“Stop denying your child the wedding she deserves so you can pinch more pennies. For God’s sake, Conrad, it’s not like Mandy’s going to find a man.”
Mandy threw the tray against the wall. The room silenced.
“Stop it!” Tears rolled over her cheeks. “Can’t we talk like normal people for once? You used to love each other! Just be civil for one hour!”
Sandra huffed, her mouth falling open. “Mandy, don’t make a scene. You’re embarrassing yourself!”
Silence.
Almost. Bryce tried to play it cool and turned on the TV.
“Next week on Wedding Hunters, Denny wants to propose, but he can’t afford a ring! It’s off to the plasma bank for a donation in the name of love—”
Mandy stormed out of the living room. I followed. I didn’t have to hurry. She trembled in rage and couldn’t unlock the back door. I helped her, but she didn’t speak, just rushed outside.
It tore me apart to see her that upset. Mandy’s smile was too pretty to lose to tears, especially when it was bullshit family drama sapping her energy and…
Getting her sick in the bushes outside?
Damn. She took her family seriously. There was her first problem.
“You okay?” I asked.
Mandy flinched. She froze, staring at me.
“I’m sorry. I’m…worked up.”
“It’s okay.”
She heaved a breath. “I can’t go back in there.”
“Come on.” I guided her away from the bushes. “I’ll take you out. Get you something to eat.”
“I’d rather crawl under a rock.”
“How about under the sheets?”
I regretted it as soon as I said it, but she actually giggled.
“You know…” Mandy bit her lip. “Yeah. That sounds good.”
It was the first time a beautiful woman’s proposition ever took me by surprise.
And it was the first time I ever considered refusing one.
If she was this hot and cold when she wasn’t dealing with the DMZ imploding in her living room, Mandy wasn’t ready to get fucked. She needed someone to talk to.
For whatever reason, I liked that I was the man who’d listen.
5
Mandy
“Good families do exist, right?” I posed the question to the universe. The universe didn’t answer, but it did make me nauseous. Maybe it was a sign.
“I’m sure they do,” Nate said. “Somewhere.”
“It’s just not fair. I barely survived my mother’s endless judgment during my childhood. Now I have to be voluntarily humiliated as an adult?”
“Can’t pick your family.” Nate leaned over his bar and passed me a basket of French fries fresh from the fryer. “But you can run far, far away from them.”
“If only.”
“Lindsey can’t chase you wearing heels.”
I snorted. “Yeah, except I’m the one breaking them in for her.”
“Tell me you aren’t serious.”
“I’ll show you the blisters.”
I dipped my French fry in the ranch dressing. Nate passed me a beer. I wished. I asked for water instead. He poured it into a frosted glass, and I dove into my fries.
Nate had a bad reputation. He was a womanizer, a commitment-phobic, a man who’d chase me to the ends of the earth just to steal my panties—but he whipped up the best ranch dressing I’d ever tasted.
I didn’t know how he did it, but my stomach soothed around him. I’d blame the pregnancy hormones. Just sitting with the father of my secret baby was relaxing enough that I could eat more than a single saltine and half a tangerine.
But the one person who made me feel halfway normal was the one person I couldn’t have feelings for.
Except Nate had whisked me away from home, delivered me to his bar, and served me a plate of salty and crispy French fries the instant I sat down.
For someone who claimed to screw ‘em and leave ‘em, Nate knew how to please a lady—besides the obvious oral sex, passionate fucking, and complete fulfillment of their physical needs.
I bit my lip. Not the thought I should have had in a crowded bar.
Arrogance attracted a lot of people. Nate knew half of the patrons by name, and the rest were casuals or newcomers who seemed to enjoy his brews and the classy atmosphere. Three men greeted him with handshakes and grins.
A couple of blondes tried to swoop in.
Nate stared only at me and stole a fry. I shouldn’t have smiled.
He sipped his drink and gestured to the multitude of beers on tap. “Sure I can’t get you anything? You need something stronger.”
I deflected like a pro. “I just had to get out of the house. The wedding turned into a zoo overnight, and I’m not allowed to tranq the bride.”