Be My Hero(29)

     



 

Eva simply smiled and shook her head as if amused by my concern. "Same as the last time you came by," she kept answering.

She must've grown bored sitting at the bar by herself, or maybe she had  to use the bathroom. When she slid off her stool, I freaked. What the  hell? Where was she going?

But she merely moved to the old-time jukebox against the wall, and I relaxed.

A table full of drunk girls kept me busy for a couple minutes. One was  bemoaning the fact that she'd just caught her boyfriend cheating on her.

"He's an ass," I chimed in, agreeing with her friends. "You deserve so  much better than any douche who can't hold it in his pants until he sees  you again."

Suddenly, I became the main attraction at that table. In the middle of  telling the poor girl what kind of qualities she should look for in her  next guy, the first song Tinker Bell had chosen on the jukebox started  to play.

I lifted my face to the nearest speaker, my breath catching in my  throat. Then I whirled away from the man-bashing table. Eva still stood  at the jukebox, flipping through song choices, her back to the crowd.

"Excuse me," I murmured, distracted. Tucking the round serving plate  under my arm, I wound my way through too many people until I reached  her.

"How the hell did you know this was our song?" I demanded from directly behind her.

She let out a startled squeak and whirled around. When her big blue eyes  blinked up at me, my chest tightened. It took everything I had to keep  from cupping her face in my hands and kissing her senseless.

Setting a hand on her hip, she arched an eyebrow. "Our song?"

I pointed to the jukebox where the Supremes were bellowing out Baby  Love. "Hell, yes, our song. We're going to dance together to this at our  wedding reception."

I didn't mean to blurt that out, but I was just so discombobulated that  she'd chosen this song on the jukebox. Out of all the fucking songs  listed, she'd chosen this one. The words had just tumbled out of my  mouth.

I didn't panic, though. No way would she think I'd actually foreseen anything. She'd assume I was flirting and teasing.

Good. Great. That was perfect. Let her think I was a tease.

But then I pictured her in the sleeveless wedding gown, the pearls  glimmering in her hair, the ecstatic sheen on her face. It all sucked to  the forefront of my head until I fell into a surreal state of déjà vu.  The room seemed to spin around the two of us, and the two scenes-the  here and now in Forbidden, and ten years ago in my glimpses-melded into  one.

Oh, shit. I realized in that moment that our wedding reception would  take place here, inside Forbidden. How had I not recognized that the  first moment I'd walked into this place? I guess I'd always been so  focused on her in my glimpses I hadn't paid that much attention to where  we were. But why would our reception be here? Forbidden never hosted  that kind of event.

I shook my head and blinked again until the here-and-now returned.

A fully pregnant Eva frowned up at me as if I was insane. "Did you just say our wedding reception?"

I grinned and nodded.

"But you're already married."

"Pff. Details."

Deciding to just roll with it, I set the serving tray on top of the  jukebox and captured her waist with one hand. Then I took her fingers  with my other. When I spun her out onto the floor for a dance, she gaped  in surprise.

I think she caught a hold of my shoulder more to balance herself than  she did to actually dance with me, but that didn't matter to me. We were  in the perfect position for a waltz, so I started a bizarre kind of  two-step with her.

She didn't shove me away, which was promising, since she was watching me  as if I was completely mental. Tucking her in close until her  protruding belly was nestled against me, I swayed us back and forth just  as the song hit an intense part.

"All of my whole life through," I sang along with Diana Ross, pitching  my voice high and putting my gut into it. "I never loved no one but you.  Why you do me like you do?"

Shaking her head, Eva laughed. "Oh my God. You're crazy." But she kept  dancing with me as I spun her around and bumped her back to me. Laughing  again, she wrapped her fingers around my shoulder. "Seriously, do you  flirt like this with every woman?"

I pretended to think about her question before shrugging. "Pretty much,  yeah. Though to be fair, that eighty-year-old bun-head I helped carry  groceries to her car last week might've been the love of my life. I  mean, she had a cart full of fruit. I love fruit. We could've been meant  for each other. Who was I to risk letting her go without testing the  waters a little with a couple winks and a pinch to her ass?"

Tinker Bell laughed again. I really liked making her laugh. "Please tell me you did not pinch her ass. Did you?"         

     



 

"Hey, she pinched mine first." When she laughed again, I winked and  leaned in to whisper into her ear. "It was surprisingly firm."

"Oh my God." She had to cover her mouth with her next round of chuckles.  "You really are an uncontrollable flirt. You must have one confident  wife if she doesn't mind your teasing ways."

With a proud lift of my chin, I preened. "She claims it's my best quality."

Eva opened her mouth to respond, but a little bump nudged me in the stomach, interrupting her.

"What the hell?" I stopped dancing and stepped back.

Color flooding her face, Eva covered her stomach with her hands as if embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. She must like the music."

My mouth fell open. "Are you saying that was the baby that just kicked me?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I-"

"Oh, cool." I dropped to my knees in front of her and found myself eye  level with her stomach as it shifted again. Mouth open in wonder, I  placed my hands reverently on either side of the baby bump.

Tristy had never told me when Julian had been kicking her, but I hadn't  ventured that close to her to find out, either. No way was I staying  away from Eva's belly, though, not after her child had just made contact  with me.

"Listen up, little girl," I called above the music. "I'm dancing with  your mama right now, but as soon as you're born, you can have your turn.  Got it, Miss Skylar? I have the perfect song saved for you and  everything."

Another little bulge jabbed out of Eva's stomach in answer. I sucked in  an amazed breath and pressed my hand to it. Skylar either high-fived me  or kicked me. Still charmed out of my mind and sitting on my knees, I  looked up at Tinker Bell to share my awe with her.

"That is just so . . . " I couldn't even fathom a word good enough to describe how much I loved connecting with her baby.

She shook her head, seemingly dazed. "How do you know her name?"

"Umm . . . " Shit. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too pissed at Lowe for  blabbing. I climbed back to my feet. "Mason let the cat out of the bag  earlier tonight." I hooked my thumb over my shoulder, totally  incriminating him as I pointed him out.

"Mason told you?" The idea seemed foreign to her, but she smiled  slightly and glanced over at him only to startle. "Oh! Reese is here. I  should go." She began to step around me, only to pause and bite her  bottom lip. "Thanks," she said, awkwardly. Her hand flailed a moment  before adding, "for the dance, and you know . . . everything else you  helped me with tonight. I really . . . I appreciate it."

A moment of indecision crossed her face before she lunged at me and gave  me a quick hug, lasting only long enough for my nostrils to collect her  lilac smell, and for Skylar to kick me one last time.

She didn't look as if she wanted to leave as she pulled away. I sure as  hell didn't want her to go. It felt as if Madam LeFrey was ripping me  out of my visions all over again. But Ten was already motioning to me  from across the room that he needed help serving. Plus it was getting  late, and Eva needed to get out of this place.

"See you around, Tinker Bell," I told her a little more solemnly than I meant to.

With a nod, she moved past me and made her way to Reese.

Though I returned to work and took an order from another table full of  ladies, I kept my attention on her as she and her cousin bid a farewell  to Lowe and left. A strange, crazy depression filled me after she was  gone. She had her life and I had mine, and the two didn't seem to be  headed in the same direction at all. But it would've been nice if I'd  had a reason, one stupid insignificant reason, to see her again. Just  one more time.

I wondered if I could get Lowe to tell me when she had the baby. Maybe  I'd go visit her and . . . shit, having any more contact with her after  this would probably just be needlessly torturing myself. I should stay  away.

But after the bar closed and I was helping Lowe clean up, he found a way to suck me back in.

"Thanks for helping me keep an eye on Eva tonight. Reese would've killed me if anything bad had happened to her."

I nodded as if it were no big deal, even though my heart slipped in an  extra thump when he mentioned her name. "It's cool. I would've kept an  eye on any pregnant woman who wandered in."