Dating A Saint (32 page)

Seth reached out and ran a hand down Jenna’s hair, which she had grown out to her shoulders now. He was pleased when she didn’t flinch, more pleased when she didn’t try to stop him. For a moment, he allowed himself the fantasy that he could touch her like this all the time.

“I just followed you to say I’m sorry for the way I acted at the wedding reception,” Seth said softly. “I’ve already apologized to Allen. I know you don’t want that kind of attention from me, so if you promise not to tease me when you know I care about you, I promise not to act like a jerk again. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or Allen. He’s a nice guy, and regardless of how I feel, I sincerely don’t want to hurt either of you.”

Seth dropped his hand and walked out of the bathroom, and then stopped and looked back at Jenna, who was still staring at him.

“You are good person, Jenna Ranger. I know you’re not the kind of woman who climbs into bed with every guy she dates. I’m not the kind of guy who tries to score with every woman he meets. If you’re planning to get more involved with Stedman, well it’s your business and his. Since I’m still interested in you for myself, I’m damn grateful that wasn’t your positive test. But if I had made you get that plus sign, I would have rushed out to tell the world,” Seth said fervently, walking away before he once again did something he shouldn’t with Jenna Ranger. “

*** *** ***

“Hello, Lydia,” Jim said to the woman standing sullenly at Lauren’s side.

He passed Lauren the plate of food he brought, watching her pluck a piece of cheese from it and devour it in one bite. It bothered the hell out of him to think she was hungry and no one had thought to feed her. Tomorrow he was taking her to the Italian restaurant again and buying her all the pasta she could eat.

Jim uncapped the bottle of water and handed it to a smiling Lauren. “Drink. I bet you haven’t nearly met your quota today. You drink more water than anyone I have ever met.”

“My hero,” Lauren said, taking the water and drinking.

“How solicitous of you, James,” Lydia said, frowning at the man who seemed to have no remorse over the public spectacle he was making of them all.

“I like taking care of the people I love, Lydia,” Jim said, narrowing his eyes. “Your daughter is at the top of my list.”

Lauren finished the plate of food and sighed in gratitude. “I may make it to the end of the evening now. Thank you, Jim,” she said, reaching over and kissing him gently.

“Really, Lauren. Can you not at least pretend to be discreet?” Lydia asked, exasperation dripping from her tone, no matter how much she tried to prevent it.

“No, Lydia. This is as discreet as it gets,” Lauren said, exasperated with her mother. “Can a mother treat her child any worse in public? I didn’t see you offering to get me something to eat or drink.”

“You’re a grown woman, for heaven’s sake. I assume you can ask for things if you need them. I would have motioned for one of the wait staff for you,” Lydia declared.

Several fragrance buyers came up then to talk with Lauren, offering a welcome reprieve from arguing with her mother. Jim took the water bottle back and held it while Lauren chatted with them about the organic ingredients in her perfume. Listening to her explanation, the deliveries she continuously received and stacked in her hallway suddenly made sense to him. Jim found himself just as enthralled as the buyers by what she was saying. He was going to enjoy learning about her work.

Just as Sydney came to collect the buyers to talk to Alexa, Jared Smith walked up to Lauren and Jim. Lydia straightened and smiled when Jared stopped directly in front of Lauren.

*** *** ***

Across the room, Casey watched the man walk up to Lauren. He didn’t look like a buyer, and his posture wasn’t friendly either. Unlike the thirty others who had approached Lauren this evening, there was something decidedly threatening about this particular man.

He put a hand on Alexa’s arm to get her attention. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said to the people she’d been speaking to. “Who’s the strange guy with Lauren?”

At the urgency in his voice, Alexa looked up and narrowed her eyes. “Jared Smith—her ex. That’s not a good situation.”

Casey patted her arm to communicate he had it covered, tapped his earpiece, and headed toward the group. He called for a couple of back-up guys in case Smith refused to leave when asked.

*** *** ***

“Hello, Lauren. Nice turnout for your product launch. Lydia suggested I stop by and offer my congratulations,” Jared said, smiling. He stepped in to kiss her cheek only to be blocked by James Gallagher putting an arm across the front of Lauren.

“I’m six inches taller and outweigh you by at least seventy pounds, Jared. If you touch her, you and I are going to make the papers tomorrow,” Jim said tightly.

“You’re being awfully protective of a woman who’s trying to take advantage of you, Gallagher,” Jared said lightly.

“You know, I put up with your insinuations at the fundraiser because Lauren didn’t want to make a scene. This is my home—soon hopefully to be Lauren’s home. You’re not going to insult me or Lauren here. You’re going to leave quietly with those men in black over there or I’m going to drag you to the front gate and toss you into the street myself,” Jim warned.

Jim noticed a crowd of onlookers was collecting around them and listening to them with rapt attention.

“Fine,” Jared said, holding out a hand to Jim who took the object he offered. “This is Lauren’s. I suggest you ask her what she was doing with it. You might be thanking me later for saving you from fathering an unwanted child.”

Jim stepped near the pool and lifted the white stick from his hand, holding it in the light of the flames to see the writing on it. He looked at Lauren who was pale as a ghost and swaying in place. He ought to kick Smith’s ass just for stressing her out more. All the business meetings this evening were stress enough.

“Is this really yours?” Jim asked softly, seeing the answer on Lauren’s face long before she answered.

“Yes—but, it’s not what it seems,” Lauren said, closing her eyes. “I threw the stick on the table in front of my mother when we argued the other day at lunch. She obviously gave it to Jared. She’s trying to make you upset at me.”

“Oh, that’s fairly simple to deduce from their gloating,” Jim said, taking the stick to Lydia. “Here. Keep this as a souvenir. If Lauren wants a baby, it’s going to my pleasure—and hers—for me to give her one.”

“You don’t care my daughter’s so desperate to have a man that she’s trying to trap you in a relationship by getting pregnant?” Lydia demanded.

“Who the hell are you, lady? I know you don’t really know me, but how can you say that about your own daughter?” Jim asked, shaking his head, glaring down at the woman who he could tell he was never going to like or get along with. “You know, Lydia, I’m used to buying off evil relatives. I’ll give you a half a million dollars right now if you leave and never contact Lauren again.”

“There’s no need to be insulting, Gallagher,” Jared said, angry the man hadn’t reacted like he should have to the news. “Why would Lydia need a payoff if you end up forever obligated to take care of her daughter and grandchild?”

Jim looked at Lauren. “This is why I wasn’t more social with people at the country club. I can’t stand people like this.”

“Aren’t you even going to ask me about the ovulation test?” Lauren asked, not fully believing Jim’s calmness or his attitude.

Jim walked over to her, handed her the water back. “Here. Drink. You’re too pale. In the time we’ve been together, have I taken any precautions to prevent you getting pregnant?”

“No,” Lauren said gently. “But I didn’t say anything either.”

“So we’re both irresponsible in this one area of our lives. Lauren, I’ve had less common sense than a teenage boy since I put my hands on you the first time. We’ll just have to add birth control to the list of things we still need to discuss,” Jim said on a laugh. “But for the record, I’d love to have a child with you—if that’s what you want.”

Lauren stared at him, sniffling. Jim was just going to side with her, no questions asked. Jim was worth any embarrassment, worth dealing with her mother, worth everything—even admitting the truth.

“I’ve been a mixed up mess since I kissed you the first time. I bought the wrong type of test,” Lauren said quickly, before she could chicken out. “That’s why I tossed the stick down on the table at lunch. I didn’t see I’d bought the wrong test until the stick fell out of my purse to the floor, and my mother picked it up and read it.”

Jim looked at Lydia and Jared standing slack-jawed, and laughed loudly at their pained expressions. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that Lauren might already be pregnant. It had occurred to him these last couple of weeks, but he had been waiting until after tonight to ask.

Or maybe he’d been waiting to see what Lauren thought about it before he got too happy.

Regina was probably having a fit and ready to kill him, because he knew for damn sure that woman had figured it out. It just made him laugh harder knowing there was going to be future hell to pay with a woman who did sincerely love Lauren. But Regina he would win over simply because he was utterly devoted to the mother of his child.

Jim turned his laughing gaze away from Jared and Lydia and back to Lauren.

“So did you ever buy the right test?” Jim asked.

“Yes. I took it earlier. It’s in one of the bathrooms at the far end of the house, but I never saw the results. I’ve been too busy to go check,” Lauren said meekly.

“Want to know the results?” Seth asked from the edge of the crowd, stepping forward. He felt a brush against his arm and looked around to see a grinning Jenna standing by his side. “We weren’t being intentionally nosy or anything. Jenna and I found it accidentally. But we can tell you if you want to know.”

Lauren looked at Seth and Jenna, and then back at Jim in panic. “Do we want to know?”

Her nervousness only made him laugh more.

“I think we already know the answer, don’t we?” Jim teased. “Dizzy spells, morning sickness, and an insatiable lust for pasta, cannoli, and other things I’m not telling this crowd. My only question is—are you okay with this?”

Lauren shook her head and closed her eyes. “I don’t know yet. Regina says I’m in denial.”

Definitely going to be hell to pay with Dr. Logan, Jim thought, grinning like an idiot.

“I can see why you would be in shock. Can I be happy for both of us until you figure out how you feel?” Jim asked, walking toward her, intending to do whatever it took to show her how happy he was about her in his life. “I already know for sure how I feel about it.”

Before Jim reached her, Jared stepped up to Lauren and put a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to have his baby, Lauren. You have other choices. If you didn’t intend to get pregnant, you can always have an abortion.”

Lauren tore her gaze from Jim’s and glared at the hand on her shoulder. When she looked at Jared, there was steel in her glare.

“Are you actually suggesting I kill my child?” Lauren demanded, her face flushing with anger.

She grabbed his wrist from her shoulder, twisted and turned his arm and elbow out until Jared fell to his knees in the space between her and Jim. She didn’t put him flat on the ground because she was too dizzy to bend that far to talk to him. The moment he’d made his vile suggestion, she had decided Jared Smith was going to listen to her. And this time he was going to hear her, or she was going to break his damn arm.

“Lauren—what the hell. Hey, you’re hurting me,” Jared protested, surprised and a bit fearful to find his knees scraping brick pavers and that he was unable to break her hold.

Lauren held Jared to the ground with one hand, not even breathing hard.

“Look at me,” she demanded, totally expecting Jared to obey and unsurprised when he did. “Now listen up, you—you—
premature ejaculating bastard
. I’m done with you. I was done with you seven years ago when our divorce was final. Now get the hell out of my life or you will be the sorriest man that ever lived.”

She looked up at her mother whose mouth was open in utter shock.

“That goes for you too, Lydia. If you want to be a part of my life in the future, you’re going to have to earn your way back into my good graces. I know who I am and what I want. This is my party tonight and I don’t want either of you here any more. You both need to leave, and right now.”

Lauren looked up to see Casey covering his mouth to hide his smile. “Casey? Will you escort my mother and Mr. Smith out. They’re disturbing my other guests.”

“No problem at all, Ms. McCarthy,” Casey said, no longer bothering to hide his smile. “Uh—you going to turn him loose so he can stand up and walk?”

“Thinking about it,” Lauren said sweetly, still fuming. “I’m still a little too pissed to let go right now. I like seeing him on the ground. I’m trying really hard not to do anything worse to him.”

At that, Jim covered his mouth with his hand, looking between Jared Smith and Lauren. He was impervious to the crowd and the whispering. There wasn’t even any urge to kill Smith. Lauren had already done a damn good job of socially killing him.

A gray-haired, well-built man with broad shoulders pushed through the crowd. He walked up to stand near Jared Smith, but looked up at Lauren and smiled.

“Aikido nikkyo. Excellent choice for subduing a troublemaker, McCarthy-nan. I’m glad to see you working things out in your personal life, instead of on my mat.” The man looked down at Smith and bent close to his ear. “Lauren McCarthy has been kicking my best student’s asses for five years hoping one day to have the chance to cut loose on you. I’m her sensei and the only man in the dojo who can stop her when she’s in a temper. If she ever lets go of you, sir, I suggest you run while you still can.”

Proud as hell of the hot-headed woman he’d fallen in love with, Jim reached out and put a hand on Lauren’s other shoulder. She turned her furious gaze to him, but it immediately softened at his smile.

“Turn the man loose, honey. Smith’s not going to bother you any more,” Jim said softly.

At Jim’s softly spoken words, Lauren’s hold loosened, and she stepped back one step to keep from grabbing Jared again. She calmed herself with breathing exercises as Casey and three other guys gathered up Jared and Lydia McCarthy to lead them away.