Somebody's Lover by Jasmine Haynes

him in the bathroom had been
an irrevocable decision. She’d chosen not to stop, to have him whenever she
could. She just needed to figure out how her revelations about Lou changed
everything.
    “You’re not listening to me.”
    “Of course, I am.” What had Connie
said?
    “I said my period started this
morning. I feel all bloated and ugly and achy and I hate it.”
    She knew Connie hadn’t said all
that. “Did you take some ibuprofen?”
    Connie scrunched her lips
mutinously. “I don’t need drugs. I need a baby.”
    The truth hurts, but sometimes it
had to be said. “You know, Mitch has got to want the baby, too.”
    “But I’m the one who carries it.
I’m the one up all night feeding and diapering and soothing. I take care of
everything.”
    “And Mitch pays for everything.”
    “You sound just like him. A big
family was something we always planned on having.” Connie glared.
    Well, she’d said her piece. Connie
didn’t want to listen. Done. “What did he say when you told him you weren’t
pregnant?”
    “I haven’t told him. He’d already
left.”
    “Well, at least it will give you a
chance to work out a compromise.”
    “How do you compromise on a baby,
Taylor? You either have one or you don’t. There is no compromise.”
    “You can compromise on the timing.”
She patted Connie’s hand. “You’re only twenty-nine. There’s time.” She wondered
if Jace wanted children of his own. He was so good with the boys.
    The ultimate quick-change artist,
Connie dried her eyes and sighed. “You’re right. I’m just feeling sorry for
myself.” She touched Taylor’s hand. “I don’t know how you put up me.”
    “Because I love you like a sister.”
    Connie sniffed one last time. She
was never down for long. “Mitch and I will work it out. I’ll convince him
somehow.”
    “I know you will.” Taylor wasn’t
sure of that, but she didn’t want Connie to start crying again. “What time
shall I bring the boys over?”
    Connie’s eyebrows popped up.
“Better make it around four. Are you sure you’re going to be all right on your
own? You could come, too, if you want.”
    Right. That is not what Connie had
planned. Taylor didn’t know how she felt about Connie playing matchmaker.
Connie didn’t really get all the family dynamics. Everything was black and
white to her. She had a baby, or she didn’t. What Mitch wanted was irrelevant.
Taylor wanted Jace, or she didn’t. What Evelyn and Arthur thought about it was
immaterial.
    Things weren’t that simple.
    Maybe they would be after tonight.
After she’d slept in Jace’s arms and woken up beside him in the morning.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Jesus, he was freaking nervous. He
parked around back on Lou’s old motor-home pad so his truck couldn’t be seen
from the road, since he intended to leave it there all night.
    Taylor had turned off the outside
lights. The kitchen and family room were dark, blinds closed, as well as her
bedroom. The only beacon guiding him, besides the moon, shone from the small
bathroom window.
    Unlocking her front door, Jace
stepped into a collage of scents and candle flame flickering across the walls.
She’d left four candles burning on the table. The main bathroom was to the left
of the family room. Steam spilled out into the hallway.
    He braced himself with his hands on
either doorjamb.
    The long, narrow room smelled like
tangerines. Steam beaded on his forehead. She stood in front of the mirror, hair
streaming over her shoulders, torso wrapped in a towel, and her left foot on
the counter. Smoothing lotion from her calf to her knee, she then delved
beneath the towel to knead the cream into her thigh.
    Je-sus. He went up in smoke.
    She put her foot down and held out
the tube to him.
    “I haven’t done the other leg. Do
it for me.”
    Squeezing a generous amount in his
hand, he went down on one knee. “Give me your foot.”
    She raised her leg, the towel
falling open with a tantalizing sneak peak. Starting with her