Winston Brothers Box Set - Stacey Lewis Page 0,115

life right out of you.

“Okay. I suppose I’ll get going then and see you in the office tomorrow?” he questions, getting up from the table.

I guide him toward the door, fully aware that the answer to our future lies just down the hall on the bathroom counter.

“Yes, sir. I’ll be there bright and early.” I laugh. He stares down at me for a long moment, the heat of his body beckoning to me.

“You get to feeling better, pretty girl, and I’ll try harder to not be a dick,” he whispers, leaning in and grazing my forehead with his lips. I shiver when he presses his lips to my skin, and swear I his body goes tense as he pulls away, but when I look up to say good-bye, he’s normal, and his eyes are back to being unreadable.

“All right, Mr. Winston. I’ll see you in the morning,” I tease him, feeling more alive than I have since the night we shared together. He smiles, waving before he steps over the threshold. I move to close the door behind him and almost sigh, feeling those same rolling emotions he does, the ones he can’t seem to put into words.

Leaning my head back against the door, I realize the pregnancy test is still in the bathroom. Scurrying across the floor, I run down the hall, reaching the bathroom just in time to see Marie leaving.

What the hell? I thought no one else was home.

My body collides with hers, but not before I see she’s holding the test. The look in her eyes says it all.

Chapter Sixteen

Ryker

Once in my car, I break down. No wonder Ava reminds me of my mystery girl so much. She is my mystery girl. I wrack my brain, trying to determine if maybe there’s a chance it could be one of her roommates. I haven’t slept with anyone else since, and when I think really hard, I remember the mystery girl had sunshine blonde hair just like Ava. And, now that I’m thinking about it, she had whiskey-colored eyes too.

Fuck! I slam my hand against the steering wheel in frustration. All the fucking signs were right there. I was just too fucking blind to see them. Pulling out my cell, I hit “call” on Reed’s contact info before I can stop myself.

The line rings and rings, and just when I think he’s going to leave me hanging, he finally answers the phone.

“This better be good,” he growls into the line, and I almost laugh at the anger in his voice.

“Meet me down at Max’s bar in ten minutes. Oh, and bring Remy with you.” I don’t leave any room for negotiation, hanging up, then starting my car so I can head that direction. I know Reed has shit going on, a wife who could give birth within a few weeks, and planning that needs to be done, but I need him too.

Traffic is light, so I get to the bar with a few minutes to spare. I can’t stop thinking about the fact that Ava is the mystery girl and what that means.

Was it fate that brought us together? She opened me up that night, leaving an impression on my soul. The taste of her lips haunts me every night when I close my eyes.

I can’t let her go—not now, not ever. I have to make her mine. I have to show her that I can be the man she needs me to be, that I won’t be like her father. Thinking back on that night, I remember there being a smattering of blood against the sheets. I thought maybe I hurt her.

But what if…what if she gave me her virginity? The thought slams into me hard, wrapping around my heart. I’ve been with a lot of women in my short life, and none of them ever given me something so important. All this time, I thought it was her leaving an impression on me, but maybe there’s a piece of her living inside me.

A piece she gave to me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, hating myself for being unable to remember the entire night. I want to relive every detail, every sigh that fell from her lips, every moan and whimper. I want to fucking remember it all, and I can’t.

When I see Reed’s BMW pull into the parking lot, I get out and start toward the door. Reed and Remy follow.

“You know, I could be at home with my wife cuddling on the couch watching TV right