Ready For It (MacAteer Brothers #2) - M.L. Nystrom Page 0,11

of it was psychological and came and went depending on whom he was conversing with at the time. He spoke longer without tripping over his words to people he knew well, but these were very few beyond his family. It was also something that embarrassed him to the point he’d rather not talk at all. One- and two-word sentences were usually safe. Three pushed it. Four words… well… that was when something when wrong.

My favorite girl. If only she realized the truth of it. Beautiful. The word rolled through his thoughts. Smart. Funny. Sad. Hurting. And the big one: Pregnant.

A light scent of something spicy and exotic wafted up from his pillow, and he inhaled deep. Melanie’s perfume. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, she smelled so good. He admitted he had a crush on his sister-in-law’s best friend and also that he could do nothing about it. Melanie had never noticed him in that way, and he had resolved that she never would. The closest he would ever get to touching his dream had been when he lifted her limp form in his arms. The fear for her safety still sat in his heart, and he wished like hell she had let him stay. He wanted to take care of her, even if only for one night.

What was the baby’s father’s name? Peter? Owen knew Melanie dated a lot of men, and this Peter fellow was another man in a long line of them leading to her bedroom door. Did it bother him that she changed partners so often? Maybe a little. She was an independent woman and had the right to make her own decisions, but his concern centered more on why she never settled on just one man. When she had insisted on being by herself tonight, he hadn’t liked it, but he’d backed off. Respect was something he understood and lived by. She deserved it as much as anyone else.

Hmph. This Peter fellow was so damned lucky. If I had a shot at being Melanie’s man, I’d fight tooth and nail to stay there.

The long day took its toll, and Owen drifted off to sleep with his nose buried in his pillow, breathing in the scent of unreachable dreams.

Chapter Four

I turned the colorful coffee cup on the table and glanced at my watch. Eleven fifteen, and he still hadn’t called, texted, or shown up. His constant tardiness was one of several reasons I broke up with Peter. He had a law degree, but instead of practicing in a firm, he chose to work in the courthouse basement archives, pushing and filing a mountain of papers. The job paid well, but it was boring. Totally mind-numbing boring.

Peter agreed to meet me at the Double D coffee shop. The converted double-decker bus had the coffee shop in the lower level, tables in the upper, and a few patio sets. It was as eclectic and fun as the downtown part of the city. Plus the owners treated coffee making as an art form.

I sat outside at a tall bistro table and sipped at the cup of decaf. Normally, I regarded coffee without caffeine as a sin, but I didn’t know if that would be a problem for the baby. Already, I had given up my nightly glass of wine. Weekend bottle binges were out of the question.

“Sorry I’m late.” Peter’s tall, lanky form bent down and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll go order something and be right back.”

I only smiled and nodded. Damn, he looked good. Jacket and tie, styled short dark hair, crisp blue eyes, runner’s build. My physical attraction to him hadn’t gone away. I picked up my napkin and began tearing it into little pieces.

He returned and sat across from me. “I’m so glad you called me, Mel. I’ve truly missed you.”

Truthfully, I kinda missed him too. Even if he did have the most mundane job in the world, he was a sweet, smart man and always treated me with respect. In bed, he was not very adventurous, but still generous enough with his attention that I usually came. He maintained a beautiful and precision-sculpted body by visiting an upscale private gym daily before work or running as weather permitted. Why did I break up with him again?

It didn’t take me long to remember.

It took him three attempts to settle his chair the way he wanted it and several minutes to prepare his coffee and Danish. Three packs of sugar and three creamers stirred three times clockwise