Take Me On

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I have another dream now.”

  The partially closed door swung all the way open, and a nurse strolled in. Ian stood and moved his chair, feeling uncomfortable as hell as she checked on Gabby. But he didn’t want to leave her. If he was in this thing, then he was in it. He’d have to get over his mild phobia of all things medical, because it looked like it might become a big part of his life for the next little while.

  The nurse made a note on her chart and told them the doctor would be in soon. As she went back out, Gabby shifted in the bed, and he was at her side in a heartbeat. “Do you need anything?”

  “To get out of here would be spectacular,” she said dryly.

  “I’m with you there.”

  The door opened again, and her parents came into the room with their Styrofoam coffee cups. Instinctively, he wanted to snatch his hands off their daughter—he’d caused her enough trouble by putting his hands on her, after all—but she held on tight to him.

  “Any news?” her mother asked.

  “Nothing really,” Gabby said. “A nurse just came by and told us the doctor would be in soon.”

  “Oh, good. Maybe they’ll discharge you.”

  Gabby and her mother went on talking, but Mr. Ross stared silent daggers at Ian. Jesus, he looked like a man who could fuck your world into oblivion if he wanted. This was Brian’s dad? Poor guy. Earl probably would’ve wept and bowed down to this dude.

  “You work for Brian?” Mr. Ross asked.

  Yes, and please allow me to continue to do so for now, if he’ll have me. “Yes, sir.”

  He nodded and took a sip of his coffee but didn’t comment further. Ian figured he knew what he was thinking, though. Fucking little horny-ass bastard who nailed all of his clients and had finally found a way to screw his way into the Ross family. Goddamn, he was so gonna get fired, if not literally chased out of town. He racked his brain for something to say, but what was there? Anything that came to mind would probably make Mr. Ross feel as if Ian had only confirmed his suspicions. He didn’t want to spout anything about undying love or devotion to Gabby. It would sound fake and lame at this point.

  All he could do was try to prove himself. Let his actions speak for him. It was the way he’d lived most of his life.

  “Brian knows,” Gabby said to her parents, pulling him from his thoughts. “Ian had to tell him when he left work to come here.”

  “Really?” her mom said. “Well, we might as well not keep Evan in the dark either.”

  “I’ll call him tonight.”

  Mr. Ross raised an eyebrow at Ian. “How did Brian take it?”

  “Not well. I had to tell him he could punch me later.”

  “Would you let him?”

  “I guess if he felt that strongly about it.”

  That got a chuckle out of him. “I wouldn’t worry.”

  Why the hell did everyone assume he was scared of Brian? “Oh, I’m not.” That got an even bigger chuckle out of him.

  The doctor came into the room soon after, and though Ian was apprehensive about what he would tell them, at least it put an effective end to the awkward conversation. Happily, he had good news. Her bleeding had subsided, her ultrasound looked great, her blood work was solid. She could go home and take it easy for a few days and watch for any other weirdness.

  As they left the hospital after the discharge paperwork, her parents walked on ahead and Gabby hung back with Ian, lacing her fingers through his. In his entire life, he couldn’t remember a feeling as sweet as her being at his side. No more secrets, nothing to hide.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gabby rode back to her parents’ house with her mother while Ian went back to work. The entire time, Gianna remained quiet and tense—not a good sign where she was concerned. If she was angry, you knew it. For her to be bottling her emotions, stewing in silence, it meant she was up to something.

  But Gabby was too exhausted to even puzzle over it, and she certainly didn’t want to get into whatever was going on in her mother’s mind. As soon as she got home, she eased her way up the stairs—waving away Gianna’s offered assistance the entire time—and crawled into her bed. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

  Darkness greeted her when her eyes opened. Fuzzily, she attempted to focus on the clock, groaning when she saw it was almost midnight. No doubt Ian had been trying to contact her, but her phone was in her purse, which was across the room by the door. An earthquake probably wouldn’t have awakened her. She slid from the bed and got her phone.

  Sure enough, a missed call, three text messages and a voice mail. He was worried about her. She dialed him back, and he answered right away.

  “Are you okay? Fuck. I wanted to grab Brian by the throat and make him tell me where you live.”

  “I’m fine. I fell asleep. How’s Brian?”

  “Barely speaking to me, but he hasn’t fired me or hit me yet. Guess he’s waiting to cool off before we have the ‘long fucking chat’ he promised.”

  “Are you home?”

  “Yeah. I want you here, baby.”

  “Then I’m on my way. I’ll bring some clothes.”

  She was going to grab Brian herself. How dare he? As she threw a few days’ worth of her clothes in an overnight bag, she contemplated calling the little shit, but then remembered she was about to be staying only a few apartments down from him. What she had to say was better said face-to-face. Damn him.

  Gabby swept her arm across the cosmetics on her vanity, shoving them all in her bag, then zipped it up and changed into a cami and more yoga pants—which would most likely be her uniform for the next seven months. And probably for months after. Slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she headed out the door and repaired her sloppy ponytail as she took the stairs down.

  Her mother’s voice stopped her as she reached for the front doorknob. “Where are you going?”

  Whirling, she saw Gianna sitting in the parlor in full view of the door, looking as if she’d been there awhile. It wasn’t like her to stay up late. She was dressed in silky lounge pants, and a half-empty glass of wine sat on the end table beside her.

  “I’m going to Ian’s.”

  Her mom’s gaze drifted to the heavy bag bumping against Gabby’s hip. “For how long?”

  “I don’t know. I need to get out of here for a while.”

  “Why? Have we done something wrong besides worry ourselves sick about you?”

  “Please don’t—”

  Gianna put up a quelling hand. “Do not try to tell me not to worry about you. I don’t know why you can’t simply talk to us. Is sneaking out like this the way to handle things?”

  “I’m not sneaking anywhere. I fell asleep, and I didn’t mean to. What I meant to do was rest until Ian told me he was heading home, and then go see him.” She lifted her free shoulder in a shrug. “It just worked out this way.”

  “So you’re leaving. You’re moving in with this man.”

  “I’m not moving in with him. But I want to spend some time with the father of my child, yes. I don’t get it—wouldn’t you consider that a good thing?”

  “Just be careful, Gabriella.”

  That made her laugh. “I think the worst has already happened, Mom.”

  Gianna shook her head and stood, collecting her wineglass. “Not necessarily,” she said, walking past her without another word.

  So much for her mother being excited about another grandchild. She honestly hadn’t expected this. Sighing, she let herself out into the heavy, humid night air.

  Five minutes later, Ian’s door swung open, and he immediately reached to take her bag from her shoulder. Before he could do anything with it, she pitched herself into his arms and put her mouth on his, the very thing she’d wanted to do ever since he’d walked into her room at the hospital.

  “Mmm,” he groaned as their lips parted at last, then sighed as he buried his face in the hair at her neck. “I’m glad you’re here.” She held him
tight, savoring the safety of his arms.

  “Me too,” she whispered. But there were things to clear up, a conversation she was burning to have, and she needed to get it out before she exploded. Not with him, though. With her little-shit brother. “First thing,” she said, drawing back from the comfort of his embrace and missing it immediately. “Let’s go see Brian.”

  “It’s late—”

  “I don’t give a damn. You know he’s still up.”

  “Or out scrounging for watermelon Oreos.”

  “What? Gross. Let’s go.”

  He followed her purposeful steps as she headed to Brian and Candace’s apartment, but he tried to talk her out of it the whole time. She wasn’t having it. She pounded on their door until it flew open and her brother stood there, shirtless and pissed off.

  “What the fuck, Gab?”

  She glanced back to make sure Ian was still behind her. He was, but he looked rather pale. She stuck her finger in her brother’s face just as Brian was opening his mouth to say more. “Do you mean to stand there and tell me that after everything you went through to end up with that sweet girl in there, after you knocked the shit out of her brother, after you pretty much did with her whatever the fuck you wanted no matter what her family thought, you’re going to give him shit for being with me? Really, Brian? Are you going to stand there and tell me that?” She’d been poking him in his naked chest to punctuate each point she made, but now she cupped her hand behind her ear and gestured at him to bring it with her other. “Come on. Say it. Let me hear you try to say that to me. Right now.”

  Brian stood gaping. No words came. She smacked him on his inked pec. “I thought so. Now that hopefully you realize what a hypocrite you’re being, I expect you to not be a shit to him anymore.”

  Brian glanced at Ian and then waved toward her. “That’s all yours, man. My condolences, and don’t say I never warned you.” And he shut the door, muttering, “Fucking crazy” under his breath.

  Gabby chuckled and turned. “There. Handled.”

  Ian’s eyebrows couldn’t have climbed much higher in his forehead. “You weren’t kidding, were you?”

  There had been too much excitement today. From the scare over the baby to the tense words with Brian—both Ian’s and later Gabby’s. Ian could tell she was on edge. He was no doctor, but he knew that wasn’t good for her. She needed to relax, but here she was, running around to meet him late at night, fighting what should be his fucking battles with her brother.

  Then again, Brian was her family, not his, so he guessed he didn’t have much say in how those two interacted with each other. He just wished he weren’t right in the damn middle of it.

  “What do you say we get out of here?” he asked once he’d surmised she was about to pace a hole in his carpet.

  “Hmm?” she asked distractedly.

  “I don’t know. Go for a ride or something. I’m the new kid in town, remember? I don’t get out much except to hang with the same people I see every day.”

  She scoffed, fingering a long, dark strand of hair from her ponytail. Then she sighed and dropped beside him onto the couch, close enough that the side of her warm thigh pressed into his. “I’m pretty sure you’ve seen all there is to see.”

  “Hey,” he said, gently turning her chin toward him so she had to look into his eyes. Was it his imagination that she melted a bit into his touch? “You’re here, but I get the feeling you’re not, you know?”

  “Yeah,” she admitted. He could stare into those clear green eyes all night.

  “So let’s drop out of life for a while. Even if it’s only for a couple of hours, we’ll pretend it’s just you and me.”

  The corners of her lips curled up in a most enticing way, got him thinking about all sorts of things he’d like to do but couldn’t. Wouldn’t push anything on her. God, she was so fucking beautiful. So beyond anything he’d ever dared to pursue. “Where will we go?” she asked.

  “I’ll drive, you navigate. Show me your life here. I want to know everything about you.”

  “I was pretty much a nerd, Ian. What life I’ve had didn’t start until I went away to college.”

  She chuckled as his brows drew together. Someone as smart, sexy and seductive as she was, describing herself as a nerd with no life? He’d imagined a high school career filled with throngs of admirers and slavering suitors. “I expected that you were Homecoming Queen or something.”

  “Ha. No. It wasn’t my thing to really care what other people thought about me, which is like the kiss of death around here, and I damn sure didn’t run around trying to be everyone’s friend or make people like me. I wasn’t popular. In fact, I was probably universally hated.”

  “I find that hard to believe. They were most likely intimidated.”

  Her little smile bloomed into that full-force grin that tugged at his heart in all the right ways. “Am I intimidating to you?”

  “Hell, no,” he lied, and she laughed. Yeah, she could be, but he could handle her.

  “All right, Ian, I’ll give you the grand tour, if you really want it.”

  He only wanted to be with her—only her, not her and all the troubles whirling around in her head. “I do.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Minutes later, they cruised in silence down all but empty streets, past darkened buildings. He drove while Gabby mostly stared out her window.

  It did make him a little crazy to live in a town where there wasn’t much to do except catch a movie or a beer at the bar. Not that he’d been one to revel in the incessant hustle and bustle of city life, but it had been nice to have the option.

  “Do you find yourself going a little stir crazy, being back here?” he asked, trying to get her talking.

  “Not really. I can function in both. It doesn’t take me long to adjust either way.” She pointed ahead. “Up there on the right? My high school.”

  Jesus, it was small. It must’ve been impossible to blend into the background at a place like that… Something he thought he’d become somewhat of an expert on during his own school days. He hadn’t been able to have many friends, because inevitably they’d start to wonder why they couldn’t hang at his place every now and then, or why he often couldn’t go out on the weekends. Because his stepdad had been such a drunken asshole, Ian couldn’t subject anyone else to it, and he’d felt a duty to protect his mother from it as best he could.

  His knuckles tightened on Gabby’s steering wheel as he fought down the rising tide of memories. “What’s your most embarrassing moment?” he asked on impulse. This was about her, not about him.

  “Oh God.” She laughed. “I made it through most of my school years without very many. Then, graduation night, I wore some heels I wasn’t used to, and I tripped and fell while I was walking up to accept my diploma.”

  “You did not.”

  “I did. Believe me. I’m sure Brian still has a picture of me lying on my face. It was all I could do to get up and move forward, and not turn and run…” She trailed off into silence, then sighed. He was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking. Reaching over, he laced his fingers through hers.

  “You got up, and you’re moving forward,” he said, and out of the corner of his eye saw her smile. “More than once.”

  “It was the same kind of feeling when Mark did that to me. Like I was back there, flat on my face in front of the entire town. ‘What do I do now? How can I face everyone?’ All at once, I realized how much I did care what everyone thought.” Her fingers tightened around his. “You know, you’re the only person on earth I feel I can talk to about this. I wonder why?”

  He didn’t have an answer for her, because he couldn’t get past the knowledge he was the luckiest sonofabitch alive right now. Beneath that, however, another thought festered, upsetting the glow her words had given him. “Are you feeling the same way about everyone finding out you’re pregnant?”

  She tilted her head pensively, and in between looking at the road, he stole glances at her as she form
ulated her reply. A passing streetlamp fleetingly lit her flawless profile, the slight purse of her lips, casting a sheen over her hair. Yep, luckiest bastard alive to be sitting with her, no matter what came out of her mouth. “I’m not, really. I mean, it’s crossed my mind. But it’s not my primary concern.”

  “What did your parents say after we left the hospital?”

  “Honestly, not much. Which concerns me, truth be known. I’m sure they’ve been having it out between themselves all night about it, and I’ll learn the verdict soon enough.” She chuckled, but it didn’t hide her nervousness.

  Fuck. She didn’t deserve this. Above all else, he wanted her happy and relaxed…but how was he supposed to get her that way? It was impossible. Every turn their conversation took led deeper into gloom.

  “I shouldn’t have asked that,” he told her. “We’re supposed to be shutting everyone else out for a couple of hours. I forgot. I’m sorry.”

  She surprised him by turning to him and grinning. “We can pretend we’re an established, happily married couple out on a romantic date to celebrate the life we’ve created.”

  The image hit him like a kick in the gut, and his throat closed up for a moment. Was that the future she envisioned? Maybe she’d just put into very blunt words the only things she needed to be relaxed and happy. “If you want,” he said lamely, then turned away and gritted his teeth in a cringe of frustration. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  He could ask her to marry him—and she could laugh in his face and say her words had been a joke. Maybe it was a preposterous, old-fashioned idea. They’d only today made the decision to give their relationship a try. To think a woman like her…

  The warmth of her hand left his, and he drew a quick breath. Had he just let something momentous slip right through his fingers? No matter how he tried to wrestle his thoughts into something coherent, he couldn’t. She’d released his hand to turn the radio up a little.

  “Are you a metal fan like my brother?” she asked.

  It took him a moment to switch gears. Here he was contemplating forever with her, and now she was talking about music.