson men were pretty fertile and warn Carter, but the timing seemed wrong for that, too.
Spence shook the stick. “It should do something.”
“Like?”
He shrugged. “Balloons should pop out of it. Maybe play music.”
“It’s not a magic stick.”
He snorted as his head turned and he faced her. “It kind of is. We wave it and it changes everything about our lives together.”
Skipping the cake might have been smart. Her stomach wouldn’t stop dancing. “Well, that’s true.”
His eyes narrowed just a fraction. “You okay?”
“Scared.” It would take her a while to figure out how to deal with this news. They’d have to make plans, but she knew they would do it together. He’d made that clear. “Not about us. Not about how much I love you.”
He turned over and faced her. Wrapped an arm around her waist as he watched her. “But?”
“This is going to be hard. We’re still trying to sort ourselves out as a couple and now we’ll have this.” A few hours ago, that would have terrified her, but not as much now. She just needed to make sure he agreed with her. “Spence, this is—”
“I’m going to get angry if you offer me an out.”
“Six weeks ago, when you stepped back into my life, I knew you as the guy who bolted when everything got to be too much.” She winced as she pointed that out. She didn’t want to start another fight.
“Didn’t we settle this?” But he didn’t sound angry. Instead, he rolled her onto her back and balanced his body over hers.
She ran a hand up and down his bare arm, loving the feel of his sleek muscles under her fingertips. “I trust you to stay. The point is I want you to.”
“Leaving you, losing you, ripped me apart.” He pressed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “It was a wake-up call for me to get my act together.”
She let the words settle in her head. Yeah, she liked the sound of that. A lot. “And I’m part of that act?”
He snorted. “You have the main role in it.”
The last of her defenses crumbled. The walls came roaring down and took her doubts with them. In a few short hours, with a couple of words, he brought her peace. It would not be easy. Knowing the two of them, life would not be quiet or simple. It would be loud and loving and perfectly imperfect, and that sounded pretty great to her.
“I love you. You and your big messy family.” Because when she claimed him, she decided she’d claim them, too. “Okay, not your dad.”
“Remind me to show you something later.” His smile was downright mysterious. “A letter.”
She didn’t want to know, yet part of her did. She guessed he did that on purpose. Reeled her in and made her care about Eldrick, which should have been an impossible feat.
“I hate letters right now.” They reminded her of Jeff and no matter how tonight turned out, she still despised that guy.
Spence’s smile only grew wider. “This one may surprise you.”
“I’m intrigued.” She was about to pepper him with questions, but his hand slipped under the covers. Right down to her thigh. “Oh, yeah. There.” Then those expert fingers traveled a big higher. “The letter can wait.”
“Yes, it can.”
“I’m going to let you show me how much you love me.”
He rolled over her then. “Again?”
“I’m sure you can handle it.”
He lowered his mouth until it hovered right above hers. “I can handle you.”
“Show me.”
* * * * *
Don’t miss the first JAMESON HEIRS novel
PREGNANT BY THE CEO
by HelenKay Dimon
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
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