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Chapter 1
One little decision can change your life.
A wrong decision. A stupid decision.
A definitely not little decision.
Mae Lockhart stared at the two pink lines on her home pregnancy test and couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid. Again.
Her downfall this time? A guy named Merit.
Upon their introduction the night his father had been elected to the United States Senate, she’d lifted her eyebrows to help hide the fact the man had taken her breath away from the moment she’d laid eyes on him.
“Yes, my name is Merit,” he confirmed with a sexy grin. “But you can call me Handsome.”
She laughed. “How many times have you used that line?”
“Just a few.”
Yeah, a few hundred, she’d guess. “And how often does it work?”
“Every time.”
And what had she done? She’d proved him right the night her best friend and his older brother got married two months ago. When they waved the couple off in the groom’s vintage ’69 Camaro with the obligatory Just Married decorations, she’d been overcome with giddiness—and maybe a tad too much champagne—and turned a flirty grin up to the tall, dark groomsman.
“So, Handsome, what are your plans for the rest of the night?”
Because tipsy, turned-on, lonely Mae had a babysitter for twelve more hours and wasn’t about to give up her opportunity for adult freedom only fifteen minutes after midnight. Not to mention, he wasn’t merely handsome, he was hot as hell in his tuxedo, could charm the panties off a nun, and those gorgeous, golden-brown eyes of his promised more fun of the mature variety than she’d had in seven years.
Actually, seven-plus long, celibate years.
Sober, responsible, conservative Mae blinked against the sting of tears as she looked at the pink lines again. “One night of fun,” she whispered, “for nine months of pregnancy and eighteen years of—”
“Mom! Hurry up! I gotta pee.”
Mae jumped as her six-year-old son’s fist pounding on the door underscored his plea. She hurried to stuff the test and wrapper back in the box as she rose from the toilet. “One sec, Ian. I’ll be right out.”
She buried the box in the waste basket, then washed her hands again so she could splash cold water on her face.
“Mooommm.”
Mae took a breath and opened the door to find him dancing from foot to foot. “Morning, Scoob.”
She stepped aside as he rushed past, then pulled the door mostly closed behind her when she stepped into the hall. For a moment, she leaned against the wall, heart thumping hard at the thought of adding a baby to their duo. For six years—seven in two weeks—it had just been the two of them against the world.
What would Ian say when she told him? Would he be happy he was going to become a big brother? Or would he be upset?
No. He’d be happy. That’s just the kind of awesome kid he was. The kind of kid she’d never once regretted a day in her life. Not even for a second.
She tilted her head toward the cracked door to ask, “What do you think? Pancakes or eggs this morning?”
“You said we could have muffins,” he called back. “Remember?”
That’s right, she’d bought a pack of four at the bakery yesterday. “I forgot.”
The toilet flushed, and then he opened the door. “Geez, Mom, how could you forget?”
Mae pointed toward the sink. “Wash.”
He huffed out a sigh but turned back to do as she said.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” she replied to his question.
“You always say that,” he grumbled.
“Because I always do.” She squinted against the glare of the rising sun hitting the mirror through the window. “You’re up extra early this morning.”
“It’s Friday Fun Day at school today.”
He had that tone again—how could she forget Friday Fun Day before the 4th of July?
Because she truly did have a lot on her mind. Monday, she was starting construction on Shelby Diamond’s vet clinic, between now and then she had to fix the lawn mower so she didn’t get dirty looks from her neighbors when her grass grew to six inches tall in a week, and she had to make a casserole for the holiday picnic at her brother’s house tomorrow. Not to mention, dishes and laundry both needed to be washed, the house cleaned, bills paid, paperwork filed, and I am pregnant!
A wave of panic had her drawing in a steadying breath and blowing it back out. “Brush your teeth and get dressed, bud. You can watch Scooby Doo while you eat breakfast.”
“Yes.” He grabbed his toothbrush with a grin, always thrilled when she let him watch his favorite cartoon while she got ready.
Mae narrowed her eyes at his cheerful reflection in the mirror. Come to think of it, this was the third morning in a row he’d gotten up before she’d had a chance to take h
er shower. Little smarty pants was working her. Being it was summer school, she decided to let it slide. “Make sure that toilet seat goes down.”
She ruffled his hair before going to her room for clean underwear, a Lockhart Construction logo T-shirt, and jeans. The TV blared to life as she returned to their one bathroom in their little two bedroom home. While she showered, dressed, and applied minimal make-up, her mind whirled like crazy, and her stomach balled up in a tight knot, threatening to reactivate her earlier nausea.
Now she knew the queasiness was morning sickness, not just a stomach bug. And knowing she was pregnant also explained her couple bouts of dizziness the past couple of weeks, even though she hadn’t experienced either while pregnant with Ian. Could it be a girl this time?
This time.
Of course, she couldn’t help but think about the last time she’d been in this situation nearly eight years ago. Things had been so different, and yet, they were so damn similar. She’d been all alone, broke, and determined to love her child even if his father wanted nothing to do with them. She might not be broke anymore, but she was still single, and she would love this baby even if its father wanted nothing to do with them.
Her pulse skipped at the thought of telling Merit Diamond she was pregnant with his baby. Hell, it skipped more than a few beats at the thought of telling her best friend she was pregnant with her new brother-in-law’s baby. She hadn’t told Honor about their hook-up the night of her and Asher’s wedding. Hadn’t planned to, either.
That night had been amazing, and yet she’d done everything possible to forget the guy’s smile, his sexy, husky laugh, the fire of his touch on her skin, the feel of him over her, in her, taking her higher than she’d ever gone before. The man was dangerous to her in a way only one other man ever had been, and she refused to go down that road again.
The first week after the wedding, Merit had texted and left her a couple of messages. He said he wanted to see her again. Her heart had done a giddy little dance, but common sense reminded her she couldn’t afford to let emotions overrule cold, hard facts. She had to keep a clear head for both herself and Ian.
Asher had made more than enough comments about his playboy younger brother. As the stories went, he was a one and done type of guy, and messages or not, leopards didn’t change their spots. Not to mention, she’d experienced his velvet smooth charm in action more than once. So, she’d ignored him, hoping he’d lose interest and move on to his next conquest.
Reminding herself she was nothing more than that to him shored up her resolve whenever she had a weak moment of wanting to reply.
The second week, he’d sent her one text and left one message. The third and fourth weeks, he was down to one text each week. It had been a month since the last time she’d heard from him, and with each week that had passed, she was convinced she’d been right to not respond. Clearly, one night with her hadn’t magically changed the guy into someone worthy of letting into her son’s life.
