I let the blanket fall from my shoulders. “Why does it have to be so fast? So sudden? Can’t I think about it?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m going to marry you tonight, before I sober up and talk myself out of it. Even brilliant plans look different in the light of day.”
I pulled on his arm. “Then Jer, it’s not a good idea. If you have to trick yourself this way.”
He laughed. “I’m kidding. That was a joke. Let’s do this.” His hand snaked around my waist, cupping my ass. I groaned when he squeezed it hard in his grasp. “Let me give you a baby. You want a baby, don’t you?”
There were a lot of things he could say. Hell, there were a lot of things he had already said tonight that made me weak in the knees. But he said the one thing that mattered to a woman who had been taking fertility treatments, trying for the past six months to get pregnant. He said the one phrase that I had waited to hear. The last piece to the puzzle I wanted. He dangled the carrot in front of me. My grand prize. My dream. A sweet soft innocent child placed in my arms. This man could give me that.
He grazed my lips with his mouth. “You can’t say no to me.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He was the forbidden fruit. Everything I shouldn’t want, but needed. He was every warning my mother had ever tossed out in her Italian accent when I was growing up. He was the epitome of heartbreak. But I couldn’t stop kissing him. I couldn’t stop believing that my dream had come true tonight, when the boy I barely knew in high school walked into Bella’s.
One day I’d tell my daughter about men like Jeremy. I’d warn her about men who offered the moon and delivered lies. I’d tell her to search for love. I’d tell her to never settle until she found her soul mate. I’d make her promise that happiness and joy would come first in her life. I’d sit her down and tell her all the mistakes I made. I’d explain how desperately I wanted a family of my own. How I was willing to do anything in the world for the chance to meet her.
9
Jeremy
The snow drifted around Evie as she locked the door to the restaurant. She pulled a scarf closer to her neck. Her eyes were still fixed on the blinking Bella’s sign. I couldn’t tell if she was getting ready to back out of the deal, or taking a second to say mental goodbyes.
This wasn’t a time for either of us to change our minds. The more we sobered up, the more we would realize how risky everything had become. We had to keep riding this impulsive high.
“Ready?” I asked.
She nodded. Snowflakes landed on her lashes. “I am. But do you think we could stop by my place on the way out of town? I need a few things.”
“I can buy you what you need,” I offered, holding the car door for her. She slid inside where the heat was on full blast. The quicker we got out of Newton Hills, the better.
“I’d like to at least get something. Personal items. We can’t possibly buy everything at once. Don’t we have time?”
I checked my watch. “Ok. A five-minute stop. Will that work?”
She bit her lip. “I can pack quickly.”
“Good. I don’t like to keep the pilot waiting.”
She gave the driver the address.
“What do you mean keep him waiting? Don’t we have to be at the airport to board at a certain time? What does your ticket say? And are you sure I can get on the flight? What if it’s booked?”
We turned onto a street in an older part of town. I couldn’t say I remembered ever driving through this section of town as a kid.
“We aren’t flying on an airline, Evie,” I explained. “You don’t need a ticket for the private jet.”
“What? But I thought it was a red-eye. You said you had to make the last flight of the night.”
I nodded. “It is the last one the flight crew can take. Something about FAA regulation and crew hours. I don’t get into the details. The jet was being used by one of the other executives today. I had to snag it when I could.” I paused. “And I might have stood a few pilots up in the past. So if I’m not there on time they get pissy with me. I don’t need that.”
Her pretty mouth fell open. “That’s unbelievable. You’re ok using the company jet? As much as you hate the company, I’m a little surprised, that’s all.”
I didn’t like the way her words made my ribs tighten in my chest. I didn’t want to be reminded that I was using something that had belonged to my father. There were five jets in the fleet. They were used throughout the company, and sometimes the family. I hopped on one when I could. I had expected to fly into Newton Hills a man with fumes in his bank account, and fly out a billionaire. Those plans had been smashed this morning and resurrected by a beautiful Italian girl. I was leaving town exactly the way I wanted. With Evie by my side, that was now the reality. Our reality.
The driver pulled in front of a row of townhouses.
“We’re here,” he announced. “I’ll keep the heat going for you.”