Chapter Twelve
Skye looked up when Ethan popped his head in the hospital room the next morning. “You almost ready to leave?”
“Yes, but can you come in here for a sec?” She motioned him into the room.
“You okay?” he asked, giving her a concerned look as he entered.
“I’m good. Just stand against the wall and smile.” She raised her cell phone then lowered it. “Could you at least try to look happy?”
“You wanna tell me why you’re taking my picture?”
No, but obviously she had to tell him something. “It’s our first morning as husband and wife. I want to memorialize the occasion.” She forced a bright smile.
He rubbed his hand over his mouth and nodded. “Okay. Whatever makes you happy,” he said, and gave her a sexy, amused smile.
She scrutinized the picture. His black suit was rumpled, and he looked tired after spending the night in the chair by her bed. But there was no denying that Ethan O’Connor was one exceptional-looking man. It was too bad listening to him talk half the night away with her father reminded Skye why he wasn’t the man for her. And she’d kind of needed reminding after he’d held her in his arms and protected her from Nurse Ratched.
“Are we good now?”
“I just need to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind. Go ahead, I’ll meet you out there.”
“Okay, I’ll pay the bill, and I have a call to make.”
So did she. As soon as he left the room, Skye phoned Vivi. “It’s me. I don’t have long to talk.”
“Well, if it isn’t Mrs. O’Connor. How was the wedding night?”
“Ha-ha. Listen, I need a favor. I’m sending a picture of Ethan to you now. Remember that Halloween party I went to as a Texas Republican?” Skye had to make sure that no one recognized her in the press release announcing their marriage. It was why she’d decided to take matters into her own hands.
Vivi snorted. “How could I forget?”
“Do you have it?”
“Yeah, I think so. Why? Never mind, I know where you’re going with this. You want me to superimpose you into the one I just got of Ethan for the press release?”
“I’m so lucky to have a friend as smart as you.” Skye grinned. “What do you think? Scary Guy wouldn’t recognize me if he saw it, would he?”
“No. Your own father wouldn’t recognize you. And speaking of the governor, how did he and Ethan get along?”
“Love at first sight. My father always wanted me to marry a lawyer. He assumed I was going to need one so it’d save on legal fees. By the end of the night, they were finishing each other’s sentences. Because of you and Superman, I’ve married my father, Vivi,” Skye accused.
“Superman figured since you were having the man’s baby, anyway, you might as well marry him and take advantage of the name change. I thought it was a great idea. You cover your tracks, and other than the press release, you won’t be doing any publicity photos. And it’s not like you’re going to be out on the campaign trail.”
“Not after the stories my father shared with him. If we hadn’t already been married by then, I’m positive Ethan would’ve left me at the altar.” It was a good thing her father was on his way back to Texas.
“You were married in your hospital room.”
“You know what I mean.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Any more word on Jimmy and Gina? Are the police any closer to pressing charges?”
“The woman he put in the hospital recanted her statement. The cops figure Jimmy got to her. But there’s new evidence on the woman who went missing last year. They think he killed her, Skye. If they can prove it, he’ll never see the light of day.”
“Oh, God, Vivi. He really is a scary guy. Would it help if I gave a statement? I don’t want—”
“No. There’s no evidence he attacked you, but he has proof you attacked him. Superman thinks Gina’s the key. He’s got people looking for her now.”
“Okay, Vivi, I’ve been thinking. How does he do it? Superman, I mean. He’s saved you from a couple of close calls. He always knows what you’re doing and what story you’re working on. It’s kind of creepy. And he knows where I am and what I’m doing. I don’t like it. How—”
Skye stood up as it hit her. She knew who Superman was. At least she thought she did. Chance McBride. He used to be special ops and now worked for a private security contractor. The man had contacts all over the world, and she knew exactly who was feeding him information on her.
Nell McBride. His great-aunt. Master manipulator and busybody extraordinaire. Nell, who’d indirectly put Vivi in Chance’s cross-hairs. Since Skye didn’t want to upset Vivi, and the man was protecting her, after all, she couldn’t mention her suspicions to her best friend. “Uh, Vivi, can you give me Superman’s e-mail? I have a question for him.”
“I can’t. Sorry. I gave it to one of my friends at the NYPD, and Superman didn’t get in touch with me for a week. I can’t risk losing contact with him right now.”
Because she had a crush on the man. Skye wondered how Vivi’d feel if she found out Superman was Chance.
“Skye, what are you…”
At the sound of Ethan’s voice, Skye went down on her hands and knees, pretending to search under the bed. “Gotta go,” she whispered to Vivi, then said to Ethan, “I lost my phone.”
He rubbed his jaw. “It’s in your hand.”
She stood up. “I know that. I just found it.” She looked at the wheelchair he’d pushed into the room and shook her head. “No way. I am walking out of here. I’m not riding in a wheelchair like some decrepit old woman.”
“Hospital rules. Get in. I’ll take you for a ride.”
She grabbed her knapsack off the bed and plunked herself down in the wheelchair. “Yeah, and knowing you, it’ll take us twenty minutes to get to the front doors.”
She gave a startled yelp when he tipped the chair backward. “You haven’t seen enough of my moves to judge, cupcake.” He smiled down at her before lowering the front wheels.
He was right. And the moves she’d witnessed that night in April were pretty darn spectacular. She didn’t think her heart would survive if he showed her more. Living under the same roof with the man might end up being her undoing if she didn’t lay down some ground rules. She was about to lay down a few when she saw Nurse Ratched at the end of the hall speaking to another nurse.
“Don’t worry. If she says anything, we’ll run her over.”
“Why, Ethan O’Connor, if I didn’t know better, I’d say there was a bad boy inside you after all.”
“Like I said, you don’t know me very well.”
Her body got warm and tingly in response to the promise in that whiskey-smooth voice of his. “I’m beginning to realize that,” she murmured.
“Am I making you nervous?” he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
She almost said No… hot, but caught herself before she blurted out the words. They passed Nurse Ratched on the way to the elevator. The woman smirked and said something to her friend, whose eyes widened.
Skye grabbed Ethan’s black silk tie and pulled him down. “Did you see that? She’s up to something.”
“Yeah, I did.” He was so close she could see the dark blond stubble on his face and had an almost uncontrollable urge to lick his chiseled jaw. “You think you could let me go now, cupcake? You’re strangling me.” The corner of his mouth twitched as he tugged his tie from her fist.
She stared at her clenched hand and slowly lowered it to her lap.
“You all right?” he asked, his brow furrowed as he pushed the down button.
No. There was something wrong with her. Something seriously wrong with her. “I’m good. Just trying to figure out what Nurse Ratched is up to,” she said, her voice as raspy as Vivi’s. Self-consciously, she cleared her throat.
“She won’t bother you again, so don’t worry about it,” he said. The elevator doors opened and he pushed her inside.
His cell rang. “Hey, Claudia.”
Skye could hear the other woman, her voice raised and agitated. Ethan got that scary-calm look on his face. The only thing that gave his emotion away was the muscle ticking in his cheek. “I’ll take care of it. No, Claudia, I said, I will.” He looked at Skye and lifted his chin, indicating they’d reached their destination. She got out of the wheelchair and Ethan, still on the phone with Claudia, took her hand. Every so often, he’d respond to his campaign manager with a yes or no.
“What’s wrong?” Skye asked when he disconnected and jammed the phone in his jacket pocket. He glanced at her as he took out his keys. “Our wedding was leaked to the press. They’re playing up the fact that I didn’t marry you until you were over four months pregnant and included a bunch of pictures that were in the society pages a couple of weeks ago. At least there’s no mention of your blog. Looks like they believe that Vivi is Envirochick and not you.”
She stiffened. And her reaction had nothing to do with him figuring out that they’d lied about Vivi being Envirochick. No, it was the reminder of those pictures. “I used my given name on the marriage license. They wouldn’t make the connection. And you could always say we just found out we’re pregnant. But I guess it’ll be harder to explain why you were sleeping with half of Denver, and Claudia, when you’re supposedly in love with me.” She jerked the seat belt over her shoulder and snapped it into place.
Ethan rested a hand on the roof and the other on the open door. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.”
She snorted. “As if.”
“Sam’s an old friend, and—”
“Oh, is ‘old friend’ the euphuism they’re using for ‘lover’ these days?”
“You are jealous.” He stared at her and, ignoring her “I am not,” added, “I dated Sam five years ago. We’re friends. And I never dated Claudia.”
“No, you were just going to marry her.” Before he could deny it, Skye said, “Your mother was picking out your engagement cake last week.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re married, and those photos are easily explained. Claudia’s more worried about you being a Democrat and a vegan. It’s not like our marriage is front-page news, so it’s possible they won’t dig deep enough to make the connection. But if they do, we’ll have to deal with a lot of crap about you boycotting the meat industry.”
She noticed he didn’t deny that he’d been going to marry Claudia. “Too bad you aren’t a Democrat. None of this would matter. My being a vegan would win you votes.” She felt a small pinch of regret that he’d lose votes because of her. It was those darn pictures of him as a handsome little boy looking adoringly up at his father. A man he wanted to honor and a lifelong dream he wanted to fulfill. She might not agree with Ethan’s politics, but it was hard not to admire him.
He gave her a half smile, and closed the door. She dug her phone from her knapsack and texted Vivi. By the time Ethan had started the SUV, Skye had what she needed.
“What’s Claudia’s e-mail address?”
He shot her an apprehensive look. “Why?”
“I’m not going to go all jealous wife on her, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She held up her phone. “I want to send her the press release. It should help to counter the negative publicity.”
“I appreciate you trying to help. I really do. But I don’t see how a picture of me with some big-hair blonde model is going to…” He glanced from the screen to his suit. “Is that the picture you took of me this morning?”
“Yes, and that’s me. Do you really think I look like a model?”
He laughed. “That’s not you.”
“Yes, it is,” she said, wondering why she was offended when she should be happy he couldn’t tell, because that meant Scary Guy wouldn’t recognize her, either. “I’m going to emphasize my father’s accomplishments as governor of Texas, and list the local charities I was involved with. I’ll also include the fact that my father owns a cattle ranch. We just won’t mention that I haven’t eaten meat since I was ten.”
“You’ve been a vegan since you were ten?”
“Vegetarian. Vegan since I was sixteen. Now let me type this up and send it off to Claudia.”
“Hey.” He gently tugged on her hair. “Thanks for doing this,” he said when she looked up at him. “We can take another picture of us when we get to the ranch.”
“No, this one’s good. I look like a Republican.”
He shook his head. “You’ve got a warped perception of Republicans, cupcake. We’re going to have to work on that.”
“Don’t waste your energy. My dad’s been trying to convert me since I was ten.”
“I’ve been told I can be pretty persuasive.”
“Republican women are easy,” she said, ignoring the effect his swoon-inducing voice had on her.
“Yeah? I seem to remember a certain Democrat who was pretty easy.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Jerk. But who was she trying to kid? She had been easy. “What was her name?” She ignored his laughter. “Stop talking so I can get this done.”
He grinned as he fiddled with the sound system. The Rolling Stones’ “Midnight Rambler” came through the speakers. His fingers tapping on the steering wheel, Ethan moved to the beat. Her lips twitched, and she struggled to focus on typing up the release. When he started singing, she started laughing.
“Hey, I’ve been told I have a good voice.”
“No, it’s not that. I like the Stones, too. We finally found something we agree on.”
“There’s hope for us yet, cupcake.”
The smile she gave him was forced. Once Jimmy was behind bars and Ethan won the election, their marriage would be over. A fluttery sensation in her stomach distracted her. It was stronger than before.
“It’s the baby. She’s moving. Here.” Skye took his hand and placed it on her stomach. When there wasn’t any movement a few minutes later, she said, “Sorry, looks like she got her exercise for the day.”
“Never know, he might do it again.” Her husband’s hand felt heavy and warm and far too good where it was. He glanced at her, his thumb moving in a slow up-and-down caress.
“Maybe,” she agreed, her voice breathy, but then she realized what he said. “Peanut’s a she.”
“Peanut?” His lips twitched. “I thought it was Willow.”
“It was, but I like Peanut better. And don’t try to distract me. Our baby’s a girl.”
“A boy. But Peanut works.” He returned his hand to the steering wheel. “I’ve got to stop for gas. You need anything?”
“You should buy a hybrid.”
He gave her a look and turned up the radio, singing as he pulled into the station. Skye was about to roll her eyes when she felt the now-familiar movement. “She kicked again. I think you like your daddy’s voice, don’t you, Peanut?”
Pulling up beside the tanks, Ethan took off his seat belt. But instead of getting out, he placed a hand on her upper thigh and leaned over, bringing his mouth to her stomach. He started to sing one of Skye’s favorite songs, “Wild Horses.” She pressed her lips together to hold back a moan. She really needed to think before she spoke.
“Do you feel anything?” he asked, turning his head to look up at her. Skye swallowed and croaked, “No.”
His eyes darkened, and he brushed his lips over her stomach, the muscles clenching in response. “You sure?” he asked, his voice a seductive rasp.
“Mmm-hmm, very sure.” She turned her head and saw a man on the other side of the pumps staring at her, his bushy silver brows meeting his hairline. “Um, Ethan, there’s a man looking at us, and I think he’s getting the wrong idea.”
Ethan smiled into her stomach and sat up. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he waited a couple of seconds before he shifted in the seat and curved his hand around her neck. He drew her closer and gave her a sweet, tender kiss.
When he released her, she sat there stunned for a moment before she managed to say, “What was that for?”
“With everything going on yesterday, I never got a chance to say I’m sorry for being an ass when I found out you were pregnant. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m happy about the baby.”
“Thanks. I should have told you sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“You’re forgiven, cupcake. You sure you don’t need anything?”
A cold shower. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”
As soon as he closed the door, Skye called Maddie. “Hey…” she began.
“Would this be Skylar Davis, now Mrs. O’Connor, the woman who vowed never to marry?”
Maddie had stood up for her at the hospital-room wedding. She’d kept interrupting their vows with snorts of laughter, especially when they got to the “obey” part. Which Skye had made the preacher change. “Okay, it’s getting old now. I need to ask you a question before Ethan gets back,” Skye whispered into the phone, glancing at Ethan as he filled the SUV. He caught her watching him and winked. She sunk lower in the seat.
“If he’s not with you, why are you whispering?”
“Because it’s embarrassing. Okay, don’t laugh, but does, um, being pregnant make you horny?” Skye sighed when Maddie burst out laughing. “If you dare tell Gage, you’re no longer one of my best friends.”
“Sorry… sorry. I know I shouldn’t laugh. And I don’t know if it’s the same for all pregnant women, but I want to jump Gage all the time. I think I’m wearing him out. He slept on the couch last night.”
“All right, that was more than I needed to know. So what am I going to do? I can’t have sex with Ethan.”
“Why not? You’re married, and you’re already pregnant.”
“Because…” Skye couldn’t tell her that if she had sex with Ethan again, she was afraid she’d fall in love with him. And she couldn’t fall in love with him because they’d end up as unhappy as her parents and destroy each other. “We don’t love each other.”
“Well then, I suggest you invest in a really good vibrator. You’re going to need it.”