Now and Forever (4 page)

“I want us to stay together, but you need to stay at my place sometimes, too,” he said, following her into the bedroom. “Maybe we should get rid of this apartment and just keep mine.”

Layla turned to him, eyes wide. “Why would we do that? We should keep mine, it’s bigger. And mine has a bathtub. I can’t live in a place with no bathtub.” Ben stared at the long lines of her legs as she let her skirt fall to the floor. Nothing got to him like seeing her in dark stockings. When she stripped the shirt over her head, leaving her in only a black bra and the stockings, he got a full hard-on.

“Uh . . .” He scrubbed a hand down his face, trying to regain his train of thought. “I can put a bathtub in the apartment.”

“There’s no room,” Layla countered, pulling on a sweatshirt. She reached for the waistline of the stockings and Ben stopped her.

“Leave them on. Just wear jeans over them. I want those on you later.”

Layla smiled and reached to the floor for her jeans. “This is the last time I’ll wear these, then. You have a tendency to destroy them.”

Ben’s lips curled into a smile. “You love it, baby. And I’ll put a bathtub in the bedroom for you.”

Layla rolled her eyes and stepped into her jeans. “In the bedroom?”

“Hell yes. Then I can watch you take a bath. Maybe I’ll put in an extra large tub so we can take baths together.”

“That sounds really good. But your place is so small. There’s not enough room for my clothes and shoes. Or my makeup and hair stuff in that tiny bathroom.”

“But I own it, baby. No mortgage payment. We’ll make it work.” A flicker of dismay crossed her face as she walked past him, and Ben smacked her ass. She turned to give him a look that was supposed to be sharp, but it fell short. He knew she secretly loved the constant reinforcement of knowing how much she turned him on.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But let’s stay here tonight.”

“Yeah, we can.” Ben ran a hand through his hair and found his car keys on a table in the living room. “And tonight I’ll fuck away all your uncertainty, Cupcake.”

Layla’s laugh was always music to his ears. “I’m not uncertain about anything but that apartment.”

Ben winked at her, deciding to drop the subject so they could enjoy sharing their engagement news with her family. “Let’s go tell your folks I’m making an honest woman of you.”

***

The whizzing sounds of cars flying past didn’t even faze Emma as she leaned out her car door and vomited. She could check crackers off the list of things the pregnancy book said might settle her stomach. This time she hadn’t even been able to make it home from the bakery. She was parked on the shoulder of the highway, and there’d been a split second when she wasn’t sure she’d get the car door open before puking.

After a deep breath in and out, she closed the door and rested her head against her car seat for a few seconds.

She was dreading dinner with her parents tonight. And Layla . . .

What would her older sister say when Emma dropped the news that she was pregnant? Would she smile smugly? Make a sharp comment about using birth control?

Emma sighed and gripped her steering wheel. Things between her and Layla had never been the same since Cole entered the picture. Even though Layla had found her perfect match in Ben, Emma suspected she was still hurt over the secret Emma had kept about her and Cole being together.

Anytime the four of them were together, there was underlying tension. Sometimes she held her breath while Cole and Ben had broodish staring contests that looked like they would lead to a fistfight.

Men. Everything was so simple to them. She was still frustrated over Cole’s lightning-fast acceptance of the pregnancy news. After steeling herself for Armageddon, his calmness had thrown her. They’d never discussed their future together. It was too soon. They were still young, and hadn’t even been together a full year yet.

Cole didn’t understand the implications of this news. Their weekends spent sleeping in and making love would be over in eight months. Long, late-night dinners at a different restaurant every night wouldn’t be feasible anymore. And how would a baby fit into their demanding work schedules? They both worked twelve hour days. The bakery was still on shaky ground – how would she run it when she had a baby to take care of?

So many questions without answers. Emma put the car in drive and eased back out into traffic. She was going home to crawl into bed and sleep off the nausea and fatigue. Hopefully she’d wake up more energized about telling her parents they’d be grandparents soon.

***

Cole’s stomach rumbled in protest of the carrot stick he was chewing. He’d missed lunch because of a meeting that ran over, and he needed protein, not finger foods. Layla and Ben were late to the Carson family dinner, not surprisingly. She assumed the world revolved around her.

Emma was wound tight, her pale face lined with tension. She was a wreck about telling their parents she was pregnant. He reached around her waist and pulled her hip against his. They were both leaning on her parents’ kitchen counter.

“You want anything?” he asked softly. “Water?”

She shook her head and laid it on his chest. “Tell me it’s gonna be okay,” she whispered.

He kissed her forehead. “It’s gonna be okay. Promise.”

Emma’s mother came into the kitchen and smiled at them. “Wine, you two?”

“None for me,” Emma said. Her mom gave her a confused glance. “I’m just . . . not feeling so great.” It was true, she’d been puking all the time and spent most of her time at home in bed. Cole hated seeing her so miserable and not being able to do anything about it.

Layla’s laugh burst through the front door.

“Finally,” Cole muttered. Layla and Ben both looked extra happy when they came in to the kitchen.

“Where’s Dad?” Layla asked.

“In here,” he called from his office.

“Come to the kitchen!” she cried.

“What’s going on, honey?” Eliza Carson’s eyes widened when Layla held up a hand bearing a large, sparkling diamond. Mrs. Carson threw one hand over her mouth and another over her chest, beaming with excitement.

“Layla! Oh, Layla!”

Emma’s body sagged against Cole for a second before she met his gaze briefly. He got the message. They wouldn’t be sharing their news tonight. Then she sprang to life, crossing the room to hug her sister and admire the ring.

“Congrats, man,” Cole said to Ben, extending his hand.

“Thanks,” Ben said.

This was the worst fucking timing Cole could have imagined. He’d been thinking about bringing up marriage with Em since she’d told him she was pregnant, but it was never a good time. She was still upset. Now if he brought it up, she’d think he was doing it because of Layla and Ben.

Em and Layla’s father, Shawn, came in to the room with a knowing smile.

“She said yes,” Ben said, taking Shawn’s extended hand and shaking it.

“I never doubted she would,” Shawn said. “Congratulations, son.”

“You knew?” Eliza turned to her husband, her eyes wide with surprise.

“We met up last week and he asked for my blessing. I thought you’d like to hear the news from Layla.”

Layla gazed up at Ben, grinning. “You asked my father? That’s so sweet.”

“Sweet’s my middle name,” Ben said, winking at her.

Cole turned to the fridge to find a beer, sighing. It’d been a bitch of a day. One of the other junior attorneys at the firm had quit. Since he had access to information the firm didn’t want him sharing, like client lists, he’d been led out of the office immediately and his caseload had been shifted to others. Cole didn’t know how he’d find time for the extra work. He was drained as it was.

But he’d soon have a family to provide for, and he needed to prove himself at the firm so he could move up. Emma was worried about paying back her construction loan, and he wanted to ease her stress.

She came over and leaned against his chest. He smiled. He liked having her close enough to take in her warm vanilla scent. Lately she hadn’t been up for a lot of closeness because she was so sick and exhausted all the time.

“Hey,” he whispered against the hair that fell over her ear, “I love you.”

“Me too,” she said, humming with satisfaction when he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She made him forget what a long day it’d been. No matter how stressful work got, Emma was the one person who always decompressed him immediately. She was the one, he was sure of that. And their baby growing inside her would bring them even closer together.

***

Emma’s smile didn’t reach her eyes when she greeted Layla and slid into the booth across from her.

“Hey, how are you?” Layla asked.

“I’m okay. How are the wedding plans coming?”

A waiter carrying a tray full of food paused beside their table. “Drinks?”

“We’d like a wine menu when you get a chance,” Layla said.

“Sure.”

“Just water for me,” Emma said.

“You always have wine when we get lunch,” Layla said when the waiter moved on.

Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

“Is it . . . Are you on a budget?” Layla asked. “Because I’d be glad to buy lunch.”

“No,” Emma said with a laugh. “I wish.”

“You wish you were on a budget?”

“No, I just . . . tell me how the wedding plans are going.”

Layla smiled widely. “It’s so much fun, Em. I’m going to try on dresses this weekend with Mom. Ben wants me to do all the planning. I love him so much. The thought of being his wife . . . it just makes me happier than I’ve ever been, you know? And actually, I asked you to have lunch because I wanted to ask you to be my maid of honor.”

Emma’s face softened and her eyes welled with unshed tears. “Me? Really?”

“Of course, Em. You’re my sister.” Layla reached for her hand across the table and squeezed it. “I found this dress in a magazine that I think is perfect for you. We need to order it now, so I need your size.”

“Oh.” Emma’s brows dropped and she frowned. “When is the wedding? Do you have a date?”

“I’m thinking about May or June, so we can have it outside.”

“Wow, that soon, huh? It’s November now.”

A flare of annoyance sparked Layla to cross her arms across her chest. Emma was jealous. Unbelievable. She had the guy of her dreams and was jealous that Layla would be married first.

“It’s not that soon. What size are you? A six?”

“Uh . . . just, maybe wait to order the dress.” Emma took the glass of water from the waiter’s hands and drank eagerly.

Layla glared at her sister across the table. “Are you not sure you want to be the maid of honor or something? Because if you don’t want to—”

Emma cut in. “I want to. Layla, I absolutely want to. It’s . . .”

She put her face in her hands and Layla leaned forward, concerned. Something wasn’t right with Emma.

“Are you okay, Em? What is it?”

“I just don’t know if the dress will fit me then.” Emma looked up, her wide eyes brimming with worry. “Because I’m pregnant.”

“Holy shit!” Layla cried, the words flying out before she considered them. “Em!”

“I know.” Emma dropped her face back into her hands. “I’m shocked to say the least.”

“What did Cole say?”

“He was shocked at first, but then he got calm and reassuring, which just annoyed the hell out of me.”

“Yeah,” Layla agreed. “A surprise pregnancy should freak the shit out of anyone. But maybe he knows you guys would’ve done it eventually anyway, so he’s okay with it. Men can go with the flow remarkably well.”

Emma sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know. Would we have? Would he have wanted to marry me and have a family?”

“Of course, Em. Cole’s crazy about you. I’m surprised he hasn’t . . . wait! Have you told Mom and Dad?”

Emma smiled slightly. “I was going to tell them at dinner the other night, but then . . .”

“What? You mean because of me telling them Ben and I are engaged? You still could’ve told them!”

“I didn’t want to steal the spotlight from you. That’s a huge, amazing deal, getting engaged.”

Layla was never going to live down her reputation, even with her own family. Until about a year ago, she’d been so self-absorbed that no one could imagine her any other way. She cringed inwardly at Emma’s deference.

“Having a baby is a huge, amazing deal, too, Em,” she said. “First of all, congratulations. I know it’s a surprise, but when the dust settles, you and Cole are gonna be excited about this and you’ll be great parents.”

Emma’s weak smile said she wasn’t so sure. “I’ve always wanted children. It’s not that. I just don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Sweetie, if we all waited until we were ready for things, there’d be way less marriages and babies in this world. You’ve got a man you love by your side. And you’ve got me and Ben. And Mom and Dad.”

Emma buried her face in her hands again. “I’m just so embarrassed about telling them. They probably don’t even think Cole and I have slept together.”

Layla couldn’t contain her laughter. “You guys live together! Of course they know.”

“Well, at least they have one daughter doing things the right way.”

“What? Me?” Layla shook her head and laughter overtook her again. “I’ve hardly done anything right!”

“You’ll have a real wedding. That’ll mean a lot to Mom. And you won’t have to shop in the maternity section of the bridal store.”

“Are you guys getting married?”

“I don’t . . . we haven’t even talked about it.”

“Oh.” Layla furrowed her brow, Emma’s miserable expression nagging at her. “You want to marry Cole, don’t you, Em?”

There was a pause before Emma spoke, her voice tight with emotion. “Yes.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks. “But not like this. Not because he has to marry me.”

“He doesn’t
have
to.”

“That’s not what Dad’s gonna say.”

Layla sighed and got up from her side of the booth, sliding in next to Emma and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “This isn’t about Dad. It’s not about anyone but you and Cole. You can get married, not get married or get married later. You probably need to just focus on one thing at a time, you know? Take care of yourself and the baby. You don’t have to come up with all the answers right now.”