Tiny Dancer(Divine Creek Ranch 13)(104)
Ben kissed her neck as she snuggled back against him and said, “We’ll help so it won’t take too long.” Quinten scooted close to her front. She kissed him, tenderness in her eyes.
“Quinten, can I ask you about something?”
“Sure, baby. What?”
She stroked her fingers through his chest hair and looked in his eyes. “What had you so worked up today? I could tell, because you were so relieved.”
He hesitated, afraid of her hurting her feelings. “I was worried about you.”
“And?”
“Afraid,” he admitted. She had his number, so he might as well confess, but he couldn’t think of a way to phrase it that it didn’t come out wrong.
“Did you think I had purposely gone to the hospital?” At his discomfited nod, she continued. “Has that happened to you before?” Ben glanced at him and nodded, offering nonverbal encouragement to go ahead and tell her.
“Yes. Without me knowing about it beforehand. The relationship ended when I found out.”
“Oh, Quinten.” A wave of sadness washed over him as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his, and she caressed his cheek.
“A girl, supposedly. She would be five now.”
Tears filled Camilla’s eyes, and she sniffled as she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry. How did you find out?”
“She told me, during an argument.”
“She took your choice from you, and then she threw it in your face to hurt you? I feel about her the way you feel about my father. I’m so sorry.” She rolled to her back between them and tugged at both of their hands until she laid them over her abdomen, one above her belly button and one below. “This is not how I planned for things to be, but this baby is what’s important. Anything else pales in comparison. I just needed time to process it and get over the shock. I could never abort your baby. Never.”
“Thank you, baby.”
“But I’ll need your help. I can’t do this alone, either. I didn’t have very good parenting examples growing up.”
Ben stroked her shoulder as he laid his head on the pillow. “Don’t worry about that, sugar. You’ve got us, and we’re here for the long haul. Know what else?” Ben asked as he glanced across at Quinten, who knew what he’d ask her next.
“What?”
“I think it’s high time we asked you to make us the happiest men in the world. Happy like only you becoming our wife can make us.”
“Think so?” she asked with a giggle. “Well, which one of you do you propose I marry?”
“Whichever one you want to, sugar,” Ben replied.
“That would be both of you. I’ll marry either of you, so you decide.”
Camilla laughed two minutes later as Quinten let out a loud whoop when he won the honor. “Mom is gonna be so relieved when I tell her I’m finally leaving the gigolo lifestyle of a bartender behind!”
Camilla burst into giggles. “Does she know that you’re part of a threesome?”
“Oh, shit.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Oh my gosh! You were serious!” Camilla said in a shocked whisper as she followed Quinten to the kitchen with the rest of the dirty dishes. Her googly-eyed expression was funny. “She really thinks you lead a gigolo lifestyle!”
Quinten relieved her of the dishes and then took the opportunity for brief privacy as a chance to hug her and squeeze her ass and whispered, “In the more general sense, yes. She doesn’t think I get paid to have sex with women so much as she believes I get laid an awful lot. I can tell they both love you.”
“You can? How?”
“Because they refer to you using endearments. That’s code for you-are-part-of-the-family-now.”
“Oh. So she’s not going to grill me when we go Christmas shopping downtown tomorrow?”
“She’ll probably still grill you a little, but her main purpose is just to get the rundown on me. She just wants to know that I’m okay. Dad will only let her roast my chestnuts for so long before he coaxes her to back off. In a way it’s actually a compliment because she’s never gone shopping with any of my girlfriends before.”
“I’m special.” Camilla giggled again when Ben snuck up behind her and bracketed her between the two of them.
Ben rubbed her shoulders soothingly. “Quinten, Bill would like a beer, and Bridget would like the same as whatever Camilla is having.”
“Oh, shit,” Quinten whispered. “Mom asked for the same thing Camilla is having?”
Ben arched an eyebrow at him and looked perplexed. “Yeah, why?”