Jacked Up (22 page)

“Okay, great, thanks.”

“Go through the kitchen and out the French doors.”

When he passed Eve, Nolan couldn’t help leaning over and kissing her on the top of her head. She just looked so . . . beautiful. Man, he was whipped. Maybe if he went into the backyard with the other guys and threw wood on a fire he’d grow his balls back.

It took longer to get there than he’d anticipated. The Monroes’ house was enormous, his boots squeaking on some elegant-looking tile that probably had a fancy name. The kitchen was the size of his own parents’ whole house and probably cost about the same. But he did finally step out onto the patio and found all his sisters’ husbands out there with both his and Eve’s fathers and Evan and Elec. There seemed to be some debate waging over how to stack the wood properly.

“Hey, there he is, the lucky groom!” his sister Danny’s husband, Jared, said. “Congrats, bro!”

“Thanks, man.” At least someone was happy for him.

Jared and Danny’s son, Simon, who was cruising toward double digits, was poking a log with a stick. “Mom said you’ve lost your ever-lovin’ mind, Uncle Nolan.”

“Simon!” his father chided.

“It’s good to know my sister talks about me in front of her kids.” Nolan just grinned and shook Mr. Monroe’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, sir. You have a wonderful daughter.”

“You don’t need to tell me that, son. Just make sure you treat her right.”

“I plan to.”

“Don’t mind him,” Elec said, coming over and clapping him on the back. “Dad is like an older male version of Eve herself. Just ignore his crankiness. Want a beer?”

“Sure.” He wanted Eve’s family to completely accept him, but he’d settle for a Heineken at the moment. “Hey, Jared, where’s Rhett?”

“Your mom said he stayed home. Something about a headache.”

“A headache? Are you kidding me?” He didn’t understand what was going on with Rhett. He’d called him a half-dozen times since Monday trying to see if Rhett wanted his apartment or not, and his brother had yet to call him back. He was both concerned about his brother and worried about his personal finances. He couldn’t afford to help Eve out with the mortgage and pay his rent until his lease was up.

Another of his brothers-in-law, Dave, hauled his son back from the woodpile, where he was in danger of having the whole thing collapse on him. “Maybe he’s jealous that we’re all married and settled down except for him.”

Simon started yelling that he’d gotten a splinter.

“Yeah, because who wouldn’t be envious of this?” Jared said with a grin. He studied Simon’s hand. “Yep. It’s a splinter.”

“Do something!” Simon demanded.

“Go show your mother.”

Simon ran off into the house. Jared shrugged. “Danny will punish me later for that one, but I don’t want my beer going warm.”

“Hunter Jean, get down out of that tree! It’s dark out!” Elec moved out into the yard.

“How did he even see her there?” Nolan asked, squinting into the darkness. He briefly caught a glimpse of something white moving on a tree branch.

“Dad radar,” his own father said. “I could pick you out of a crowd of two hundred kids at a hundred feet. In the rain.”

Maybe someday he would be able to do that himself. Maybe sooner than later. “Hey, the ladies said to tell you all that dinner is ready.”

“Thank God,” Evan said. “I’m about to eat my arm.”

Nolan went into the house last, lingering on the dark patio for a second. He was happy. Genuinely, truly happy.

Despite his declined credit card and his empty bank account.

* * *

EVE
chewed her Texas toast and tried not to frown. From somewhere her mother had managed to secure some folding tables and all forty of them were sitting in two long rows, banquet style, one for adults and one for the sixteen kids, minus Owen, who was still in Eve’s arms. He’d seemed to have taken a shine to her, and she to him. There was plenty of conversation flowing all around them, but Eve still felt like she was in the hot seat, which was her least favorite chair.

“So are you guys going to have a reception or anything?” one of Nolan’s sisters asked. Eve honestly couldn’t keep them apart. There were six of them present, and they were all about the same height and weight, except for one who was noticeably shorter. One was blond, but the rest had the same caramel-colored hair as Nolan.

Whoever they were, they were all peppering her with questions that she didn’t have any answers to. “Oh, we haven’t really talked about that, but I’m thinking probably no. It seems an unnecessary expense.”

“But it would be fun,” Nolan said. “And most people have a wedding reception of some kind.”

And maybe thirty grand would fall out of the sky onto her head and they could do that. Eve thought it was an enormous waste of money. “We’re already married. It seems pointless to have like a retroactive wedding reception. And did I mention it’s expensive?”

“Yeah, you’re right, I suppose.” He was seated across from her and he looked crestfallen that she’d put the kibosh on his party fun.

She found herself resenting that she had to be the practical one. Wasn’t that what she had been her entire adult life?

“Are you taking a honeymoon?” another sister asked.

Eve needed freaking note cards to remember their names. “It’s kind of impossible to take a honeymoon with our work schedule.” They hadn’t even talked about it. Another unnecessary expense, in her opinion.

“Maybe we can manage something in December after the season is over,” Nolan said. “That’s not too long to wait.”

“Maybe.” She bounced Owen on her knee and took another spoonful of her chili. Did anyone notice she did not want to be having this conversation?

“Do you have a ring yet?” her own mother asked.

Traitor. Couldn’t her mother see she did not want to talk about any of this?

“Not yet.”

“Probably next week,” Nolan said.

“You don’t look upset, Eve,” the short sister said. Eve thought her name was Danny. “I would be harassing my husband for a ring like right now.”

“I know you would,” her husband said.

She made a face at him.

“We’ll get to it when we get to it,” Eve said, because that was really how she felt about it. They could ignore the fact that they were married indefinitely as far as she was concerned.

“Eve’s not really a girly-girl. That stuff doesn’t matter to her,” her own husband said.

Really? Eve put her spoon down carefully in her bowl. Her irritation had been repressed all night. She couldn’t contain it any longer. “So what, I’m like a man? You married a man?”

Evan coughed in his palm. “Here we go.”

She really wanted to throw her bread at her brother, but she restrained herself because her mother would die of humiliation.

“Of course not,” Nolan said. “But if you are trying to tell me that you’ll squeal in delight over a new purse or shoes, or in this case, a ring, I’m not going to believe you.”

He had her there. “You’re right. I don’t squeal. I can’t argue with that.”

Evan reached around Kendall and fist-bumped Nolan. “Dude, you’re like an evil genius. I can’t believe you defused her that easily.”

Trust her brother to make her sound like a loose cannon.

“Are you changing your last name?” Mrs. Ford asked.

“Uh . . .” How the hell did she answer that one? Truthfully. “I don’t know.” The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. Did she want to be Eve Ford? Eve Monroe Ford? Her palms felt sweaty and she felt Owen slipping in her grasp. She forced herself to relax and put both her hands on his waist. He was warm and smelled like crackers.

“It seems to me,” Nolan’s father said, as cheerfully as Nolan himself usually sounded, “that the two of you have a lot to talk about.”

That might be the understatement of the year.

But Eve couldn’t help but feel that there was something really wonderful about being a part of the club finally. She was at the adult table, a baby in her lap, and a husband across the table from her. It felt . . . right. Like all the pesky details would fall into place if they just ignored them.

Nolan smiled at her. “We haven’t really spent a lot of our time talking.”

Whether or not he meant it to be sexual, everyone at the table seemed to perceive it that way. There were a few gasps and chuckles.

“I mean, we’ve just been having fun.”

That wasn’t any better.

“Getting to know each other.” Nolan actually looked a little red in the cheeks.

Eve laughed. “You’re making it worse, babe. Let’s just change the subject.”

“Good idea. How about those Panthers? Not looking too shabby.”

“True, true,” Tamara chimed in, and Eve made a note to thank her brother’s wife later.

Elec raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering what in the Sam Hill his wife knew about football, which was probably nothing. “Tamara, what do you think of that quarterback?”

Nolan’s foot lightly kicked Eve’s under the table. When she looked at him, he was making a face that she easily read as relief that he was no longer under scrutiny. She knew that feeling. She kicked him back to let him know she sympathized.

She did love this man.

And when her father slipped her an envelope from the lawyer later, she just shoved it in her purse to deal with later. Tonight she didn’t want to think about postnuptial legal documents.

Or wedding receptions. Or rings.

She just wanted to eat chili and bounce a baby on her lap while her husband looked at her like she was a supermodel.

Nothing wrong with that.

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

EVE
had talked Tuesday into going to the demolition derby with her and they sat in the stands, freezing their butts off and eating a ridiculous amount of saltwater taffy. Eve’s teeth were practically cemented together from the six pieces she’d eaten. Excess saliva pooled in the corner of her mouth and she stomped her feet, trying to get the blood flow going. “Is it supposed to be this cold?”

“It’s almost November. I think it’s allowed.”

“I should have brought a blanket.” She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, but it wasn’t enough to combat the wind or the metal bleachers under her butt. Tuesday was better prepared with a trench coat on over a thick sweater, her hair tucked under a jaunty knit cap, matching gloves on her hands. “I’m going to steal your hat.”

“Try it. I’m tougher than I look.”

Eve didn’t doubt it. Tuesday had gone through a rough patch after she’d lost her father, but she was now staying totally away from alcohol, going to counseling, and planning her wedding to Diesel Lange. Eve was glad things had worked out so well for her.

“Shouldn’t this have started by now?”

“How should I know?” Tuesday plucked another piece of taffy out of the bag Eve held. “You do realize we’re two of the most impatient women on the planet, don’t you?”

“I’m not impatient, I just appreciate efficiency. I mean if I were running this event, I would have an emcee explaining to the crowd what is going on. I would have the track better lit, too. How are we supposed to see the hits if it’s half in shadow out there?” God, she wanted a coffee. With whiskey in it. But she wouldn’t do that, not while sitting with Tuesday. She wouldn’t really do it anyway. She mostly found she just liked to complain and then she felt better.

“Of course it would be running better if you and I were involved. That’s a given. Oh, look, here comes Nolan. You said he’s number 20, right?”

“Yep.” A trio of girls in their early twenties turned around and glanced at her. Okay. Tuesday gave Eve a look, indicating she had noticed the girls’ behavior, too.

“Nolan Ford is totally hot,” one of them said, and it wasn’t a whisper. “He has the best ass I’ve ever seen.”

Hello. That twit was talking about her husband. Though she couldn’t deny he had a fabulous ass, she wanted to know how this girl knew that.

“I’ve watched that video like seven thousand times.”

Ah. The infamous video. She wondered if they could sue someone to get it taken off the Internet. These pit lizards didn’t need to be seeing her husband’s rear end. Eve made a mental note to check on that.

“I’m totally going home with him tonight.”

Eve snorted. The one glanced back at her again. She wasn’t going to say anything. It wasn’t important or necessary. They probably had no idea Nolan was married.

Tuesday, however, had no such problem saying something. “Excuse me,” she said, tapping the girl on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhearing your conversation and I’m sure Nolan would be totally flattered that you think he’s hot, but he does happen to be married.”

Eve was less inclined to hate the girl when her jaw dropped. “He’s married? Oh, shit, that sucks.”

“Yes, he’s married.” She shot her thumb in Eve’s direction. “This is his wife.”

Three sets of eyes swiveled onto her. Eve tried to give a smile, but there was still taffy on her teeth, so she just nodded and gave a close-mouthed smile.

“
You’re
his wife?”

She didn’t need to act so damn surprised. Why couldn’t she be his wife?

Because she wasn’t coiffed and tanned and tweezed to within an inch of her life like they were, their feet covered in fuzzy boots, cleavage still displayed in arctic hoodies.

“Where’s your wedding ring?” one had the nerve to ask her.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say, “Up your ass,” but she didn’t. She was just going to let all of this slide right off her back. She wasn’t going to feel inadequate in any way. “It’s being sized.” Which was a lie. But they didn’t need to know that. “We just got married last Friday.”

“Well. Congratulations.”

If looks could kill, she’d be six feet under. Plus she suspected they didn’t even believe her. Not that she could blame them. She probably wouldn’t believe some random chick in the stands either. “Thanks.”

When the derby started, Eve found herself chewing her taffy even faster, nearly pulling out a tooth a time or two. She was both nervous for Nolan, wanting him to win, and second-guessing his strategy. “Oh, my God, does he not see that yellow car? He needs to get a hit in on him. That’s his strongest competition.”

Tuesday seemed to find the whole event more entertaining than stressful. She cackled with glee whenever a collision was hard and loud. “This is so bizarre, I love it. Where else can you intentionally slam into another car? God, I haven’t been to the derby since I was a kid.”

“Oh, shit, he needs to watch 42. He’s trouble. Did you see that? He just went out of bounds and no one noticed. Geez. Where were the officials on that one?”

By the time it was just Nolan and the yellow car, Eve had dislocated her jaw from violent chewing and her palms had ridges from where she had dug her nails into them.

“He’s going to win,” Tuesday said, looking calm and unconcerned. “He’s cleared the field and the other dude still running has two flat tires and his bumper is dragging.”

Her stomach hurt. Which was either stress or the eight pounds of taffy her body was trying to digest. She wasn’t as confident as Tuesday.

But Nolan won, and when he climbed out of his car and bounced on the hood a few times, fist pumping, she was grinning like a fool. “He is so sexy. Isn’t he sexy?” she asked Tuesday.

“Uh, sure, if you say so.” Tuesday licked her mitten. “Shit, I got taffy on my glove. But he did drive well, I have to admit.”

“He did.” Though if she were honest with herself, Eve would have much preferred being down there behind the wheel herself than sitting in the stands. “I’m proud of him.”

They started down the steps, heading toward where Nolan was getting his picture taken with his trophy.

The girls in front of them had beaten them to the ropes. One was leaning over, displaying her cleavage. “Hey, Nolan, can I get an autograph? Right here?” She fondled the top of her breast.

Eve wanted to yank her back by her processed hair, but Tuesday put a hand on her arm. “Chill out. You know it happens all the time in racing, big or small track. Doesn’t mean anything.”

Except that Eve didn’t know how to handle it. She’d never been the prettiest or the sexiest or friendliest. She was used to being passed over for women like the three in front of her, and she didn’t understand why Nolan wouldn’t have done the same thing. Maybe that’s part of what had driven her in competition in her youth. She couldn’t compete with the girls and win, but she could with the boys.

“So I’m supposed to just stand here and wait until he’s done being fawned over by big-boobed women?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that sucks.” She felt ridiculous. Like a groupie.

Nolan didn’t make it any easier by taking the girl’s Sharpie and signing his name on her cleavage. Really? Was he a rock star?

He must have felt the penetrating spikes of her glare because he glanced over at her and smiled. “Hey, cupcake!”

She didn’t feel like being cupcaked at the moment. “Congrats,” she told him. “You did awesome.”

“Thanks.” Then his finger came up. “Give me one second.”

The girls wanted their picture taken with him and the one turned, cutting Eve off from any further conversation. She stood there feeling moronic as the three girls snuggled up to her husband. This was part of the reason she had sat there at the table and told Imogen she did not want to marry a driver. This was annoying.

When they finally walked away after seven hundred hours, Nolan kissed Eve on the cheek. Eve forced a smile because she didn’t want her petty jealousy to destroy the mood when he’d won the derby.

“Let me get your picture,” Tuesday said, her phone up in the air already. “Get close. Hold the trophy between you. I’ll put it on my blog.”

“Sure.” Eve pinned a smile on her face and leaned in to Nolan.

“You’re not really jealous of those girls, are you?” he asked in a low voice.

She turned and stared at him. “Of course not. They just seemed a little trampy, that’s all.”

“Eve, you turned!”

“Sorry.” She faced forward and smiled again.

“Because I’m committed to you. I don’t cheat. I don’t even flirt when I’m with someone.”

“I just wish your ass wasn’t out there for everyone to see.”

“If you want, I’ll tattoo your name on my ass.”

Eve laughed. “You would not.”

“Hell, yeah, I would.”

“Eve, now your eyes are closed from laughing!”

“It’s not necessary to brand your ass.” Though she was starting to think she wouldn’t mind a wedding ring. “And if you’re going to tattoo me anywhere on you, I don’t really think I want to be where you sit down all day.”

“Pay attention!” Tuesday said. “Smile.”

They smiled. Nolan’s hand cupped her ass. Hers cupped his.

“That one’s perfect.”

Eve wasn’t going to argue with that.

* * *

NOLAN
came into the condo on Tuesday, taking care to remove his shoes and put them in the closet. Eve didn’t like shoes in the house. It was a thing she had about germs. He could hear her on the phone bitching someone out. Something about promising a certain amount of advertising and not delivering. She was good at her job. There was no doubt about it. But there was also no denying she hated it. He wished he could offer her a nine-to-five alternative but he couldn’t. He could, however, offer her some fun for working so hard.

He had a couple of surprises he hoped she was going to like. It had been a strange and challenging week, but oddly exciting. Living together was a huge adjustment. Neither of them had ever lived with anyone before and Eve was territorial. She was trying to accommodate him, clearing out dresser drawers and a shelf in the bathroom, but it wasn’t easy for either of them. But he figured that would be the case whether they had dated for a few weeks or a few years.

At least once a day she got that look in her eye that said she was wondering if they had made a mistake. He hated to see that look. It made him feel like he wasn’t working hard enough to please her. Then he felt the same doubts creep over him. Eventually they had to move past that phase of insecurity, when they got totally comfortable with each other and their living circumstances. He didn’t think he’d ever feel good about their uneven finances, but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it. He just needed to learn to manage his money better, because he wasn’t underpaid.

Coming up behind her, Nolan kissed her neck. He loved the way she smelled, just a slight hint of perfume, but mostly Eve. He liked that her skin was soft and that when he wrapped his arms around her, his hands landed on her amazing breasts. She kept talking on her cell, but she did arch her hips so that her bottom bumped against him.

Nolan felt an erection spring to life. Maybe he was about to get lucky.

Eve hung up the phone. “He’s an idiot. How hard is it to recheck the schedule? He’s in charge of promo for a billion-dollar company. He doesn’t know it’s hot dog Sunday?”

“Guess not.” Nolan nuzzled her neck, biting her earlobe. “I have a wedding gift for you.”

“What?” She whirled around. “We’re doing wedding gifts? Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t have anything for you. God, I suck at this.”

“Shh.” Nolan put his finger on her lips. He tucked her hair behind her ears because he thought she looked adorable like that and because it was an amusing game to see how long it would take her to undo it. She hated having her hair tucked.

She must have been distracted by worry over gifts, because she left her hair the way he put it.

“It’s just something I wanted to do for you. It doesn’t mean you have to reciprocate.” He raised his sweatshirt and the T-shirt underneath it to reveal the tattoo he’d just gotten on his chest.

Her jaw dropped nearly to the floor. “You tattooed my name on your chest?”

“Yeah, you requested it not be on my ass so I thought over my heart was appropriate.” God, he was so freaking corny these days. But he couldn’t help it. He was in love.

“That’s . . . big.”

It wasn’t really that big. Only about two inches with some scrollwork around it. “Your name is short so the letters look bigger. If your name was Stephanie we’d have a big tattoo.”

She just kept staring at it. Nolan started to think maybe she didn’t like it. Great. She kept putting off wedding ring shopping, and now she looked more horrified than impressed by his ink.

“Wow. I’m not sure what to say.”

Nolan felt deflated. Sometimes he wasn’t sure what it was going to take to get a genuine response from Eve. “You don’t have to say anything. And you don’t have to get my name tattooed on you. It was just something I wanted to do. I also got you this.” He handed her a brochure.

She took it and read it, her lips moving. “A driver’s experience?”

“Yep. I know that you don’t need a lesson in driving, but it’s almost impossible for you to drive a car since they’re so expensive. Driving vintage isn’t the same as a current car, so I talked to the staff and they’re okay with you opening it up without the usual training session.”

“Wow.”

If she said “wow” one more time, he was going to shake her. “I thought it would be fun. A good stress reliever.”

“That’s really sweet of you,” she said, looking absolutely miserable. “You’re too good to me. I don’t deserve you. I’m a bitch.”

He wished she would stop being so hard on herself. “Shush. I don’t want to hear that.” Couldn’t she see that he loved her? Just the way she was?

“I don’t have a gift for you. All I have are these stupid postnuptial papers I need you to sign.”

Nolan froze. “Come again?”

She turned and grabbed her purse off the dining room table and pulled an envelope out of it. “It’s just a standard agreement that the lawyer drew up for us.”

He was floored. “So wait a minute. You haven’t wanted to talk about a wedding reception or taking a honeymoon. You haven’t had time to go ring shopping or think about if you want to change your name or not, but you’ve had time to whip up a postnuptial agreement with a lawyer?”