Page 18

An hour after Gray’s surprise visit, Rachel, the admission nurse, comes back and smirks at me. “Carlie, you have another visitor.” I wonder who in the world is here now. Since I started working here five months ago, I haven’t had one visitor. Today, it seems like the entire town is going to stop by.

“I’m coming,” I tell Rachel as I walk to the automatic doors that lead to the waiting room. When the doors swish open, I see Ciara pacing in front of the admissions desk.

“What are you doing here?” I ask and lead her to the far corner.

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I just texted you an hour ago letting you know I’m fine,” I remind my best friend. “And I can’t believe Garrett let you out of his sight long enough to come and check on me.” She met and married her soulmate shortly before the concert that brought Gray Marrow into my life. In fact, the whole reason I’d attended the concert alone was because Ciara was supposed to go with me, but all that changed when she met Garrett Marsh, the high school football coach.

“I made him wait in the car so I could get all the juicy details.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

“There aren’t any juicy details for me to share.” I don’t know why I even try to lie to my best friend. Three years ago, we met when we both ended up working at The Last Resort Bar. At the time, Ciara was a few months short of twenty-one and couldn't find any other jobs making the kind of money she needed to support her teenage brother while I needed a great paying job that allowed me the time to study.

The bar was run by three wannabee gangsters who didn’t pay any attention to the law. When Garrett caught wind of their disreputable ways, he put an end to it and our jobs there. Luckily for everyone working there, his good friend, Razor Montgomery, the retired drummer, owns a very classy bar in town. Razor stepped in when The Last Resort closed and offered everyone jobs with awesome benefits.

The job paid so well, I kept working a few shifts a month after I graduated from nursing school and started my new job at the hospital. Two months ago, I paid off the last of my student loans and decided to quit working my second job.

“Just tell me one thing.” I should’ve known my bestie wouldn’t give up easily. “Is Gray Marrow the reason you’ve been in a grouchy mood for the last three months?”

The stubborn glare shining from her eyes tells me I’m not going to be able to pull one over on her. “Yes.” I sigh. “I met him at the Psychedelic Squad concert.”

“You told me you didn’t see the concert.” Guilt flows through me at the hurt look on my best friend’s face.

“I didn’t see the concert.” I didn’t lie to her. “I went to the concert, but before it started, I met Gray Marrow.” The entire story comes pouring out. “I went back to his hotel room.” Her eyes grow steadily bigger with each word I mutter. “We spent an incredible night together, then I woke up to an empty bed. After I got up, I heard the shower running and decided to hightail it out of there before he came out.”

“Wait a second.” My best friend holds up her hand to me. “I’m confused. Why did you leave?” That makes two of us. I’ve been wondering the same thing since I returned from Houston and realized what a mistake I’d made running out on my mystery man.

“I don’t know.” I sit in one of the hard plastic chairs and sigh. “I got freaked out since spending the night with him was so out of character for me. I didn’t even freaking know his name.” I wince at how irresponsible my admission sounds.

If Ciara’s eyes get any bigger, they’ll pop off her face. “You didn’t know who he was?” She drops into the chair next to me. “Wow.” She can say that again. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me any of this.” She smacks my shoulder. “We’re best friends.”

Guilt nearly eats me alive. “I know. I didn’t know how to tell you. And you’ve been so happy since you found Garrett, and you’re pregnant.” My reasons sound lame to me, but I continue. “And I haven’t even told you the rest of the story.”

“I’m scared to ask, but what more could there be for you to tell me?”

“I’m pregnant.”

“Yay!” That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. She stands up and claps her hands together, and every eye in the waiting room turns to us. There are only four or five other people, but they all get to witness my embarrassment. “We can go through this together.” Great. News of my pregnancy will be all around town before I get off work.

Two hours after my best friend leaves, Rachel stops by my workstation. “Guess what? You have another visitor.” I’m shocked it took this long for the news to circulate around town. The grapevine must be faulty today.

I don’t even bother to ask who it is. I can feel it in my soul who’s standing on the other side of the automatic doors. “I’ll be right out,” I tell Rachel before heading out to get this over with.

Gray’s furious eyes follow me as I step into the waiting room. “I think we need to have a nice long talk, Tigress.” He takes hold of my elbow and leads me to one of the consultation rooms along the back hall.

The look on his face tells me he already knows, and he isn’t going to wait for an explanation. “I guess you already heard?”

“I heard a rumor, but I want to hear it from you.” My body lights up from the inside out at his possessive stare.

No use beating around the bush. “I’m pregnant.”

The color leeches from his tan face before he stumbles over to one of the plastic chairs and sits down. Pain wraps around my heart at the thought of him rejecting me and our child, but it’s better that I find out now before I’m too attached to him. Who am I kidding? My heart might not survive if he doesn’t want us.

The color slowly returns to his complexion, and he stands. “Are you okay?” His warm hands wrap around my elbows and hold tight as he stares down into my eyes. I almost collapse from the relief that flows through me when I see confusion and excitement shining from his dark chocolate eyes. “Is everything okay with the baby? Did you get hurt in the accident? Did the seatbelt cause any injuries to the baby?” He shoots off questions at a crazy rate, and I wait for him to run out of breath before I attempt to calm him down.

“Yes, no, and no.” I smile up at him. “I’m fine and the baby is fine.”

“Are you sure?” He doesn’t seem ready to take my word for it. “Did the doctor check you out?”

“I called my doctor before I started my shift, and the nurse assured me that a minor traffic accident wouldn’t harm the baby. I made an appointment for tomorrow morning just to be sure, but I’m not worried.” I was planning to wait a few weeks before seeing my doctor until the accident accelerated my plans a little. “You can come with me if you want.”

“I plan to be at every fucking appointment.” He pulls me into his arms and smiles down at me. “I want to experience every second of this pregnancy with you. I’ve never been this fucking happy in my life.”

“You aren’t upset about me running out on you or the pregnancy?”

“I’m furious that you ran out on me, and I plan to spank your luscious ass bright red for it, but I’m thrilled you’re carrying my child.”

“The whole spanking thing isn’t really a threat.” I’m actually kinda hoping we can give it a try.

“I can see you’re going to keep me on my toes for the next sixty years or so,” he whispers against my lips before kissing me. As his lips devour mine, his words run through my mind on a continuous loop until his tongue presses into my mouth, obliterating my ability to think at all.

After Gray leaves, I spend the next few hours fantasizing about him, telling myself it’s time to take a chance. He’s offering me everything I’ve ever wanted, and I plan to jump in with both feet. This small town is known for its insane number of lifelong happy unions, and I hope my relationship with Gray becomes one of them.

But first, I want to see if I can get him to give me the spanking he was offering earlier.