It might’ve been the music that woke him, or maybe it was the bright sunlight streaming through the glass doors, but all Nick knew was that when he stretched out his hand looking for Lila, she was gone. Taking a look at the clock, he groaned when he saw it was barely six in the morning. Why on earth was she up? Especially since they’d only gotten about three and a half hours of sleep.
But hell, if he was going be sleep deprived, making love to a beautiful woman half the night was the way to go.
Just when he was going to get out of bed and find her, Lila dashed into the room with a cup of coffee in her hand and a protein bar between her teeth, dressed in a simple skirt and top. Dammit. She had work today.
He’d arrived at the house late Friday night. It was now Monday morning, and both their lives had changed in ways neither of them could have imagined. There were times he got the impression Lila thought the ring was for show. Not in Nick’s mind. He fully intended to marry her.
That fact would shock pretty much everybody he knew, but most especially Josie and Tony. They didn’t know yet, at least he hoped they didn’t know yet. It was possible Josie had found out from someone at the high school. That’s where she and Lila met, working together at Mimosa High.
“I forgot you had work today.”
Gulping her decaf coffee, Lila nodded. “Yeah, me too. I woke up on my own to go to the bathroom and I realized it was Monday.”
Nick missed her already. “You couldn’t call in sick and come back to bed?”
“Tempting as that is, I can’t.” She moved toward him, leaned in, and planted a quick kiss on his mouth. “I should be home by two-thirty. Until then, you just have to do without me.”
He worried about her. It could be the proposal wouldn’t make a difference, and she’d be suspended, or that what she heard from her friend was just gossip and nothing would happen. Either way, he couldn’t control it.
He scrubbed his hands over his face, and nodded. “I’ll manage. Maybe I’ll start by shaving. The last time I had a beard like this, I was on assignment trying to blend in.”
“I don’t know, I kind of like the pirate look on you. I always date the nice guys. You know—clean cut, a little nerdy. You’ll make me cooler.”
“Beard or not, Lila, no one is mistaking me for a nice boy.”
“Good point. Try to stay out of trouble today, okay?”
Nick chuckled. There wasn’t a lot of trouble on his agenda, but if it was out there, he’d find it. That was a given.
Part of his day would be spent in a conversation with the King and future Queen of Marinbourg. In a few weeks, he and Lila would be flying across the Atlantic for the royal wedding. Glad he was actually home for a change, and not flying in from an op, could work in his favor. Nick would use that to put a spin on the whole marriage thing. He was not above using his injury to make his sister go easy on him. Anything to protect Lila.
Josie had no idea they’d been together. Apparently Lila hadn’t even hinted that he might be their baby’s father, and Josie never suspected. It was going to be a bad scene all around. His job would be to shelter Lila from the fallout.
Because while Josie believed it was perfectly fine for her to keep her relationship with his best friend a secret, it wouldn’t be okay for Nick to do the same. His sister was going to lose her shit. The double standard at its best.
“What are you thinking about?” Lila asked. “Every muscle in your face is rigid.”
Propping up the pillows behind him, Nick ran his fingers through his hair. “I have to call Josie this morning.”
“Oh… Oh. That’s not going to be any fun. Do you still have some of your military equipment? Helmet? Flak jacket?”
Downplaying it because he didn’t want to worry her, Nick waved it off. “It’s not going to be that bad. She’ll be happy for us.”
Lila laughed. “Son, if you believe that, I got a bridge to sell y’all. Josie is one of my best friends, I love that girl like a sister, but she is going to lose her shit.”
Nick nodded, feeling weirdly comforted that they’d both had the same thought. “Yeah, she probably is.”
Making herself comfortable next to him on the bed, Lila rested her head on his shoulder. “Try to understand,” she said. “You went through the same thing.”
“It’s different.” That was such bullshit. It wasn’t any different, but he was entitled to play the big brother card.
“You lie. You lie so much. You know it’s no different.”
Nick growled. She was right, of course, but he wasn’t going to cop to it. It was a good time to change the subject. “Are you gonna be okay today?”
“Well, now that you’re going make an honest woman out of me, it should all be sunshine and farting unicorns.”
“Farting unicorns? That’s different.”
“Most people will offer me congratulations and that will be the end of it. Some people will offer me congratulations, and talk behind my back. And a few will probably still think I’m a wanton woman who is not fit to teach all the special snowflakes.”
“Hmm. After last night, I definitely vote for wanton woman.” As a reminder, he kissed her hard and dirty.
“Yes, well, I’m sure they’ll have all kinds of opinions. The parent association president, bless her heart, will be quite vocal.” This time she gave him a simple peck on the cheek. “Look, much as this is a rip-roaring good time, I have to go to work.”
“Okay. If you need me, call.”
“And you’ll do what? Beat someone up?”
He grinned wickedly. “Maybe.”
Lila grabbed a bag sitting on her desk chair, threw it over her shoulder, and downed the rest of her coffee. She waved as she ran from the room.
Nick figured he was gonna think about her all day. All. Damn. Day.
Lila had just backed out of her driveway when her cell phone rang. The number came up as unknown, but this early in the morning it could only be one person. Josie. The big question was: did she answer it or not?
She took a breath and answered it.
“Good morning, Your Highness. How is the palace today?”
“Don’t ‘Your Highness’ me. Tell me why the world has gone crazy. Everyone thinks you and Nick are getting married.”
“Probably because he asked me to marry him.”
“YOU CAN’T MARRY HIM! You don’t even know him. He tries to save everyone he knows and you are a damsel in distress to him. I can’t believe you said yes!”
“Josie, calm down, it’s not like that.”
“What do you mean it’s not like that? He gets off on being the hero.”
“Maybe, but not this time,” Lila admitted quietly. “It’s different.”
“Say again.” Josie could barely speak.
“He and I got…friendly…right after you and Anton broke the news about your relationship.”
Josie was sputtering. “What do you mean friendly? How friendly did the two of you get?”
“Josie, you can’t possibly be that obtuse. Friendly enough to get pregnant.”
Lila waited for the explosion. And waited. And waited.
“I have no words. How could you keep this from me, especially knowing I was so worried for you?”
“I didn’t know where he was, or what he was doing. I hadn’t told him yet. It was just easier to keep it quiet. Even from you.”
“But married? Nick isn’t the type to get married.”
Now Josie was pissing her off. Who was she to judge? There were many things about Nick that made him a catch. She didn’t know why his own sister didn’t understand. “I really don’t think you should stereotype him. He just might surprise you.”
“Look, I know my brother. He’s a sweet guy, his heart is as big as the moon, but he’s never around. He’s married to his job.”
Should Lila tell Josie what she knew? That Nick’s career was taking a drastically different course? She didn’t think it was her story to tell, but it would set Josie straight in a hurry.
“I’m not going to talk about this now. Talk to your brother, but considering how I supported you when you were agonizing over what to do about Anton, I’d like to think you’d do the same for me.”
“I’m trying to help,” Josie snapped.
“Telling me all the reasons we can’t be together, all the things wrong with him, that’s supportive?”
There was silence on the line, and that hurt Lila in ways she couldn’t articulate.
“How are the wedding plans coming?” Lila asked. Maybe a change of subject would help.
“Fine. I’m… I’m glad Nick is home and we aren’t wondering if he’s going to show up. Then again, he could be pulled into service at the drop of a hat.”
“He won’t be,” Lila said as she pulled into her parking space at school. “He’ll be at your wedding, standing by your groom.”
“You can’t be sure—”
“Don’t worry, Josie. He’ll be there.”
There was an audible breath from thousands of miles away. “All right. Good.”
“I just pulled into the parking lot at work. I’ll call later and we’ll talk, okay?” Lila was already worried about what the day would bring, and now there was Josie drama. She loved her friend and everything would work out, but at six-thirty in the morning, Lila already needed a do-over. Nick’s suggestion to crawl back into bed with him wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Okay. Have a good day. I’m sorry I snapped. I’m so surprised, that’s all.” Her turnaround, happily, hadn’t taken long.
“It’s fine, Sugar. Go practice your queen stuff.”
As she wrapped up the call with Josie, there was a sharp tapping on Lila’s window. Looking up, she saw two friends from her department. The second they made eye contact, the women squealed. At least someone was happy for her.
Bonnie Deacon and Georgia Sawyer must have been staking out the parking lot waiting for her to arrive. Bonnie pulled on the door handle until Lila unlocked it. Once the door was open, they grabbed her left hand to examine her ring.
“Oh my Lord, it’s gorgeous!” Georgia exclaimed. “Does he have a brother?”
Lila laughed. “No, just him and Josie. It is pretty, isn’t it?”
Bonnie was shaking her head. “The gossip mill went into full swing last night. I must’ve gotten a hundred texts about you in thirty minutes.”
“Where did it start?” Georgia asked. “Someone saw you on the beach?”
“We were having dinner at Casa Blanca. Louise from the copy room saw us.”
“Ahhh.” They said together, because knowing Louise was involved answered a lot of questions. Lila had said it before, and she’d say it again, most of the people she worked with were wonderful. Kind and thoughtful, and only concerned with her happiness. But there were a few who only cared about being in the know, or feeling morally superior. And those people were going to give her trouble.
Even with the ring on her finger, she was pregnant before marriage, and that wasn’t going to fly with some of the more backward individuals in the town. “What kind of stories were going around?”
“Oh, goodness,” Bonnie began. “There were several. The most popular seemed to be that you hired him because you’re afraid you’re going to lose your job. The other is that he’s an old family friend, and you agreed to get married so he could collect a family fortune.”
“Really?” Lila laughed because everyone knew Nick was Josie’s brother, and Josie was no stranger to anyone in Mimosa. “Whose money is it? His or mine?”
Georgia took Lila’s book bag. “Oh, it’s his family money. Everyone knows you’re poor as dirt, but he needed to be married in order to inherit.”
Lila was fascinated. These people should write fiction. “How did our families know each other if there was such a social divide? Just sayin’.”
“Baby girl, your mama was the maid. Don’t you know nothin’?”
That was probably one of the only grains of truth in all the stories. Lila had come from nothing, she’d grown up in trailer parks, or in servants’ quarters. But her mother had died when she was little; it was her daddy who worked as a gardener or a handyman. He was a good man who always did his best for her, but he had never been overly warm or affectionate. He’d always pushed Lila to do well in school, though. That was all that mattered to him.
“No one can take away your education, Lila girl. If you’re educated, the world is your oyster. Don’t be like me.”
Daddy had died two years before, but one of Lila’s proudest days was when she showed him the condo she’d bought for herself. No trailer parks, no apartments over a garage, Lila owned a home.
Her big ole daddy cried. All that warmth and affection he’d been storing up came pouring out of him.
Of course now she was pregnant, unmarried, and depending on a man to get her out of trouble. But it wasn’t the future her father had feared for her. She was still in charge of her own life.
“Ryanne Preston has quite a lot to say about this,” Georgia added. “Her mama has been feeding her all kinds of morality.”
“Is that so? Seems to me Ryanne’s mother should be worrying about her own morality. Last time I checked she was carrying on with a married man.” Ryanne Preston was a queen bee in school, a classic mean girl, and her mother was no better. Ryanne wasn’t doing well in Geometry, which Lila figured was a good enough reason for a smear campaign.
“I think she’s done with the married man,” Bonnie added. “But there is a rumor about her and the vice principal.”
“At least he’s not married,” Georgia said.
“I don’t really care about Miz Preston and her conquests. I just want to be left in peace,” Lila said. “Sure, I did things a little out of order, but I’m not hurting anyone.”
Bonnie rubbed her arm as they walked into the building. “You know that the truth and good intentions mean nothing to some people. We have your back, and so do most of the folks here. But I really would like to hear more about this man in your life.”
“I agree,” Georgia said. “I want to hear all about him. How did you meet, and where the hell has he been?”
These were questions she could answer. Happily. And every word would be the truth. Their engagement might’ve been a small act of desperation, but they had a history, and she and Nick truly cared for one another. She didn’t know if he loved her, or if he ever would, not the way she loved him, but he’d do his best not to hurt her, and that was more than she could say about a lot of people.
“There isn’t a lot to tell. He’s Josie’s brother. We got together when he was here last, but then he was called out of town for…work.”
“It was sudden, right?” Georgia said.
“Isn’t he a Navy SEAL, or something like that?” Bonnie wondered.
“Yeah.” Lila grinned. “Something like that.”