More, Please (Please Series Book 3) (15 page)

T
wo days
later I let myself into my new home. Hunter’s and my home. All traces of Blaire had been cleaned away. Her room was now a guest room. The places in the house she used to frequent were being redecorated. Anything she had bought or brought in was long gone.

My keys made a
clink
as they dropped in the bowl by the door. I headed upstairs to our room. Hunter had left work early to take care of some things with the flat and said he’d meet me at home. I figured he’d be in there.

Across the large room, the bathroom door was open. I could barely hear water slapping the base of the shower.

I wandered closer, stopping in the doorway. “Hunt—” I cut off as my gaze hit the counter.

The water shut off. The glass door rumbled on the tracks as it opened, showing the fantastically cut body of Hunter, wet and glistening. Heat rolled through me, and then extinguished as my gaze went back to the counter.

“I’m not even sure if I’m late, Hunter.”

He grabbed a towel and rubbed away the wetness. “You’re two days late, I thought you said. Last night…when we were watching TV…”

“No.” My phone drifted down to my leg, the code I’d been looking at forgotten. “I mean, yes, I did. But I can’t be sure because things might be different off the pill, so I don’t really know…”

“And now we will.” He motioned toward the pack of pregnancy tests. “I was afraid you’d sneak off and do it by yourself, Livy. I want to be here for it.”

I gave him a pretty fantastic scowl. At least, it felt that way. Because I totally would have snuck away. I wouldn’t want him hovering over me, watching the process. Not only that, but I knew he hoped the test would be positive, and I was worried he’d get his hopes dashed if it wasn’t.

I also had to admit that mine would be dashed, too. I’d been thinking a lot about it. I was young, and it was early, but…something about it just felt right. A little reckless, maybe, but at least money wouldn’t be a problem. The problem would be working hours. Both mine and Hunter’s. But that would be an issue regardless, and he’d already identified it.

“I’m not going to get out of this, am I?” I said as he slipped his arm over my shoulders.

“I’m not going to push you, but…”

“You’ll mope.”

“I don’t mope, Olivia.”

I scoffed. “Say that to Brenda and see what she says.”

Hunter kissed me on the temple before leaving the bathroom. “Brenda has a false view of things. I’ll just be…”

“Waiting on the bed with bated breath, I know.”

“My mother wants to have us to dinner soon, too. She wanted to check with your schedule.”

“I—” I didn’t get to finish. He’d closed the door behind him.

“So I’ll just do this now, then, will I?” I said to the empty room.

I put my stuff on the counter and grabbed the test. I bit my lip, because I knew his look would be all kinds of sad when this came up negative.

I put my phone on the counter with the screen lit so I could still read the lengthy email Bruce had sent me, and took out the wand. I braced, holding it just right, and let go.

“Ew!” The stream hit off the side and splashed me. I angled. My shoulder hit my phone. The device went skittering across the floor. “Oh, come on!”

“You okay?” Hunter called through the door.

“A little privacy, please?” I yelled at him.

Muttering swear words, I cleaned myself up and fastened the lid on the test. There probably wasn’t a romantic way to do this, but this was a bit ridiculous.

I reclaimed my phone and opened the door. Hunter was sitting on the edge of the bed in a pair of pants but shirtless.

“How’d it go?” Hunter asked as he stood. His stare fastened to the white plastic stick in my hand.

I wanted to say, “Well, I peed on myself, so what do you think?” Instead, because he didn’t need the added stress of me being super stressed and really grumpy, I said, “Fine.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to me. His gaze was still glued to the test.

“If it doesn’t happen, Hunter, just know that it’s okay. Okay? We don’t—” I cut off as his expression turned to one of incredulous delight. I looked down at the little window. “Oh crap.”

I wiped my forehead and then my eyes. I stared at the little plus sign. “Kimberly said coming off the pill and immediately getting pregnant was highly unlikely…”

Hunter took a few quick steps into the bathroom. When he came back he was reading the package. Apparently “+” wasn’t a dead giveaway to him. The package lowered. The biggest smile I had ever seen on Hunter’s face.

I was struck mute. Transfixed. In that moment I couldn’t imagine anyone, ever, being more handsome than this man. Adonis had nothing on this guy.

“We’re pregnant, Livy!” He threw the package on the bed and bent to me, scooping me up into his arms. “We’re pregnant!”

I felt my own smile blossom. I had life inside of me. I was going to be a mom. Hunter was the father of my baby!

He put me down gently. His lips connected with mine, deep and passionate. I lost myself in the feel of him, his safety. I ran my hands up his chest as his arms hugged me close. When he backed up, his sexy, smoldering eyes stared down into mine. For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of doubt. A hint of fear. But then they started sparkling again over his beaming smile. “I love you so much, Olivia Jonston. This is the best day of my life. Thank you.”

He bent and scooped me up into his arms again before carrying me downstairs and into the living room. He settled us both on the couch, the same place I’d said I was late. His fingers threaded through mine as I snuggled against him.

“Promise me something, Livy,” Hunter said after a quiet moment.

“What’s that?”

“Promise me you’ll bear with me, okay? I know it’s mine but…I have ghosts haunting me. Please don’t be offended or sad if I ask you if it really is my baby. Or if I have times of jealousy. I won’t mean them.”

“I know, Hunter. I might yell at you anyway, though.”

He squeezed me affectionately. “That’s okay. As long as you stick by me. There is only one of you in the world—I’d be lost without you.”

We’d been through a lot of turmoil, Hunter and I. From my misgivings, to his, we’d worked around contracts and made it through his father and Blaire. We’d earned this moment. We’d earned our future together as a family. I couldn’t have been happier.

E
xcerpt
:

Chapter 1

“
C
ome in here
.” Hunter passed by my desk with a determined stride. His palm slapped the door, pushing it wide as he went into his office.

I looked over at Brenda with comically wide eyes and a thin mouth. “Sounds like I’m in trouble…”

“I’ll say. What’d you do?”

I got up and grabbed my notepad, just in case the bad mood wasn’t directed at me. I didn’t have high hopes. “Not sure.”

“Close the door,” Hunter said as I made my way toward him.

A thrill arrested me. My breath quickened. Since moving in with him two months ago, we hadn’t partaken in much office fornication. He usually just left work earlier and went home with me. He wanted to take his time. I was all for being bent over the desk, though. Since finding out I was pregnant, he’d been too gentle by half. I needed a good rogering.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked with a grin. I stood beside his desk.

“Sit.” He leaned his elbows against the desk. The light from the windows behind him showered his broad shoulders. His sexy, hooded eyes trained on me. I marveled at his handsome face, with its strong jaw, straight nose, and lush lips.

I was the luckiest girl in the world to be able to kiss those lips. To feel his firm touch and reap the benefits of his clever fingers. There was a list a mile long of girls that wanted him, but he’d chosen me. I didn’t have to understand why; I just had to bask in the glory.

“Your game goes live tomorrow, right?” Hunter asked, his gaze dipping for a brief moment, touching my stomach. “Come here.”

“I—huh?”

He stood and reached for me. “Come here and sit on my lap.”

I smiled like an idiot. I bounced up and grabbed his hand. He reeled me in before sitting on his chair and settling me onto his lap. His lips grazed my neck as his palm covered my belly. “How are you?”

I laughed with the change in his tone. “I’m good. Kind of tired. The baby blogs say that’s normal, though.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You’re doing too much. You have shadows under your eyes and you’re dragging.”

I tensed. “Hunter, I haven’t had much choice. We had the final push for the app these last few weeks. We’re good now, though. The marketing is all set up, the game is loaded, the bugs are worked out—we’re ready. Now I can relax.”

“Bruce says you have another project coming up. You have more levels to design for this game…”

I got off his lap. I couldn’t help my testy tone. “You’re my boss in this job, Hunter. You’re not my boss with the side project.”

“It’s my job to look after you and our baby, Olivia. You’re doing too much. It has to end.”

I snatched up my notepad. He’d been saying this for the last few weeks. Over and over he harped on about the amount of work I was doing, but at the same time, most of it was for him. By the time I finished all of his tasks, it was late. Then I could do what I loved, which was working for Bruce. In order to break this cycle, I had to choose. One job or the other. Hunter knew it, Bruce knew it, and, unfortunately, I knew it too.

The problem was that the one that paid well, and was with the man I loved, didn’t interest me. My favorite part of the day was working on Bruce’s projects. Most of the new levels were my design. Bruce was starting to step away a little to come up with the next great thing while I took on the future of the current game. I even had an idea for a game of my own.

I shook my head and started for the door.

“Olivia.” The deep, commanding voice dripped down my spine and pooled in my lady parts. I slowed despite myself. I loved when he used that tone. It did things to my body that should be illegal.

I turned to him, raising my eyebrows in a silent question.

“I love you. Good luck tomorrow.” He turned to his computer.

Warmth spread throughout my chest. My heart surged.

I left the office, wondering where my irritation at his talk had gone. The man could knock me off balance way too easily.

“Did you get in trouble?” Brenda asked as I sat down.

“Kinda. Same old thing—I work too much.”

“That’s rich, coming from him.”

“I know, right?” I scoffed. I’d found my irritation again. “He works more now than before—” I snapped my mouth shut. I was about to say “before I got pregnant.” That was a big no-no. All the blogs and books said it was best not to tell anyone before the three-month point, when the chance of miscarriage dropped significantly. Besides that, I wasn’t married, hadn’t known Hunter that long, and didn’t have one thing in my future figured out. There were more than a few reasons not to spread the news around yet.

“What is he doing so late, anyway?” I asked as I turned to my computer. “I tried to spy on him, but his calendar is locked up tight.”

“He had me block it off for structural organization. Probably trying to fit the pieces of that new company into this one.”

“Huh.” I squinted at my company email. Seeing that nothing new had come in, I checked my personal email on my phone. Three new messages, all from Bruce.

“What was that sigh for?” Brenda was facing her computer.

“You’re nosy.”

“You’re more interesting than my job.”

I read the first message, then the second, then rolled my eyes on the third. “Bruce is just as demanding as Hunter. He wants me to complete a bio for our website.”

“You have a website? What’s it called? I wanna look.”

“It’s not live yet. For a guy who just sold his business, Bruce is hellbent on jumping right back into the fire.”

“At least you like the work.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

I pulled up the report I was supposed to be working on, but my brain kept sliding sideways. First it would go to Bruce’s emails. Then I’d think about the game I wanted to design until my thoughts returned to the baby.

It wasn’t just me using this body anymore.

Holy crap, I’m pregnant!

I worked on hiding my smile. If Brenda randomly glanced over and saw it, she’d ask what I was so happy about. Being happy was sometimes a personal affront to her mood.

I still couldn’t believe it. I was going to have a baby. With Hunter Carlisle! Karma was shining on me; that was for sure. I didn’t even care that he’d gotten way overprotective. Given his past, he was forgiven.

Letting a small smile curl my lips, I tried again to focus on my work.