The Misconception (30 page)

“Tracy told me you went to Drew’s high school graduation,” Marietta said.

He smiled, turned over her palm, traced circles on it with his index finger. “I did. The day before the party, Drew got a letter of acceptance from MIT. He was so thrilled, every once in a while he’d just let out a whoop.”

Marietta smiled, picturing the boy. “He must be pretty bright to get accepted into MIT.”

“He is,” Jax said, pride evident in his voice, “although sometimes I think he’s too smart for his own good. Billy’s smart, too. If you show him a plant, any plant, he can identify it. He’s at the University of Illinois.”

“Aaah. A scientist in the making.”

“Yeah. He’s one after your own heart. At this point in his life, I’m pretty sure he embraces that whole sex-without-love thing.”

She didn’t laugh, but her lips twitched.

“I don’t envy your mother, having two boys in college at the same time,” Marietta said, thinking of the spiraling tuition costs at Kennedy College. “What does she do?”

“Cooks, bakes, cleans, sews, gardens, cans and worries about us. I’m always telling her to take it easy, but she’s worked so hard all her life that I don’t think she can.”

Jax told Marietta more with what he hadn’t said than with what he had. His mother was obviously no longer working outside the home. Neither of the men who fathered her children had stuck around to help her out, so that meant Jax had. If he’d come to his mother’s aid, that probably meant he was helping his brothers, too.

“You’re the reason your mother doesn’t have to work, aren’t you?” Marietta asked. “I’ll bet you’re putting your brothers through college, too.”

Jax didn’t answer right away, giving Marietta time to form another insight.

“That’s why you work so hard,” Marietta said.

Jax shrugged his impressive shoulders. “I’m not doing anything anybody else wouldn’t do.”

He was wrong, of course. Marietta didn’t know many men who would take on the financial responsibility of three family members. Jax truly didn’t know how remarkable that made him.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your brothers and your mother before?” Marietta asked after a moment. “Why did you tell Tracy that you were going to Drew’s graduation and not me?”

He brought her palm to his lips and kissed it, sending delicious little shudders over her skin. “I didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“Not interested in my baby’s grandmother and her uncles? The baby will be genetically related to your family, so it seems to me information about them will only benefit me.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “You won’t let up, will you?”

She looked at him from under her lashes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You won’t admit that you’re interested in my family, because you’re interested in me.”

“Of course I’m interested in you.” She completely ignored what she knew he meant. “You’re the direct genetic link to our baby.” She paused. “What are you grinning about?”

He squeezed her hand. “That’s the first time you’ve said our baby.”

“It is?”

“It is. Does this mean you’ll give us a chance?”

“It means,” Marietta said slowly, “that I’m going to let you take me out to dinner tomorrow night.”

His mouth fell in what looked like genuine disappointment. “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’m flying out of town tomorrow afternoon.”

“But you just got back!”

“My job’s demanding, Marietta. I have to be on the road a lot.”

“What kind of job—”

Before she guessed what he intended, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. She’d been thinking about this mouth-to-mouth contact far too often since the last time he’d kissed her to stop him. Even though his lips weren’t operating on all symmetrical cylinders, the reality was even better than the fantasy. His mouth, even the slightly plump part, was soft and insistent against hers.

The heating pad slipped when she leaned forward to get closer to him. She ignored it, opening her mouth and inviting his tongue to slip inside. He took the invitation as one of his hands tangled in her hair, and the other moved restlessly over her diaphanous nightgown until it cupped her breast.

Her nipples tautened, a hot ball of desire formed deep within her and her breath mingled with his. His mouth left hers to trail kisses over her cheek, along her jaw line, into her neck. She reveled in the scratchy feel of his emerging beard against her smooth skin, of his hands on her body.

Then, maddeningly, he stopped. He lowered his hands until they rested on her waist, and lifted his head so his forehead leaned weakly against hers. She cried out in protest and tried to pull his mouth back to hers, but he put his fingers to her lips and traced the dark smudges under her eyes.

“There’s nothing I’d like more than to make love to you all night and have breakfast, lunch and dinner with you tomorrow,” he said. “But I can’t take advantage of a tired, pregnant woman with a backache.”

“My back doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

He laughed and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “As much as I’d like to believe that, I don’t.”

She was about to protest again when her back throbbed, surprising her. For long moments, the only ache she’d felt had nothing to do with her back.

“Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll take you to breakfast tomorrow morning and drive you to work. Then, on Monday when I get back, I’ll take a rain check. On everything.” He caressed the side of her cheek and looked deeply into her eyes so she couldn’t mistake his meaning. “Deal?”

She didn’t hesitate in answering, because, in the last half-hour, she’d realized something amazing. She didn’t just desire him. She liked him, too.

“Deal,” she said, and they both smiled.

Chapter 19

The Put Up With Us Players performed in a strip shopping center in Arlington in a space Marietta remembered as having once contained a shop for wild-bird lovers. The owner, who’d flown the coop after barely a year in business, must have concluded the feathered trade was truly for the birds.

As Marietta sat stiffly in a seat at a one-hundred-twenty—

degree angle to the stage, she thought whoever designed the seating had done it with the flying critters in mind. Anybody else was in danger of getting a nosebleed.

Marietta supposed the towering perches made sense, considering that was the only way to jam seating for a hundred into the cramped space. Twenty minutes before show time, however, the theater was barely hall full.

Tracy had warned her the performances of the Put Up With Us Players didn’t appeal to a mainstream audience, but she’d hoped the oddballs in the area would turn out.

Heaven knew there were enough of them. Why, just today, Vicky Valenzuela, president of the FOCs, had stopped by her office to ask her to autograph pictures of female elephants. Vicky had adopted the animal as a mascot for her organization after hearing Marietta talk about their independence from their male counterparts.

Marietta hoped Vicky didn’t procure a live one for their next rally. She could picture it now. The pixie-sized feminist and the mammoth mammal.

If she’d known the theater would be so empty, she would have asked Vicky if she and the FOCs enjoyed improvisational theater. Chances are the title of the play would have frightened them away, though. How many people wanted to spend their time on a play that proclaimed itself “Insignificant?”

Another theatergoer entered the building, which Marietta viewed as a good thing until she saw it was Ryan Caminetti, looking darkly handsome in a long-sleeved khaki-colored shirt and worn jeans. Scanning the selection of available seats, his dark eyes fell on hers and locked.

Once upon a time, before he’d wronged Tracy, they’d enjoyed many evenings engaged in lively debate. Marietta didn’t agree with Ryan about much, but always found his opinions informative and interesting. She’d even considered him to be a friend.

She hoped he would heed her stony stare and find a seat elsewhere, but knew he wouldn’t. Ryan had never backed down from an argument. He wouldn’t dodge a confrontation. He climbed the steps toward her, his lips curved in greeting.

“Hey, Marietta. Mind if I join you?” He settled into the vacant seat beside her before she could answer that yes, she did mind.

She shifted away from him and gave a brief nod. “Ryan.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. His jaw tightened, and she knew she was making him uncomfortable. She was perversely glad. She certainly wouldn’t try to make things easier on him.

“I haven’t congratulated you yet on your pregnancy,” he said after a moment. “I think it’s terrific news.”

She gave him a sharp look. “How do you know I’m pregnant?”

His dark eyebrows rose, calling attention to his equally dark eyes. His features missed being symmetrical by a few millimeters here and there, but he was still a very good-looking man. No wonder Tracy was still hung up on him. “Tracy told me. Is that a problem?”

It was, but there was nothing Marietta could do about it now. “It’s not common knowledge.”

“I won’t tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried. I know you’re not a gossip.” She paused, because it had pained her to admit anything favorable about his character. “I just don’t want people to know I’m pregnant yet.”

“I bet that’s hard on Jax. He probably feels like handing out cigars. I know I would.”

She blew out a breath. “You know about Jax, too.”

“Why shouldn’t I? You and he are involved, aren’t you?”

She didn’t immediately respond, unsure of how to answer that. Yes, Jax was the man who’d gotten her pregnant. Yes, he lived next door. And, yes, she was considering sleeping with him again. Looking at it that way, she supposed there was only one answer she could give.

“Yes,” she said. “I guess we are involved.”

Ryan nodded, as though he’d known it all along. “Where is Jax? I would have thought he’d be here.”

“He wanted to be here,” Marietta said slowly as her brain worked. Since Ryan knew so much about Jax, did that mean Tracy was spending more time with him than she’d let on? “He’s out of town on business until Monday.”

“He’s a great guy, your Jax. Really funny, too. I bet he keeps you laughing.”

Marietta’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same man? Jax tells the worst jokes. I don’t think he knows a funny one.”

“He must not have told you about the worn-out tires ending up on skid row. Or the refrigerator humming because it doesn’t know the words.” Mysteriously, Ryan chuckled.

“Actually, he has,” Marietta said, then pinned him with a direct look. “What are you doing, Ryan?”

He returned her stare. “I’m waiting for the play to begin.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. What are you doing back in Tracy’s life? She was getting along just fine without you. Having you hanging around is just confusing her.”

His jaw clenched, his nostrils flared and she remembered how stubborn he could be. “Maybe I think she needs to be confused.”

“What kind of statement is that? Your divorce will be final in a month. Tracy doesn’t need you around jeopardizing that.”

“I’m not the one who wanted the divorce,” he said tightly. “I still don’t want it.”

“I knew it.” Marietta shook her head in dismay. “I knew you were trying to get her back, but Tracy thinks you just want to be friends. How’d you manage that?”

“I do want to be her friend.” He paused, and she could tell by the strain on his face that he wanted so much more. “If she can’t bring herself to trust me, I’ll have to accept that friends are all we can be.”

“How can she trust you after what we saw in that hotel lobby?”

Marietta expected shame to come into his eyes. To her surprise, she saw anger instead.