Caught Between an Oops and a Hard Body (Caught Between series Book 2) (8 page)

“Definitely.”

But as she slid from the truck and turned back, she froze. “Mom? Dad? How long have you been standing there?”

Stone craned his head around so he could peer out the driver’s side window.

Sure enough, there stood a middle aged couple.

Her mom was grinning from ear to ear as though her daughter had just won a major prize, while her dad looked as though he wished he was holding a shotgun instead a woman’s purse.

He took a deep breath, reminded himself that both Stephanie and him were of legal age, then climbed out of the truck, and held out his hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Her mom jumped right in and pumped his arm. “You must be the bride’s brother. The
lawyer
.”

He shot Stephanie a look. Had she been talking to her mom about him? Was this a ploy to get him down the aisle, after all? “Yes, Ma’am.”

Stephanie came to his side. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Stone Kincaid. He’s a d—”

Her mom cut her off and yanked him toward the older gentleman who was now clutching that purse like it was Stone’s neck.

“Tom, say hello to your daughter’s boyfriend.”

The noose around Stone's neck tightened.

“Mom, Stone's not my boyfriend. He’s actually a d—”

Tom growled low in his throat, interrupting his daughter. “Then why did he have his tongue down your throat?”

Beside him, Stephanie sighed, pulled his hand free from her mom’s grip, and gave him a push toward the opposite side of the street. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave town before she starts measuring you for a tux.”

Stone restrained the urge to sprint, nodded in the general direction of her parents, then casually strolled across the street toward the coffee shop. As he reached for the handle, the front door swung open, and a couple stepped out into the sunshine.

The man glanced Stone’s way, then immediately stopped.

“Stone,” he said as he held out one hand. “When did you get back on the island?”

Stone grabbed the other man’s hand and smiled. “Just this morning. How are you doing, Brody?”

“Great. Better than great.” He released Stone’s hand and turned to the woman at his side. Pure adoration shone from his gaze. “This is my wife, Paige Calhoun-Jackson. Honey, I’d like you to meet Stone Kincaid. We played football together in high school.”

She held out her hand, a warm smile on her full lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Stone.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” As she released his hand, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Stephanie’s parents follow her into the doctor’s office. Gesturing toward the coffee shop, he asked, “Do you have time to join me? We could catch up.”

Brody glanced at his watch, then put one arm around his wife’s waist. “We have an appointment across the street. Maybe you could come over for supper one night.”

“I’d like that.” Stone pulled a card from deep in his pocket and handed it to the other man. “I’ll be on the island all week. Give me a call when you have time and we’ll set something up.”

“Will do.”

With a wave, the couple left. Stone watched them go into the doctor’s office. Then he headed into the coffee shop where he took a stool at the front counter.

His thoughts returned to Stephanie.

There was definitely something wrong with him.

A dozen times a day, the urge to call her came over him, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d given him a phony phone number, he might not have been able to resist. All that time, he’d believed the urge would go away.

It hadn’t and now here he was, under her spell again. So caught up in the feel of her lips against his, her full breasts in his hands, he’d forgotten they were in plain sight of the entire town.

Of all people, he should know better. The stormy relationship between his mom and dad was a perfect example of everything he wanted to avoid. Add in the dozens and dozens of divorces he handled each year, and how every time he saw how miserable those people were, he swore never to fall into the marriage trap.

Stephanie was dangerous with a capital D. He liked her—liked her more than was healthy for his single status. And yet, she’d sworn she wanted exactly what he wanted.

A no strings attached fling.

What he needed was time away from her to put this whole thing between them into perspective. Too bad he’d had weeks away from her and failed to do just that.

If he was smart, he’d steer clear of her this week, let this thing between them cool off, but he had a funny feeling she might be the one person he could turn to to keep him sane.

He straightened his back and something inside of him hardened.

After this week, he’d cut her out of his life. Cold, impersonal, without a hitch to his lifestyle. She’d return to wherever she lived and he’d return home alone.

And there’d be no marriage-minded mothers or purse-toting fathers in his life.

CHAPTER NINE

Stephanie had turned her back on her parents, fully expecting them to follow Stone to the coffee shop.

Maybe she was being selfish, but she had the inclination to let Stone deal with them himself. She had enough on her plate this week. She didn’t need to play middleman between her lover and her parents.

Unfortunately for her, when she entered the doctor’s office, she heard the distinctive click of her mom’s heels as the older woman followed her in.

“Oh honey, a lawyer. I knew you could do it.”

If Stone knew what was good for him, he’d hightail it back to the estate, grab his things, and make a break for the Mainland. If she had the choice, she’d run from her parents, too. “He’s not my boyfriend, Mom. In fact, he’s nothing to me.”

Her dad followed them in, a concerned frown creasing his forehead. “Is that how you kiss a boy who means nothing? Then you’re giving him the wrong message.”

Stephanie looked around at the other occupants in the doctor’s office and felt her face heat. “Will you two please keep your voices down?”

Dora grabbed her hand and tugged her onto a chair. “Spill. Tell us all about him. Has he popped the question yet? When is the wedding?” She clapped her hands together and gazed up at her husband. “A double wedding, Tom. It’s a dream come true.”

The frown on her dad’s face deepened. He ignored his wife and focused on his oldest daughter. “Boys are trouble. Stay away from them and you’ll never go wrong.”

She lowered her voice. “What about Dane?”

“Dane’s different.” His furrowed brow deepened. “He’s like a son to me. The son I never had.” He speared his wife with a playful leer, the pained expression on his face momentarily gone. “Not for lack of trying, if I might add.”

Stephanie wrinkled her nose and felt her stomach roll. “No sex talk. It grosses me out, okay.”

“This has to be the one,” her mom muttered. “Every day gets you one day closer to spinsterhood.”

“Mom, forget it.”

While her mom mulled over her failure to get Stephanie married, her dad fixed her with a fatherly look. “This Stone…he looks like a player to me.”

She quirked one brow at him. “A player? How can you tell?”

“Because two-point-five seconds after he had you alone, he had his tongue down your throat and his hands…you know where.”

A blush crept into her cheeks. If her dad only knew about what had happened the night of Grandma Elvira’s wedding.

Leaning forward, she patted his knee and gave him her sweetest smile. “There was no tongue involved, Daddy.”

“If you hadn’t been uptown and in plain sight of everyone, I’m sure there would have been.”

Her mom tsked and her concerned expression deepened. “I saw the way he kissed you, honey. A man like that can get a woman’s panties off in no time at all. Just remember not to give away the cow before—” Her brow furrowed as she angled her body so she could see her husband. “What’s that old saying?”

Tom growled, “Dora, don’t give her ideas.”

Her dad, bless his kind soul, still thought Mandy and her were as innocent as the day they arrived on his doorstep.

The office door jingled, momentarily capturing her parents’ attention. A good looking couple walked in and sat down, and the young receptionist addressed them as Mayor and Mrs. Jackson.

Stephanie watched the man rest his hand protectively over the woman’s abdomen before she dragged her attention back to her parents. “Don’t you have enough to do without hassling me? Pestering Mandy for a grandchild? Preparing for your birthday party? Making the cake?”

“Oh honey, I’m an excellent multi-tasker. In fact, that’s where you get your wedding planning skills from. It certainly wasn’t from your dad.” She glanced at her husband and gave a snort. “Or from that
other woman
.”

Stephanie raised one eyebrow. “You mean Diana.”

Thankfully, the receptionist called out her name, and as Stephanie headed across the room, she noticed her mom slide onto the chair next to the couple and ask, “I couldn’t help but notice. Are you pregnant?”

Sometimes the older woman had no boundaries.

Stephanie followed the nurse down the hallway and into one of the tiny rooms. She stifled a yawn, feeling much like she could use an afternoon nap, but knowing full well that she wouldn’t get one. Not with the wedding only three days away.

It was going to be a very long week.

Except for the nights.

She thought of the toe curling kiss she’d shared with Stone. The way he’d tunneled beneath her shirt and cupped her breasts.

As the door swung open and the doctor walked in, she prayed he could give her something for the flu.

He was reading her chart through glasses that were perched on the end of his nose. He wore a cotton short sleeved shirt, a pair of tan linen slacks, and golf shoes. All that was missing were the golf clubs.

He glanced up at her and smiled. “Hello, Stephanie. I’m Dr. Strom. What can I do for you today?”

“I think I might have the flu. Maybe you could give me something to alleviate this nauseous feeling.”

“How often and what time of the day are you sick?”

“Throughout the day. Cold food seems to stay down, but hot food comes right back up before it even gets down. And the smells…well, let’s just say I’ve grown to immensely dislike certain scents.”

He frowned as he felt her forehead with the back of his hand. “How long has this been going on?”

She shifted on the table so she could peer at the calendar on the opposite wall. Instead, she caught sight of the side profile of a very pregnant woman.

The sick feeling in her stomach got worse. “Maybe a couple of weeks. I’m not exactly sure. I’ve been busy, you know, getting brides married.”

“Have you been around anyone with flu like symptoms?”

“I’m always meeting with people. Who knows if any of them have been sick.”

He nodded, make a mark on her chart. “Period?”

She caught her breath and coughed. “What?”

He looked up and met her gaze head on. “Menstrual period? When was the last time you had one?”

Startled she shook her head and scrunched her forehead. “I’ve never missed one…I mean, I don’t keep track…if I did, I probably wouldn’t…”

“Are you on the Pill? Or another birth control? Have you had any sexual encounters lately?”

That sick feeling in her stomach got worse and she glanced at the picture of the pregnant woman again. “Yes, a few weeks ago and of course we used proper birth control.”

She blinked and moistened her lips.

Mostly they’d used proper birth control, but there had been that one instance when they’d gotten carried away and…

She gave an uncomfortable laugh and shifted on the table again. “I’m hoping I have the flu. I don’t want it to be…you know, the other thing.”

“We’ll check all of the options.” He shone a flashlight in one eye, then the other, felt her neck glands for swelling. “Any other symptoms? Tiredness? Swollen breasts? Lack of or heightened sex drive?”

In the middle of stifling a yawn, she got that sick feeling in her gut again, and she slumped back against the wall. “Yes, yes, and definitely yes.”

Especially the last one. And it was all Stone’s fault because he was irresistible.

He stepped back, his eyes kind and concerned, his voice gentle and fatherly. “We’ll run some tests today. The results will be back within a couple of days. I suggest you make another appointment and we’ll take it from there.”

Her voice came out small and needy. “You won’t tell anyone, will you? My dad…” She covered her face with her hands. “He’d be so mad and disappointed in me. And my career…I’m in the middle of planning the Kincaid wedding. I wouldn’t want news to get out.”

As she stood up, he set one hand on her shoulder. “This is just between you and me. If the test turns out positive, it’ll be up to you when and how you break the news to anyone you care to tell.”

As she headed down the hallway for the blood and urine samples, she struggled against the shock of it all.

Stone Kincaid, hotshot divorce lawyer, the man who starred in her nighttime fantasies.

It was his fault she was in trouble now.

His fault her ever expanding waistline might be…
expanding
.

No wonder she felt fat and frumpy.

If he hadn’t been temptation with a twinkle in his eyes, a ready smile on his mouth, and the best looking shoulders she’d ever seen, she might have been able to avoid him.

But one look had led to a zillion intimate touches later, and now…

A baby
?

As she left the doctor’s office, she resisted the urge to cover her midriff with her hands, and when a space between vehicles opened up, she hurried across the street.

What would she do if the test results were positive? Move back in with her parents? Work at the local grocery store just so she could put food on the table for her growing youngster?

No way could she be pregnant. They’d been so very careful…mostly. It had to be the flu.

She spied the Serendipity Island Pharmacy sign and stopped mid-step.

If she picked up a home pregnancy test, she wouldn’t have to wait to find out the results.

Because if the results were positive, Stone Kincaid would never look at her like a goddess again.