Be My Hero(13)

Then he winked at me, confirming he was definitely no typical careless,  brooding antihero. "Let me get you a fresh batch, Tinker Bell. Who knows  what kind of filthy fingers have been in these all night."

Nice. My pajamas had just won me a stupid pet name. Go me.

I began to roll my eyes, but I stopped, my mouth falling open as he  jumped over the bar. Like jumped over the bar, the same way Sam and  Woody had done in all those Cheers reruns I'd seen. It was so hot I  might've drooled a little.

After he tossed the old bowl, he pulled up a big box full and sprinkled  out a new pile. Just for me. When he slid the untouched beer nuts my way  with an indulgent smile, I continued to stare at him in utter awe.

That might've been the sweetest, most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me.

But seriously, who was that sweet and thoughtful to a complete stranger?

I'd had plenty of guys be nice to me before when they'd wanted to get  into my panties, but that was seven months of pregnancy ago. He surely  knew there was zero chance of scoring with me now, and why would he even  want to score with a pregnant girl? Maybe he was a total creeper.

I guess he could've been acting decent because I was so obviously  knocked up. People did smile and hold doors open for me a hell of a lot  more now than they had before. Even so, I was overwhelmed with how  charming, yet totally suspicious his actions were.

Around us, the conversation continued, but I didn't hear a word of what  anyone said. I was too busy caught in a staring contest with Mr.  Considerate. He stared right back with a blatant curiosity that made my  knees weak.

I had listened to Mason describe his coworkers to Reese when he'd first  started. I knew of some guy named Gamble. He was the star football  quarterback at the university where both Reese and Mason took classes.  And then there was someone called Ten. There was also a Bick, or Rick,  or Dick, something like that. He hadn't mentioned a fourth male  coworker, though.

The man before me didn't look like quarterback material. I wouldn't have  called him scrawny by any means, but he didn't have the usual beefy  bulk of an athlete. His muscles seemed wiry, lean, scrappy and street  savvy. Yeah, I'm not sure what I meant by 'street-savvy' muscles either,  but the term seemed to fit him.

So, he probably wasn't Gamble.

Mason had referred to Ten as squirrelly and loud-mouthed. This guy  didn't seem to fit that bill either. He was too laidback and . . . I  don't know, friendly and open.

"I think she was lying, too," said the only other woman present besides Reese and me.

"Exactly." Whirling toward her, I sent her a thank you gesture for  backing me up. Stuffing nuts into my mouth because Mr. Considerate was  still staring as if I was some kind of ghost, and making my stomach  churn even more than it already was, I went on. "I mean, hello. She'd  have to be nearly as far along as I am, right?" When I glanced at Reese  for verification, she nodded. Right. So . . . "Everyone I needed to tell  about my baby was told months ago. Why would she wait this long to drop  the bomb now?"

Reese turned to Mason, her body vibrating with eager hope. "Eva has a  good point. And what about her fiancé? How does she know it's not his?"         

     



 

Mason merely winced as if he didn't want to get his hopes up. "Maybe it took her a while to find me."

"Yeah, right." Reese snorted. "You know good and well that bitch has  known every step you've made since leaving Waterford. She found out  everything there was to know about me within a month. There's no way she  lost track of you."

"So wait, wait, wait." One of the other bartenders stepped closer,  waving his hands. "Lowe, you seriously fucked another woman, maybe even  knocked her up, and you," he set his gaze on Reese, "aren't pissed as  hell right now?"

Now that guy was definitely Ten, I decided.

"Oh, I'm pissed," Reese told him. "But not at Mason. Besides, this  particular . . . event happened before we hooked up." Then she cleared  her throat and lowered her face before mumbling, "Technically."

Looking helpless, Mason smoothed his hand over her hair before leaning  over the bar to kiss her temple. "I can't believe this is happening. You  are the only person I've ever wanted to have babies with. Jesus, Reese .  . . " He squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his brow to hers. "Can't  we just rewind everything so I can do it right the first time?"

Again, I had to look away. Their misery was just too intense. But when I  turned my attention forward, Mr. Considerate caught my gaze. His brown  eyes filled with sympathy, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to  say something to soothe me.

Sucked back into the staring game with him, I studied his face some  more. He was handsome in an unconventional way. His face wasn't as  filled out as most faces. It seemed gaunter as if he had to prowl the  streets each night for food. But it worked for him. The hollow dips and  lines gave him character, adding to his appeal and making him look even  hotter.

All the metal in his face made me miss the hoop nose ring I'd had for a  few months. I'd taken it out when I'd gotten shot and had to stay in the  hospital. I had only gotten it to piss off dear old Dad, but I'd ended  up liking it more than I thought I would.

Without warning, Mr. Considerate popped forward closer to me and rested  his elbows on the bar so he could lean over the counter and check out my  belly.

"You do have the most adorable baby bump I've ever seen," he murmured,  as if answering someone else's observation. His voice stirred something  in me that no one had ever awoken before.

I shook my head, wondering why the heck he'd said that, until the other  chick responded, "And the other woman's breasts didn't look nearly as  swollen as hers."

"I'd say," he shot back, lifting his gaze to meet mine. He didn't check  out my tits, but my nipples burned and responded as if he had.

I'd never gotten turned on so easily before. Actually, I wasn't so sure  if I'd ever been turned on in the first place. Usually I disappeared  into my blank void when I let a guy do me. If I'd ever responded to one  of them during our encounters, I was too busy chilling in my numb place  to remember or feel it. But I know I'd never tingled from head to toe  before just because a man was looking at me.

The foreign sensation freaked me out.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" I demanded, needing a little more control over my own body than I had.





Chapter 4


EVA


Mr. Considerate didn't seem perturbed by the snap in my voice when I  commanded him to tell me his name. He just grinned, and said, "Pick."

Huh? "Pick what? I'm not picking out your name." What the hell?

"No." His smile only spread, reaching up into his eyes and making the  beautiful brown orbs twinkle. "That's my name, Tinker Bell. Pick, short  for Patrick Jason Ryan. You like?"

Like? This guy totally blew my mind. Why would he care if I liked his cool-ass, unique name?

"Anyway . . . " The woman I still didn't know cleared her throat, gave  the two of us a strange glance, and turned back to the group. "She  didn't have any of the water retention this girl has in her face."

I gasped and covered my cheeks so hottie boy Pick couldn't see how fat  I'd become. Oh my God, how hideous did I look? And why would Reese let  me leave the apartment this way? I swung to her for immediate support.  "I have water retention?"

"What? No! No, sweetie. Barely any at all."

Oh my God! Barely any at all was so far away from none that she might as well have called me a bloated whale. "So I do then?"

Reese fumbled a moment before sending the other woman a scowl. But as  she opened her mouth to calm me, Mason grabbed her arm. His face paled  as he stared at something over her shoulder.

I glanced around to find a new person entering the nightclub-in a long tan trench coat.

Oh, hell. My best friend was going to go to jail tonight for murder.         

     



 

"Anyone have a hatchet handy?" Reese growled, stepping away from the bar  to face off with Mrs. Garrison. "Because I'm feeling a compelling need  to hack a bitch."

"Dude." Ten bumped his elbow into the fifth bartender who might be  Gamble-or not. Hell, I didn't know who was who anymore. "Chick fight.  Awesome."

As I reached for Reese to stop her and failed, Mason jumped over the  bar, much the same way Pick had hopped over it to fetch me more beer  nuts. He had more success at catching Reese than I'd had and curled his  arm around her waist, keeping her from attacking.

"I told you not to come back," he snarled at Mrs. Garrison. "And I made  it crystal clear before I even left Florida that I never wanted anything  to do with you again. Why are you doing this?"

She ignored him, smiling evilly at my girl. "Reese," she murmured,  nodding her head in acknowledgement. "It's been too long since I last  saw you."