Teresa Carpenter - A Pregnancy, a Party & a Proposal

Of course that would all change now Tori had married Garrett. Would the twins keep the property and rent out Tori’s side? Or would they sell, leaving Lauren to find a new home?

In a flash he saw her at his place, bringing order to his chaos, watching daily edits with him in the media room, claiming the gaming loft as her home office.

He froze with his hand poised to knock.

His head shook along with a full-body shudder. Must be residual fallout from the wedding. His overactive imagination tweaking on domestic bliss overload.

He knocked. He still puzzled over why Lauren had changed her mind and agreed to accompany him to New York. Nothing really made sense except that family mattered to her.

He’d seen that first-hand last Thanksgiving, when he’d learned that Garrett was spending the day alone, with nothing to occupy him but memories of his father’s passing and the shattering of his own body in a car accident the previous year.

Of course Ray had invited his buddy over for Thanksgiving dinner, and then made an emergency call to Lauren to see if By Arrangement could pull off a miracle.

She’d been about to sit down to dinner with her family, but had named a couple of restaurants he could try. He’d cut her off to invite her family to join him and Garrett. The home-cooked deal had appealed to Ray, and additional people would help to distract Garrett.

And, of course, thinking of Thanksgiving brought back memories of their laundry room tryst.

Luckily the front door opened, keeping him from remembering the details of their heated session on the washing machine.

“Good morning.” Lauren came out, pulling a small suitcase. “Can you grab the garment bag?” She motioned to the blue bag hanging over the hall closet.

He stepped inside and grabbed it. “Just the two bags?”

“You don’t have to be sarcastic.” She glanced at her luggage with a frown. “I know it’s a lot for a week, but you didn’t mention anything except your grandmother’s birthday so I have to be prepared for anything.”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic.” He handed her bag to the driver, who also took the roller bag, then held the back door for her. “If you’re prepared for anything I’m surprised you don’t have twice as many bags.”

She gave a small smile and slid across the seat. Her jacket dragged on the seat behind her and he swept it out of the way as he slid in after her.

“Is this your heaviest jacket?” He fingered the fleece-lined raincoat. “The forecast in Queens is for snow.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She pulled the fabric free and tossed the coat over her purse on the other side of her.

“Fine for Southern California is not the same as fine for New York. You’ll freeze if that’s all you take.” The car pulled away from the curb. “I’ll have the driver swing by Rodeo Drive.”

He reached for the intercom. Her hand intercepted his, pushing it down.

“Forget it. I’m not buying a coat I’ll only wear for a week.”

She quickly retracted her touch. The woman did like her rules.

“I brought sweaters and a warm scarf. I’ll be fine.”

He snorted. “Let me know when you change your mind.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Why? So you can say, I told you so ?”

“So I can take you shopping.” He trained his gaze on the muted TV monitor across the way. “The I told you so will be strictly implied.”

Out of the corner of his eye he caught her grin. He relaxed back into his seat. The trip might not be the total cluster bash he feared.

“Please. Hold your breath,” she advised, all sweetness and light.

He turned to address her sass, only to stop when she pressed a hand to her stomach. A glance at her face revealed she’d lost all the color in her cheeks. Concern tightened his chest.

“Lauren, what is it?”

She sat very still, slowly drawing in a deep breath. “I wasn’t ready for that last turn. It sent my stomach spinning.”

“What can I do?”

“Can you lower the partition?” She swallowed repeatedly. “I think it will help if I can see where we’re going.”

He picked up the remote and did as she’d asked. The additional light showed her color was returning. “If you’re not feeling well we can delay our flight for a day.”

“That won’t be necessary.” She dug in her purse and pulled out a dry protein bar. “I should have eaten something earlier. I’ll be all right once I have a couple of bites.” She looked at him oddly. “You’re awfully cavalier about our departure time.”

“It’s not a commercial flight. I called a friend and he’s agreed to lend me his jet. Barring emergencies, it’s at my disposal for the next week.”

“Must be nice.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she chewed. Her hand lingered over her stomach.

“Rest.” He ran a knuckle down her cheek. “I’ll let you know when we get to the airport.”

Instead of flinching away, she leaned into his touch. After another sweep of her silky skin he left her to rest. He took heart from the exchange. If she could take comfort from him, the connection between them wasn’t entirely extinguished.

Strong enough, he hoped, to convince his family for a week.

And maybe to allow for one more hook-up?

Because Lauren might see them as over, but he wasn’t doing well with the whole cold turkey approach. He watched the soft rise and fall of her breasts and struggled with the desire to pull her into his arms.

No, his feelings about their relationship didn’t match hers at all. Sure, he believed in keeping things short and light, but he usually called the where and when.

And when he looked at her he saw unfinished business.

CHAPTER THREE

LAUREN ACCEPTED RAY’S suggestion to rest as an opportunity to avoid conversation for the rest of their trip to the airport. She shrugged out of the brown cropped jacket she wore over a cream sweater and jeans, then settled back against the seat and watched the road through the veil of her lashes.

Thank goodness seeing where they were headed had helped to calm her queasy stomach.

One thing was for certain. She needed to get this morning sickness under control or she’d be making explanations before she was ready. Ray was too intelligent not to put the pieces together with them living in each other’s pockets.

And then there was his grandmother, aunt and cousin. Hopefully they’d be too caught up in Ray’s visit and Mamó’s birthday to pay much attention to her.

At the airport they departed from the commuter terminal. Expedited VIP service streamlined their boarding process and within minutes she climbed the steps to a mid-sized jet. The scent of fine leather hit her as soon as she entered the plane. Fortunately the baby had no objection to the smell.

Lauren made her way down the aisle between half a dozen armchair-style seats in creamy beige. The second half of the cabin contained two face-to-face couches of the same color in a soft ultra-suede fabric. At the end a door stood open on a full-sized restroom.

Just wow. This was totally going to spoil her for flying coach.

Pretending a sophistication she didn’t feel, she turned to Ray. “Where do I sit?”

“Wherever you want.” He indicated two armchairs facing each other. “Why don’t we start here? I asked the attendant to bring you some tea once we’re in the air. She’ll also bring you something to eat. Do you want eggs and bacon? Bagels or muffins? Fruit?”

“I don’t care for anything right now.” She sank into the chair next to the window.

“A few bites of protein bar aren’t much,” he protested. “You need something more.”

“Welcome aboard.” The attendant, an attractive brunette in a gray pantsuit, appeared at her elbow. “My name is Julie. I’ll be serving you today. If you need anything you can call me via the remote, or just push this button.” She showed Lauren on her armrest. “I’ll bring tea when we’ve reached cruising altitude. What more would you like?”