“I wouldn’t punch you.”
“Admit it, you want to punch something.”
“Because I don’t know what the fuck to do!” I yelled. “I’m pretty sure Austin’s dad wants to start a smear campaign in order to protect his own ass, and if Austin’s pregnant . . .” I sat and groaned into my hands.
“And if she is?” Lucas asked.
A buzzing sensation washed all over my body. “I’d be stoked,” I finally admitted. “It’s not like I’m getting any younger.”
“Saw a wrinkle near your lip, man, I’d fix that shit.”
“You have smile lines too, dumbass.”
He grinned. “Mine make me look sexy, since they’re paired with this cleft right there.” He winked. “Yours make you look old, ergo, congrats on the baby.”
I tried to tamp down my excitement.
But it was impossible.
So when the door opened and Austin held out about six different types of pregnancy tests, I was ready to give her as much water as necessary so she could hurry the hell up and pee on the damn stick.
Austin walked toward the bathroom and closed the door. I sat on the edge of the recliner, then stood, then sat again.
“Just sit the hell down.” Lucas placed his hands on my shoulders to make sure I didn’t move and then went to help himself to a glass of wine before pouring me a shot of expensive whiskey and bringing it over. “Here.”
It burned all the way down.
And threatened to come right back up when two minutes later, Austin walked out of the bathroom.
I couldn’t read her expression.
I could always read her expression.
The room was completely silent.
I held my breath as she slowly walked over to me and pulled the little stick from behind her back and held it out.
I looked down.
“Holy shit.” Tears filled my eyes. “You’re pregnant.”
She nodded and then wrapped her arms around me. I was afraid to squeeze her too tight. “I’m so sorry!”
“Wait, what?” I gently pushed her away and kissed her wet cheeks. “Baby, why are you sorry?”
“I know it’s not part of your plan, and you’re paying off school loans and—”
I silenced her worries with a kiss and lifted her into the air, twirling her around a few times before setting her back on her feet. “I’m a doctor, I think we’ll be okay.”
She huffed. “No, I know that, but then, my dad, and your picture, people are going to recognize you and—”
“Let’s worry about that later.”
She nodded and then a beautiful smile spread across her face. “I’m excited, why am I excited? I’m barely graduating with my MBA, and I don’t even have a job.”
“Hi.” I kissed her nose and then tapped my chest. “Doctor. Not that you have to stay home. You’ve worked your ass off to be in the business world. What I’m saying is, you’ve always set your mind on a goal and achieved it, and this is no different. Plus, we have each other.”
“Sorry, I’m just—there’s a lot of things going on.”
She was right about that.
I’d already fielded two phone calls from a partner at the firm who’d seen the photos on the news and was wondering what the hell was going on. The last time a scandal had hit our office, one of the doctors was asked to take leave for two months.
But I had a baby coming.
Two months?
No chance in hell.
I needed my job.
Because I wasn’t going to screw up again.
And I refused to let this affect Austin. Again.
I needed to keep my job.
Which meant I needed a plan.
I thought back to the pictures I had stashed in my room. A twinge of remorse hit me square in the chest. A sick feeling washed over me as my stomach clenched. I wasn’t sure if they would fix everything; I wasn’t even sure if they would make things worse. But I had to try, right? Wasn’t that what family did? They tried? They sacrificed?
I knew in that moment. I would do anything for her.
Give up everything.
To keep her safe—to keep my new family safe.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
AUSTIN
We celebrated all night, and Thatch told us part of his plan before disappearing with Lucas for a good hour while I hung out with Avery and tried my best to come up with more ways to take my dad down.
Everything Avery and I came up with fell short.
Because really, who would believe my mother over the mayor? Especially with proof? People loved a good scandal, and even though Thatch wasn’t actually kissing her, it looked like she was going in for a kiss and they were holding hands. It looked bad. I mean, I knew them, and I’d suspected the worst.
The answer came easily enough.
In fact, the answer came when Zootopia popped on and Avery made us pause for the Shakira song.
“I would kill for a carrot recorder pen.” I yawned and then shared a look with Avery before grinning up at Thatch.
“That look scares me.” He scooted away and then narrowed his eyes. “Just what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
“The fact that I’m brilliant.”
“I agree with that if I can add in ‘terrifying’ before the ‘brilliant’ part.” He scooted back toward me. “Now, what’s your idea?”
“Braden.” I nodded. “He knows what’s going on. I’ll bet money my dad asked a favor for a favor. Date me, take me to the fund-raiser, make us look good, and pull me away from Thatch, and he’d put in a good word. Braden wasn’t that good of a student that he’d get a high-paying lawyer job right out of college. He used to cheat off my papers all the time. I mean, the guy’s smart, but I guarantee he struggled with his classes.”
“No.” Thatch shook his head. “Absolutely not. You’re not talking to that dipshit, besides, last time he saw you, you drew blood.”
“Right.” I rubbed my hands together. “But if I tell him I saw the news and I’m confused . . . and sorry . . . I just bet he’d confess that my dad got him a job in exchange for dating me or at least distracting me. He always likes to sound like he’s smart, like he knows everything. He’s too arrogant not to say something.”
“I still don’t like it,” Thatch said.
Lucas nodded. “I’d have to agree with Thatch on that one, you’re carrying his child.”
I crossed my arms. What the heck? What does a baby have to do with it! “Guys, it’s not the seventeenth century, you know this, right?”
They both ignored me, and then Avery piped up.
“Honestly . . .” Avery shrugged. “The easiest way for you to talk to him without making it look like you’re crawling back is to pretend like you’re a woman scorned, a woman cheated, a woman needing to get even.”
The room fell silent again.
“What?” She popped an almond into her mouth. “You said he’s arrogant—he’ll love that you came to him. And boom, he’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand. Just bring your carrot recorder pen and you’re golden.”
“Or iPhone, that’s always a solid option too,” Lucas joked.
“Please.” I gripped Thatch’s hand. “I want to fix this, I—I want to move past all of this crap. I don’t want the white picket fence and dog and two perfect kids!”
“Huh?” Thatch asked the room. “Is this normal for pregnancy?”
Avery patted my back. “What she’s saying in her own weird way is she wants to start fresh, and have a family, and be happy, with you, not with the idea of what was pumped into her when she was little about happily-ever-afters. Get it?”
Both men nodded.
While Avery and I rolled our eyes and began to plot.
“I see you’ve come to your senses,” Braden snorted over a martini. Ah, even the way he drank made me want to smack him on the head.
It cheered me up that, while fading, the black eye I’d gifted him with was still visible, though my
money was on cover-up making the purple look more of a muted yellow.
“Yeah, well.” The waitress appeared at the table, and I ordered a drink but knew I wasn’t going to touch it. “I’m pissed. He cheated on me, freaking cheated. Again!”
Braden rolled his eyes. “Stop being so dramatic. You know it was a setup, right? Your dad just wanted me to keep Thatch away from you so your dad could continue screwing Thatch’s mom without you finding out or ruining it for him. I asked for all the gory details, especially since I was really happy with my last girlfriend. Then again, she couldn’t get me into the best law firm in town. So, I did what I could.”
Wow, that was almost too easy.
“Yeah, well.” I drummed my fingertips on the table and tried not to shift too much since my phone was on “Voice Record.” “I’m still pissed.”
Braden tossed back the rest of his drink. “All I know is that your father’s up for reelection next year, and he’d do anything—anything—in order to get it. You know he wants to run for Senate next.”
I fought the urge to gag.
I loved my dad.
I did. He was my dad.
He would always be my dad.
But sometimes he was just too much. And ever since the shit had hit the fan, I noticed how that love between us had always been one-sided. I did things for him, and if I did them well, he gave me love.
If I did them poorly?
I was ignored.
Ugh, no wonder I dealt with so much insecurity where Thatch was concerned.
“He’d be a great senator. Aren’t they known for cheating?”
Braden smirked over at me. “Someone’s still bitter. Look, from what your dad said, they’ve been hooking up for a few months.”
I thought about Thatch’s dad. About the smell of whiskey, the way he leered at me, the language Thatch said he used in reference to what was happening.
And his mom.
The woman I had yet to meet.
Sighing, I stood. “Thanks, Braden. You still need a date for that fund-raiser?”
It was an olive branch.
I didn’t want to go with him.
But I also wasn’t sure what was going to happen to him when my dad discovered that he was the source.
“You punched me in the face last time we talked,” he said drily. “And don’t take this the wrong way, but you really are putting on weight. Maybe up the cardio, huh?”
My fingers itched to hit him again.
Instead, my anger was quickly replaced by happiness. “I have noticed. And I’m okay with it.” Baby’s gotta eat! “Good-bye.”
“Wait!” He stood. “That’s it? I thought you wanted to hook up or something?”
Hah. No. Just no.
“Sorry.” I shrugged. “I’m feeling a bit sick now.”
I smiled the entire way out the door.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
THATCH
“If we didn’t need that bastard, I would have punched him in the face,” I said through clenched teeth as we slowly got ready for bed. The bathroom was large enough for both of us to move around each other, and I kind of hated it, because I liked feeling her warmth around me, knowing that if I reached for her, she’d be there.
I’d turned into a complete sap.
And I’d never seen it coming.
Austin put her hands on her hips and shook her head at me. “You’ve said that . . . at least five times.”
“It was true the first time, true this time too.” I looked down at my shaking hands and clenched them into fists. “The fact that he ever kissed you, touched you—”
“Whoa there, cowboy.” Austin was suddenly in front of me, tugging me by my hair in a way that drove me wild, pulling me into her arms and kissing my mouth, her delicious tongue sweet on my lips. “I’m yours. Plus . . .” We both looked down as she placed my hand on her stomach. “Now we’re going to be a family. Every time you touch me or kiss me, it feels like I’m ready to jump out of my own skin. I love you. This, what we have, it’s worth fighting for, even if it means we fight our own blood.”
My entire body trembled.
I wasn’t really sure what that looked like.
The only model my parents had set up for me was “cheat or be cheated on.”
And although I knew a part of them did love me, they just chose to love me from afar.
While I rarely saw my dad, the few times our paths crossed publicly, he said he was proud of me in front of others. But in private? That was a completely different story. He was constantly upset that I didn’t follow in his footsteps and painfully vocal about my field of choice.
And my mom stopped answering my calls the minute she discovered good old Dad had moved across the hall from me and blurted out her dirty secrets. Even though I had distanced myself from my mother, I still called her on holidays. I called when I got a job. I called and thanked her for at least showing up to my college graduation. But because my dad moved across the hall, I’d apparently “picked a side.” And now she cut me out of her life. Completely.
The point? I felt abandoned by her, yet again, and it wasn’t fair. The entire situation with my parents was ridiculous. And I was finally over it.
Sighing, I kissed Austin softly across the mouth, my hands spreading across her flat stomach. I wondered if the baby could sense me, feel me, know that even now I loved it more than anything in this world.
Tears pricked the back of my eyes.
I’d never been an overly emotional guy, especially considering that I thought emotions showed weakness, and both of my parents were emotional terrorists in their own right, throwing atom bombs at each other without caring who was caught in the crossfire—or that the person getting injured the most was their only son.
“Thatch?” Austin said softly.
“Yeah?”
We pulled apart.
“I want to talk to my dad before everything happens.”
Everything in me wanted to shout, No!, to tell her that he’d try to manipulate her like he did everything else—like he had her entire life—but I was at a loss. He was her father, and I didn’t have a leg to stand on other than being her boyfriend, and a protective one at that. Besides, Austin was tough.
I nodded once. “If that’s what you need to do.”
“I just—” Tears filled her eyes. “I want him to come clean. Maybe if he admits the affair and says he’ll fix the media shit storm, we won’t have to go to all of this trouble, you know? I just feel like I’m handing down a life sentence without actually seeing if he’d be willing to plead guilty.”
She was right, damn it. It wasn’t fair to blame him for everything without even talking to the man. I knew firsthand where a fucked-up family got you.
Lonely.
Desperate.
Lonely.
Lonely needed to be said twice for obvious reasons. I’d almost lost her and would have been living in my own personal hell right now if she hadn’t kicked me in the ass and made me see reason.
“You know, I hate admitting when you’re right, but . . .” I grimaced. “You probably are.”
She grinned. “I love hearing that from your mouth.”
“Don’t get so used to it,” I muttered. “Want me to go with you?”
“Maybe just, I don’t know . . .” She shrugged. “Hang out in the car? Just in case he freaks out and we need a getaway vehicle.” If the man touched a hair on her head, I was going to have a hell of a time staying out of prison.
“Man the vehicle.” I nodded. “Got it.”
I had no idea what her dad was going to do, though I was pretty positive that there would be yelling and hurt feelings—but I couldn’t go and ruin the man’s life, even if he was trying to ruin mine, without giving him a shot at redemption.
Right? It was only fair that Austin give him a chance. One I never gave my own parents.
“Hey.” Austin wrapped her arms around my body. “I don’t like that look. Want a Mountain Dew?”
“Seriously? Is that how I’m going to feel better?”
She nodded emphatically. “Or a MoonPie, I have a stash of those too.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Pickles!” she shouted directly in front of my face, then whispered, “Oops. I mean, pickles, I heard they’re good and um—”
“Is this your way of asking me to go get you pickles and MoonPies, because you know we don’t have any of those in the house, right?”
She grinned. “Good doctors take care of their patients.”
“You realize I’m not that kind of doctor, right? I don’t fluff pillows and give you junk food. Furthermore, you should know that, since you spent the last three weeks shadowing me. Just what was in all those notes you were taking for those blog posts?”
“Really accurate pictures of your ass.” She winked. “And oftentimes, I’d doodle ‘Austin loves Thatch’ and then write little hearts around our names. When things didn’t go my way, I finally just danced around your apartment naked when you weren’t home and cast a love spell on you.”
I fought an eye-roll. “Not weird at all.”
“I’m so glad you agree.” She started kissing my neck, making it impossible to think straight, and then my shirt was over my head, my pants were hanging from the door, and I was getting completely seduced and assaulted by a pregnant lady with a one-track mind and a really wicked grip.
“Austin.” I jerked against her.
“I’ll take care of that.” She bent down.
“No, you’re pregnant and—”
Just kidding.
All conscious thought left my system at the feel of her mouth, my body, her heat, her tongue.
I gripped the sink with one hand while she continued torturing me, and when I didn’t think I could take it anymore, I pulled her to her feet and pressed her body against the door, taking her mouth over and over again until she whimpered beneath me.
“My turn,” I whispered hoarsely across her neck as I shoved her shorts to the floor and found her center.
Hips bucking, she smacked my hand and let out a soft laugh. “You’re killing me.”
“All’s fair.” My answer before opening the bathroom door and carrying her to the bed, sinking into her the minute her back kissed the mattress and staring down at the gorgeous girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.