Janet Evanovich - Full House

"Everybody thinks we're getting married," Nick said, brushing a stray lock of hair from Billie's forehead.

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" He didn't know what to think. Every instinct in his body told him to run like hell, but he couldn't imagine going even one day without seeing her.

Billie pulled herself up to a sitting position. "For starters, you've never asked me to marry you. I certainly am not going to marry a man who's never even proposed. And even if you did propose, I don't know if I'd say yes. I hardly know you."

Nick grinned and raised his eyebrows.

"Well, maybe I know you pretty well in some ways. But what about my children? You can't just spring this sort of thing on a kid. And there are other things to think about … like the fact I'm thirty-eight years old. Old enough to be, well, your older sister."

"You must have hit your head when you fell. I certainly don't think of you as my sister, and I hardly think a couple of years' difference in our ages makes it an issue."

"I don't have a dress. And besides, I think I have an appointment to have my teeth cleaned next Saturday. If I cancel that appointment I won't get another one until October. You know how dentists are."

Nick put the wet cloth back on her forehead. "Maybe you should lie down for a while. You're sort of … um, babbling."

"I am not babbling. I'm having a nervous breakdown. There's a difference."

Nick sighed. "Do you want me to ask you to marry me?"

"I don't know what I want. Everything is happening so fast I can't catch my breath."

He knew the feeling well, but he wouldn't risk losing her.

"I think we would make a good team."

"Team?"

"You're looking for security, and I'm looking for—" He paused, trying to think of what it was exactly he had found in Billie Pearce that had made such a difference in his life. There were so many things that made her special.

"Sex?"

He looked at her. "Sex has a lot to do with it, yes."

"Get out."

"What?"

She pointed. "I am not about to prostitute myself for any man."

"Sex isn't the only reason, Billie. I like your cookies, too."

"Don't you have someplace you need to be?"

Nick banged his head against the wall. "What would it take to convince you?" When she didn't answer, he planted his hands on his waist and regarded her. "I care about you, dammit. I care what happens to you and your children. I can provide a good home, a stable home." At her look of incredulity, he went on. "Well, once I find Max, and I do intend to find him. Today. I don't care if I have to hire the National Guard, I'm going to find the kid and bring him to his senses."

Billie stared at the ceiling above her bed. He cared about her, but he hadn't mentioned love. "I need time alone."

"Are you waiting for me to tell you I love you?" he asked, feeling as though she were expecting him to go out on an emotional limb when she had never once given him any indication of her own feelings. The words had never come easy for him, and he didn't want to say them unless he was certain.

"I most certainly am not waiting for you to tell me that," she lied. "I don't expect either of us to have fallen in love this quickly. What we have here is a serious case of lust, nothing more."

Nick felt his shoulders sag. Lust? Is that all Billie felt for him? He had felt that way about a lot of women, none of whom he had considered spending his life with. Even with Sheridan his emotions had been different from how he felt about Billie. Billie Pearce, whether she knew it or not, had been giving him large doses of his own medicine.

Nevertheless, he had no intention of letting her go. "Just let me say this," he began. "I'm a man accustomed to getting what I want, and I want you. I don't care what it takes to have you. If you want to be properly courted, okay. I will wine and dine you and, hell, whatever it takes, but in the end, I'm going to have you, even if it means, um, you know." He had trouble saying the word. "Marriage."

He stepped close and kissed her on the nose.

"Don't worry about the kids. I'm great with kids." Even as he said it, Nick wondered if it were true. The closest he'd ever come to dealing with a kid was Max, and he didn't seem any closer to mending the relationship than he had been two weeks ago.

Billie felt the panic rise from her chest. "I can't discuss this right now."

"We have to at some point." Yet, he didn't feel any more prepared for the discussion than she did. Wanting her and marrying her were two different things. And there were children involved. Not to mention a dog and a cat. Hell, it felt as though he were taking on an entire city. If only they could have a trial run. But he knew she would punch him in the face if he suggested they live together.

"I need time to think," she said. "Why don't you come to dinner Sunday? We can talk some more then."

"Okay," he said. "Right now, I need to get home and see if there's been a Max sighting."

* * * * *

Billie looked at the dining room table and decided it was satisfactory. Lace tablecloth, good china, pretty candlesticks, and her mother's linen napkins folded just so. She straightened a fork and a crystal goblet and took a step backward.

Joel stood beside her in the neat slacks and starched cotton shirt he'd worn to church. It was obvious he wanted to get into his play clothes. "You think this guy's worth all this fuss?" he asked, tugging at his collar.

"It's not just for Nick. It's Sunday, and I thought it would be good to have a nice family dinner."

"Are you going to marry him?"

"It's too soon to think about marriage."

"Then how come you haven't called Grandma back?"

"I did call her back. I left a message, remember?" Billie had taken the coward's way out and called that morning when she knew her parents would be attending the early church services. She'd left a message that the marriage thing was a misunderstanding and she would call them in a few days. Knowing what penny-pinchers her parents were, she suspected they'd wait for her call instead of putting additional charges on their phone.

She had never felt so stressed. She cared deeply about Nick, but she wasn't going to let that sway her. She had no intention of following in the footsteps of Deedee and engaging in an endless procession of short-term marriages. This next marriage was for keeps. Husband number two was going to be reliable, mature, and monogamous, and he wouldn't come with a lot of baggage, including an ex-fiancee who obviously wanted him back.

"I guess Nick isn't so bad," Joel said after a moment, "but Frankie would have been better. Is Frankie coming to dinner?"

Billie tried to imagine Nick in flannel boxer shorts and couldn't. "Frankie and Deedee are gone for the day," she said. "Nick is the only one I invited."

Christie passed by the dining room on her way outdoors. "I invited Lisa Marie to dinner. Is that okay?

She's going to scope out Nick for us. She's had lots of practice, since her mom has been married several times."

"Wonderful. Only next time I'd appreciate it if you'd ask in advance." Billie went to the kitchen to get another plate. "Anything else I should know?"

"Buffy threw up on the couch. I think it's because she ate Deedee's eyelash. Buffy probably thought it was a spider."

Joel wrinkled his nose and curled his upper lip. "Gross!"

"We only have about a million spiders running around this house," Christie complained. "It's so disgusting. I'm almost embarrassed to invite my friends over."

Billie shuddered. She knew Christie was exaggerating, but she had found a spider crawling in the bathtub that morning. She had beat it to death for about ten minutes with the broom before she was convinced it was dead. Once she'd rinsed it down the drain, she scrubbed the entire tub with bleach. She made a mental note to call Raoul. If he no longer wanted to handle her pest-control problems because he thought she was ruining her life, she would hire someone else.