Arms of Serenity (Rock Services) (14 page)

Chapter Eleven

Becca walked through her apartment to the refrigerator.
She opened the door, and her stomach rumbled in frustration at the empty shelves. She needed to add grocery shopping to her to-do list for tomorrow. Sunday was the one day the bakery was closed, and it was usually spent running errands. She needed to take a quick run out to the farm house, too. She hadn’t been there all week, and she wanted to make sure everything was still intact. Since Nick arrived it seemed that she hadn’t been able to focus on anything.

Nick had spent the rest of the week at the shop.
He was there the minute she opened and stayed until she locked up for the night. He even walked her to her apartment door after closing and didn’t leave until he heard the click of it being locked.

He admitted to having a background check done on Tommy since the “incident”.
It turned out he did spend time in jail and had a long list of convictions including theft, assault, and multiple drug charges. Although Nick’s constant mothering and joined-at-her-hip attitude proved to be annoying at times, it made her heart swell knowing he was worried about her. And after she heard the list, a part of her was glad he stayed close.

Tomorrow would be the first time he wouldn’t be spending the day with her.
She was going to miss him. He was the first person she saw each morning and the last person she talked to each night. Before going to bed, he would call or text her to wish her sweet dreams. She liked being his last thought for the day, even though she knew that a part of the attentiveness was him just checking on her. Of course, that didn’t stop her from giggling into the pillow like a silly teenager after she would hear from him.

Sigh.

Nick had her all starry-eyed like a schoolgirl with a crush. She was daydreaming, applying lip gloss at least ten times a day, and when he lent her his jacket she had worn it like she was the prom queen wearing the trophy of her quarterback boyfriend. Yep, she had officially regressed to a sixteen year old girl. She was so drawing the line at doodling his name on her books, though. The minute she started doing that, she was just going to have to send herself to her room and take away TV for a week. It was for her own good, after all.

If she liked him so much, what the heck was she waiting for?
It was Saturday night, and she was standing alone in her kitchen in her fuzzy pajamas. She should just call Nick to ask him if he wanted to have dinner. She was a grown woman—contrary to her teenage regression—and it was absolutely normal for a girl to ask a guy out, right? He had spent almost every waking minute with her for the past week and would be happy to have her call. She glanced at the clock on the wall to check the time. It was already after 8:00. He probably had already eaten, and anyway, it was getting too late to extend the offer. She’d do it some other night.

Well
, Becca, you talked yourself right out of that in record time. Chicken shit.

Becca grabbed her cell phone off the counter.
It looked like it was going to be delivery for one and a movie for her Saturday night excitement. As she was scrolling through her contacts for her favorite pizza joint, the icon for a text message popped up on the screen. She smiled when she saw it was Nick with a one word text.

Hungry?

The man was a mind reader or just had perfect timing.
She texted back.

Starving.
What do you have in mind?

The message had barely sent when she heard a knock at the door.
She looked at the door, back to her cell and then back to the door. It couldn’t be him, could it? She walked over and peeped through the hole. Becca shook her head when she saw his blue eyes winking back from the hallway. Awfully sure of himself, wasn’t he? She looked down at her tank, bottoms, and slippers. Could he at least have given her a five minute warning to put on something more appropriate?

She opened the door.
He had a box of pizza in one hand and a six-pack of bottlenecks in the other. Her stomach made another rumbling sound when she took in the smell of pepperoni. The man
was
a mind reader, and by the always present smug smile on his face he knew as much.

She crossed her arms
. “What if I said I wasn’t hungry?”

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips
. “Then you could have had a beer while keeping me company as I ate.”

She watched as he walked over to the couch and placed the pizza and beer on the coffee table.
He just walked in and sat down like he belonged and had been there a hundred times already. It was the first time he was in her apartment, and he seemed perfectly comfortable and relaxed. Even the kiss at the door seemed “normal”, as if they had been together for years.

Becca slowly closed the door as her thoughts started to run wild in her head.
Were they together? Technically they only had one date and well now, pizza. Did that mean they were dating? They had spent every day together. Did that count? That kiss was the first kiss on the lips since the barn. What exactlydid that mean? Was he expecting something more now that he was here?

Ugh!
She was over-thinking this way too much.

Did it really matter what they were?
A few minutes ago she was mentally whining about how she was going to miss him and that she was hungry. And as if her fairy godmother waved her magic wand, he suddenly appeared offering his company and pizza. What more could a girl ask for?

She went to the cabinet for some plates and then joined him on the couch.
“You know you could have at least given me enough time to change out of my pajamas.”

Nick chuckled
. “And miss seeing those pants? Not a chance.”

Becca glanced down at her favorite loungewear.
The pajamas were covered with stressed out cartoon cats demanding their morning coffee. They accurately expressed how she felt in the a.m. before she got her cup of java. “I know you aren’t making fun of my frazzled felines.”

Nick got a serious look and gazed down.
“You have it all wrong. I have nothing but admiration and respect for your pussy … pants.”

She tossed her head back laughing.
“I can’t believe you just said that. That was all kinds of wrong.”

“Just being honest.”

She grabbed a plate and handed it to him.
“I’m glad we hadn’t started eating yet because I think that honest statement would have made me choke on a piece of pepperoni.”

“No worries.
I’m fully certified in the Heimlich maneuver, CPR, and any other lifesaving techniques that require me to cover your body with mine.”

“Wow, I think you just fully reverted back to the bad pick-up line man from the party.
How about we see what’s on TV while you’re still ahead?” Still smiling, she pointed the remote and channel surfed until they both agreed on a
NCIS
marathon.

After downing two slices and a couple of beers, Becca lounged back and patted her content belly.
“There is just nothing better than pizza. Thank you for the delivery of the pepperoni and cheese goodness.”

Nick relaxed back on the couch and turned his head to her.
“You’re welcome. I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend a Saturday night. Pizza, beer, and you – I’m good.”

Becca could think of a whole plethora of words to describe Nick.
A simple “good” was a gross understatement if she ever heard one. Alluring, scrumptious, and freaking hot came to mind as he lounged on her couch clad in a tight fitting T-shirt and worn jeans.

She could also think of a few more perfect ways to spend their Saturday night.
His mouth drew her attention, and the thought of his lips on her, kissing below her ear, down her neck, on her breasts and then lower, much lower, gave her tingle at the exact place she wanted his lips to be.

She cleared her throat and got up way too quick
ly to be casual. “How about a movie? That red envelope next to the stereo should have the latest and greatest action flick. A whole bunch of things blowing up sounds about right for someone nicknamed Boomer.”

Nick chuckled and nodded in approval as she walked over and set up the movie.
When she turned back around, she stopped. His hands were clenched together, and she could almost feel the tension radiating off him. Becca could see the muscles working along his jaw, and he was staring at some spot on her wall. What could have happened in the few seconds it took her to put the movie in? “Nick?”

Never looking away from that fascinating spot, he asked her in a low strained voice, “Becca, are you pregnant?”

She felt like the breath had been sucked out of her lungs. Why would he be asking her that? She put her hands on her stomach to try to hold back the panic that had suddenly settled there. Her voice was shaking when she managed to get one word past her dry throat and mouth. “What?”

When he finally turned to face her, his eyes were filled with
… what? Hurt? Fear? Anger? There could be every emotion imaginable, and it wouldn’t change a thing. All she could see was accusation. The way he looked, his body language—it was Mike all over again. Her worst fear was coming true, and she wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She wasn’t pregnant, and here he was looking like he wanted to do nothing but point a finger and run as fast as he could.

Typical much?
The moment it gets too serious or too complicated the door can’t hit them in the ass fast enough.

He looked down at her hands on her stomach
, and his eyes flew back up to hers. “Are. You. Pregnant. Becca?”

“N
-no. Why would you think?”

Nick cut her off
. “The picture.”

Becca watched as his head turned to the end table and then back to her.
Sitting there was the frame from the party, filled with a picture of her and Anne and in the corner was a copy of Anne’s ultrasound. The black and white piece of paper showed Junior with the caption of “Hi, Mom”. 

It was understandable and almost forgivable that he assumed what he did.
Seen through his eyes, she would have jumped to the same conclusion. But none of that mattered. His reaction was all that was needed for her fears to come rushing back like a tidal wave.

He was exactly what she expected and hoped that he wasn’t.
He had even moved to the edge of the seat and was as jumpy as a horse ready to bust through a starting gate. She fought back the start of her tears and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry before she could throw him out faster than he could say he was leaving.

“I’m on the pill
, and we used a condom. My best friend Anne is pregnant. That is a picture of her behind the ultrasound of
her
baby. Now, get out.”

****

Nick watched Becca turn her back to him. He ran a hand through his hair and muttered under his breath. “Shit.” He’d handled that like a champ. What  did he just do?

When he saw the ultrasound, it had felt like he had been kicked in the gut.
The thoughts came fast and the landslide of feelings faster.

He was a guy.
He didn’t know that much about fetal growth stages. What he did know was that the time that had passed from when they were together was not enough for the baby to be his. The thought of someone else’s seed growing inside of Becca had him feeling all types of jealousy. Anger came crashing in at the thought of the worthless piece of shit that got her that way and abandoned her. Then the realization hit that she didn’t trust him enough to tell him. That hurt him more than he wanted to admit. He sat there trying to reel in the turmoil of his emotions and get a handle on how to ask her when his mouth opened up before he could stop it. Now, she wanted him to leave, and he didn’t blame her. He had acted like an ass.

Nick got up and walked up behind her.
“I’m so sorry, Becca. Please, it came out wrong. I didn’t mean … ah, hell. Just talk to me. Don’t ask me to leave.”

“Why?
It’s what you wanted. You couldn’t get out of here fast enough when you thought it was my baby.” The words came out strangled and in a whisper. She sniffled, and he wanted to kick his own ass for making her cry. He took her by the shoulders and turned her around.

His heart wrenched when he saw the trail of tears down her cheeks.
Still holding her shoulders he looked directly in to her eyes. “No. I might have been angry at the thought of some asshole getting you pregnant then leaving you to be a single mother. I was even hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me. But with all the thoughts and possibilities that were running through my mind, not one of them was about leaving. I wasn’t going anywhere.” Through the tears, he could see a glimmer of hope sparkle in her eyes. “Change that. I’m
not
going anywhere.”

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand as he brushed the tears away from her cheeks.
He didn’t know if what he said had soothed her pain and what he expected was fear, but her tears had stopped and she hadn’t repeated her request for him to leave.