AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I take a quick shower and get dressed. Damn, I have trouble zipping up my jeans. I grab a flared pair of comfy pants from the seventies and put them on. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Is this why they say when you’re pregnant, that you glow? My auburn hair looks thicker, and my skin is smooth. I don’t bother putting on make-up, just a little mascara and some lipstick to finish the flower child look I’m going for. Shit, I have to tell my family, I think, when I grab the car keys.
Damn. I didn’t ask Dan not to tell Jesse, and he probably can’t with the doctor-patient confidentiality. But I should tell Jesse. I’m heading down the steps to my car when a Harley I don’t recognize is parked in the driveway.
“Hey, Ace of Spades,” Jesse says, placing his helmet on the handlebars, and pushes his hands in his pockets, looking at me while I walk toward him. I don’t know why I don’t run into his arms—probably because nothing has changed. He is still the same wild one who doesn’t want to be tied down, judging by the lack of texts and phone calls. And I’m pregnant with his child, and scared shitless. Because there is a huge chance I might be going on this adventure alone.
This is not about me anymore. I have to think what is best for my child, and my stomach drops.
“Hey, Jesse.” My voice sounds breathless to my own ears, and the memories of being tangled in his arms come rushing back like a damn freight train. I close my leather jacket, and I swear under my breath. I quickly grab a black scarf out of my bag and wrap it around my shoulders.
“Are you leaving?” he drawls.
“Yeah, I need to check on something at one of our shops downtown,” I bite out. Great plan, Ace. Be angry at the guy who has a tendency to bolt.
He grabs my arm. “Can we talk?” He sounds insecure. Damn, does he know?
“About what?”
He stares into my eyes, and I take a step back. His gray eyes are bloodshot red, like he hasn’t slept at all. “I just came back from Japan and crashed at my friend’s place before I headed over to my dad’s this morning. I wanted to surprise you, and yeah, we partied a little too hard, and I had too fucking much to drink,” he confesses, running an awkward hand through his hair.
I swallow hard, walking into the garage, and he follows me. “My dad could barely look at me; he said I needed to man the fuck up and go to your place. Thanks for telling me, by the way, that you moved back here,” he rumbles.
“We keep telling each other we’re sorry,” I huff, exasperated.
“What was the real reason you didn’t fly out to Japan for the Olympics?” he mutters under his breath.
“I watched your run on the television, you were great, Jesse,” I tell him. I was so proud, seeing him standing up there on that podium. But I couldn’t risk throwing him off his game after I found out I was pregnant. He needed to focus on his run and nothing else.
“Would have been nice to have you there, babe, but I guess it doesn’t matter shit what I do, does it?” he bites out.
I turn around and get right in his face. “You are back one second, and we’re already fighting.”
He glowers at me. “Yeah, well, I don’t care. At least then you tell me what you think,” he says, throwing the truth in my face. “I never lied to you, babe. You knew you would have to share me.”
“I know, okay, more than I want to admit.”
He laughs at me. He actually has the nerve to laugh at me in my face. I stare at him.
“I’m sorry, babe, it’s just—” he says, scratching the back of his neck. “When you get all serious, you scrunch up your nose, and you look so damn cute.”
His eyes dance, and I want to punch him in the mouth. “Stop looking at me like you want to slap me in the face, Acie.”
“Maybe I will after we stop doing this dance,” I grumble.
He grabs my hand and pushes me back until my ass hits the boxes in the garage. He presses himself against my core. The bulge in his pants grows against my heat. Damn, my panties dampen when I get a whiff of his smell, outdoors and wood chips and want.
He licks his lips, and I hold my breath, waiting for his mouth to touch my own.
“Why is it always so easy for you to walk away?” I ask, staring up into his gray eyes.
“It isn’t,” he says sincerely. “It took everything to walk away from you.”
He puts his hands on my waist, and I suck in a breath. He should feel the little bump; with my small frame, you can’t not notice it. Luckily, my scarf and leather jacket are covering most of it.
“I didn’t want to talk to you,” he admits after he takes a deep breath.
“Why not?”
“Because if I did, I couldn’t ride the way I do. I told you I was going to keep you and I will. I keep my promises,” he states, not a doubt in his deep voice. “But I have to do this on my own terms. I never lied to you about that.”
