Chapter Fourteen
Brooks waited by the door, his entire demeanor rigid. Leah’s heart dropped. She’d never seen him like that. Ever. Brooks always had a smile in his eyes, no matter what was happening.
“Brooks? What’s going on? Who is it?” she asked, but a knock at the door sounded before he could stay a word. Instead of answering her, he just opened it.
She stood, her hands immediately going to her belly as she stared at the man in the doorway. “Marcus,” she said, her mind a total blank for a moment as she stared at her baby’s father.
Brooks nodded at him as Marcus entered carrying an enormous bouquet of flowers and then glanced at Leah, his expression unreadable. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he said.
He went into his wine room and turned to close the door, glancing back at her just once.
“Brooks,” she said. But he turned away and shut the door. The look on his face nearly tore her heart out.
Marcus walked slowly into the room, his eyes darting between hers and her belly.
“I’m sorry to drop in unannounced, especially so late. But I just got your messages and wanted to see you.”
“No, that’s fine, really. That’s why I gave you the address. In case you ever wanted to…look us up…”
“So, you’re really…” His gaze dropped back to the baby bump.
Her brows lifted a little. Had he thought she was lying? “Yes. You say you just saw my messages?”
He smiled a bit sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m sorry I never responded. I’ve been out of the country for several months and checking Facebook wasn’t high on the priority list. Oh, these are for you,” he said, handing her the flowers.
“Thank you. They’re gorgeous.” She went into the kitchen area and laid them on the counter, using the time to try and calm her nerves. What the hell did you say to the guy who knocked you up and then reappeared out of the blue five months later?
“I imagine it was somewhat of a shock to see all that. I’m sorry I broke the news that way, but I didn’t know how else to contact you. I thought you should know…”
“No, that’s fine. Thank you for trying to get ahold of me. But I’m here now.”
“Yes, you are.” And what in the hell did that mean? What did she want it to mean? She didn’t know this man. He was a total stranger to her, one she’d never meant to see again. And now here they were, bound through the tiny life they’d created.
Someone really needed to write a how-to book that dealt with the subject. How to Deal with Your One-Night Stand Turned Baby Daddy. With a bonus chapter on how to juggle a new husband into the mix.
She gestured for him to have a seat on the couch. She sat beside him though she left plenty of room between them.
He glanced around. “You have a great place here.”
“Thanks, though I can’t take credit. It’s Brooks’s place.”
“But aren’t you two married?”
Oops. Can’t forget about that. “Yes, but Brooks lived here before we got married. I guess I’m still getting used to calling it home.”
“Ah, I see.”
She nodded and they sat in awkward silence for a minute or two before he nodded at her belly.
“So…is everything going okay with…?”
“Yes,” she said, happy to have something to talk about. “Almost twenty weeks now. Baby is growing perfectly. We haven’t found out the sex yet…oh. I guess now that you’re here I should discuss all that with you. If you want to know or not?”
He waved that off. “Whatever you decide is fine. I’m not going to start making demands about anything the second I walk through the door. I’m just glad to hear everything is going well.”
That was nice of him. The nervous butterflies in her gut hadn’t eased yet and, finally, she laughed. He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry. It’s…this whole situation is a little…”
“Awkward?” he asked with a smile.
“Yes.”
He sat forward and took her hands in his. “Look, there’s no expectations here. I’d like to be involved as much as possible, but that’s entirely up to you. And I know we don’t really know each other, but we got along well enough the last time we met.” His gaze turned suggestive and his thumbs drew lazy circles over the backs of her hands. “I’m sure we’ll get used to each other again in no time.”
Her mind went blank for a second. They had had a really great time that night. The best she’d ever had until…
She glanced up at the door of the wine room and saw Brooks standing there. “Brooks,” she said, pulling her hands out of Marcus’s and standing up. She tried to ignore the guilt crashing over her. After all, she’d done nothing wrong. Even if their marriage had been a true one, she’d done nothing. But she still couldn’t help the urge to fidget and squirm under Brooks’s gaze.
He smiled, though the expression didn’t reach his eyes, and came to her, wrapping his arm around her waist, much to her surprise. The gesture calmed her, though, and she leaned against him.
“So, how are things going out here?” he asked, his eyes focused on Marcus.
“Great,” Marcus said. “Just getting reacquainted with the mother of my baby.”
Leah glanced at him with a slight frown. That had sounded awfully possessive. And the weird tension between the two men was growing by the second.
Brooks’s arm tightened around her. “I don’t remember if I mentioned that Marcus and I went to school together.”
“Yes—” Leah started but Marcus answered first.
“Yes, we did. We were quite the rivals back then, weren’t we?” he said, his tone friendly, though there was a look in his eye that bugged Leah.
“Were you?” she asked, glancing up at Brooks. He hadn’t taken his gaze from Marcus, but the line of his jaw looked as though he was gritting his teeth.
“Oh, yeah,” Marcus said. “Had a couple competing projects. This big guy even lost a few girls to me, I think.” He laughed, but Brooks’s arm around her tensed.
“Ancient history,” Brooks said, with a smile she could tell was forced, though to Marcus it probably looked normal.
“Of course, of course.” He looked back at Leah. “I was only at school a couple years before I sold my first app and then I left for bigger and better things.”
Brooks didn’t answer, and before Marcus could say anything more, his phone beeped. He glanced at it. “Unfortunately, I need to run. But,” he pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Leah, “this has all my contact info on it, and I’ve written my personal cell phone number on the back. Let me know when your next appointment is and any baby related stuff that goes on. I want to be there for all of it.”
“I will,” Leah said, genuinely pleased he wanted to be so involved. The brooding presence of Brooks behind her certainly made everything a little more awkward, but having an involved father in the picture would only be good for the baby.
“And please call me if there is anything at all you need,” he said. “Even a late-night run for ice cream.”
“I think I can manage any ice-cream cravings,” Brooks said.
“Of course. But no need to run yourself ragged. There are two of us in the picture now.” Marcus laughed and then leaned in to kiss Leah on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you soon.” He pointed at Brooks. “Take care of our girl.” He gave him a big, cheesy grin and waved on his way out.
Leah risked a glance at Brooks who still stood staring at the door.
“I take it the two of you weren’t friends back in the day?”
Brooks glanced down at her and snorted. “We were, sort of. Until he sold the app we were working on out from under me.”
She opened her mouth to ask more questions, but he said, “It was almost a decade ago,” and then headed for the stairs. “It’s late. I’m going to turn in.” He took the stairs two at a time, leaving her standing in the middle of the loft.
“Well, that was interesting,” she muttered.
It had never occurred to her that Brooks and Marcus would have issues getting along. It had never occurred to her they’d ever be in the same room, especially with Marcus taking so long to respond. And even more especially because the odds of her baby daddy and temporary husband knowing each other were beyond slim. Or so she’d thought.
Either way, stressing her out wasn’t healthy for the baby and the baby was the only one who mattered here, so the boys were just going to have to kiss and make up. At least until the baby was born and the whole fake marriage thing was over and done with. Then she could figure out where Marcus would fit in with things. And where Brooks fit. If he wanted to fit, which seemed less and less likely.
She took a deep breath. No point in worrying about it now. They had a few months to get all the kinks worked out. Until then, her concern was getting her little peanut safely into a conflict-free world.
…
Brooks picked up two cards, biting back a smile at the full house staring back at him. But he must not have done it quick enough.
“Oh, better watch it,” Cole said, picking up his own cards. “Looks like Brooks has a good hand over there.”
“No, I don’t think that’s it,” Harrison said, his soft British accent making him sound like Sherlock Holmes trying to solve a mystery. “I think something else is going on with him. What could it be?”
He stroked his chin like he was trying to puzzle it out and Brooks flipped him off as he tossed a few more chips into the pile. Harrison chuckled.
Chris looked back and forth between them. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” Brooks said.
Harrison shrugged. “Says you. But your opinion is a little biased, now, isn’t it?”
Brooks glared at him, but that only made Harrison smile wider.
“What?” he finally asked.
Harrison shrugged. “Sorry, mate. Just never thought I’d see this side of you, that’s all.”
“And what side would that be?” He picked up his beer to chug it down.
“The whole domesticated-bliss-happy-monogamous thing. Don’t get me wrong. It suits you. Just not something I ever expected, that’s all.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brooks said.
Except that was a lie. He knew exactly what Harrison meant. Leah had been living with him for two months now and she had completely changed his world. Turned it upside down in a tornado of domesticity that would put Martha Stewart to shame. There was floral-scented shampoo in the shower, makeup everywhere, soft pillows on every available sitting or sleeping surface, candles on every other available flat surface, even curtains on his windows for fuck’s sake.
And don’t even get him started on the books. The woman had stacks of them everywhere. She’d filled the two bookshelves in his apartment and still he swore every time she came home she had another stack. She was a total neat freak so it’s not like they were all over the apartment. But she had begun to stack them up against his walls so it looked as if one whole room was wallpapered in a book motif. How she found the time to read any of them, he didn’t know.
Somehow she managed to work a full day at the school, come home and cook dinner, and she couldn’t seem to stop straightening up around the house. According to one of the books she’d left lying around, she was nesting, though instead of it being an end of the pregnancy thing, she was going full tilt all the way through. He wouldn’t be surprised if his poor housekeeper quit out of sheer boredom.
He would never admit it to his friends, but he was happy, despite all of that. He hadn’t had a date with another woman, let alone anything else, since the moment she walked into his life, and he didn’t miss it. Oh, he had a massive list of things he wanted to do with her the moment the doctor cleared them, but other women hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“See. There it is again,” Harrison said.
Brooks looked back up at him.
“What?”
Cole chuckled. “You’re grinning like a…how did you put it when you first met her? A twitterpated Disney princess?”
“I never said twitterpated,” he grumbled. “And I was joking.”
Harrison shrugged. “I don’t think you’re joking anymore, mate.”
He sighed. “Okay, fine. Yes, it’s nice to come home and have a home-cooked meal with a person who can hold an intelligent conversation. But other than that, the woman is driving me insane. I had the perfect bachelor pad and she is turning it into Mother Goose Central. I found a contraption the other day that I thought was supposed to be for some kinky game she wanted to play. Turned out the damn thing was a breast pump. I didn’t know you could even pump a breast.”
Cole was full out laughing at this point. Brooks glared at him and he held his hands up in defense.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at your pain, but it’s kind of nice to have someone else in the same boat for once. Just wait until she’s further along. Then things start to get real interesting.”
Brooks could only imagine. Then again… “I’m not sure she’ll still be here by then.”
Harrison frowned at him. “Why is that? You didn’t cock it up already, did you?”
Brooks snorted. “Surprisingly, no. I don’t think. But even if I haven’t, this arrangement was never supposed to be permanent.”
Cole frowned. “Have you two discussed her moving out?”
“No.” He took another drink of his beer to hide his frown. The thought of her leaving filled him with emotions he didn’t want to look at too closely. All he knew was that he didn’t want her to go. “But we said we were only doing it to make sure she kept her job and things seem to be going well in that department. My place isn’t set up for a baby. She’s already almost halfway through her pregnancy. I’m sure she’ll want to be settled in her own place before the baby comes.”
“Sure,” Harrison said. “Or you could make your place what she needs.”
Cole pointed to him. “Now that’s what I call a good idea.”
“What do you mean?” Brooks asked.
“I mean,” Harrison said, “you said your place isn’t really set up for a baby. That doesn’t mean that can’t change. Go get what she needs. If your place won’t work, get another place.”
“Are you serious? It took years to get my place to the perfect pad of perfection that it is. Besides,” Brooks said, shaking his head, “this is a temporary arrangement. I’m not going to change everything about my life to accommodate a woman who has no intention of staying in it. I like my apartment the way it is. It’s one hundred percent suited to my needs and it’s going to stay that way.”
Harrison shook his head. “Well, not that my opinion counts, being the only single bloke in the bunch, but I think you’re an idiot.”
That made Brooks raise an eyebrow or two. “Well, damn, don’t sugarcoat it for me or anything.”
“Sorry,” Harrison said. “But I find it idiotic that you’ve got it all and you are totally willing to throw it away.”
The unfairness of that comment sparked an anger in Brooks that he tried to keep a handle on. He knew Harrison didn’t mean anything by it and was probably even trying to help. But it pissed him off anyway.
“The only thing I’ve got is a full house,” he said, throwing down his cards. “Pay up.”
He grinned at the groans of his friends, though he knew the expression didn’t reach his eyes. He’d never felt less like smiling in his life. He excused himself from the table for a minute and went into the restroom. If he was honest with himself—something he rarely did as it never ended well—he would admit that Harrison’s comment stung so much because it was true. Only it wasn’t because he was willing to throw everything away. He just had no choice about it.
They were getting along, great, yes, but she didn’t want to stay with him. She’d never made any mention of anything of the kind. And no matter what he thought he wanted, he wouldn’t be any good for her in the long run, either, let alone a baby. He’d never inflict himself on some poor defenseless child. Even if he wanted to, there was no way in hell any sort of relationship was going to work with Marcus in the picture. With him and Marcus playing Daddy One and Daddy Two? Marcus pulling his backstabbing snake routine every chance he got? Only with the baby in the middle? That kid would be in therapy before he hit kindergarten. And that was the best-case scenario. No way was that dynamic in any way, shape, or form healthy for the baby. Or anyone else.
So no, he wasn’t throwing anything away, because he couldn’t throw away what he’d never had. It didn’t matter how much he wished the opposite was true.
He rejoined the boys and waited for his new hand to be dealt.
“So how are things going with Marcus?” Cole asked.
“Marcus?” Chris asked.
“Marcus Cassidy. The baby daddy.”
“Wait, Marcus Cassidy as in the Marcus Cassidy? The guy who developed that designated driver taxi app and whose family runs half of the city?”
“No,” Brooks said, tossing his chips into the pile with a great deal more force than necessary. “The guy who stole that designated driver taxi app after we developed it together and then used his family’s money to lawyer up when I was too poor to do the same.”
Harrison’s eyes widened. “He’s the baby daddy?”
Brooks stared at him and he whistled and threw his chips into the pot. “Damn. Brutal.”
Brooks shrugged. “Doesn’t make any difference to me.”
“How can that possibly not make any difference?” Chris asked.
“Why should it? It’s a fake marriage, remember? She’s free to do what she likes.” Though the thought of Leah doing anything, even speaking, with Marcus made Brooks’s blood boil.
“Well, shouldn’t you warn her that the guy is a snake?” Harrison said.
Brooks sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “My issues with the guy shouldn’t affect her. As long as he treats her decently, I’m going to stay out of it. She’s got enough to deal with.”
Cole’s brows raised. “That’s mature of you.”
“Yeah, who knew I had it in me.” He tossed down two pair. “Now, maybe you guys should pay more attention to the game before I walk out of here with even more of your money.”
He grinned, grateful to the good hand for giving him a reason to change the subject. The truth was he didn’t want Marcus within a hundred miles of Leah. But what choice did he have? The guy was the baby’s father. He had more right to be in the picture than Brooks did, no matter how he felt about him.
He’d just have to learn to live with it.
Or move on.