Love You, Baby Read online

  Love You, Baby

  Must Love Diamonds, Book 3

  Stacey Joy Netzel

  Contents

  Love You, Baby Blurb

  Join Stacey’s Newsletter

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Thank you

  Next in Series

  Recommended Read

  About the Author

  Other Titles By Stacey Joy Netzel

  “My name is Merit, but you can call me handsome.”

  * * *

  Cocky, sexy playboy? Check

  One night of hot passion? Check

  Pregnancy test two months later? Positive

  * * *

  Single mother Mae Lockhart ghosted her best friend’s new brother-in-law after the wedding, because no way in hell was she going to let herself fall for another irresponsible playboy. Thanks to her bad luck, ignoring him is no longer an option.

  * * *

  Merit Diamond hates that his family doesn’t respect him, but it’s always been easier to bolster a bad boy rep than try to measure up to his successful siblings and risk failure. Until one ordinary Sunday, his dad cuts him off without a penny and the woman who’s been haunting his dreams shows up on his doorstep to tell him he’s going to be a father.

  * * *

  Now he has seven months to get his shit together and earn Mae’s respect. Somehow he must convince her he can not only be a good dad, but the one man she can trust her heart to for the rest of her life.

  * * *

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  Chapter 1

  One little decision can change your life.

  A wrong decision. A stupid decision.

  A definitely not little decision.

  Mae Lockhart stared at the two pink lines on her home pregnancy test and couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid. Again.

  Her downfall this time? A guy named Merit.

  Upon their introduction the night his father had been elected to the United States Senate, she’d lifted her eyebrows to help hide the fact the man had taken her breath away from the moment she’d laid eyes on him.

  “Yes, my name is Merit,” he confirmed with a sexy grin. “But you can call me Handsome.”

  She laughed. “How many times have you used that line?”

  “Just a few.”

  Yeah, a few hundred, she’d guess. “And how often does it work?”

  “Every time.”

  And what had she done? She’d proved him right the night her best friend and his older brother got married two months ago. When they waved the couple off in the groom’s vintage ’69 Camaro with the obligatory Just Married decorations, she’d been overcome with giddiness—and maybe a tad too much champagne—and turned a flirty grin up to the tall, dark groomsman.

  “So, Handsome, what are your plans for the rest of the night?”

  Because tipsy, turned-on, lonely Mae had a babysitter for twelve more hours and wasn’t about to give up her opportunity for adult freedom only fifteen minutes after midnight. Not to mention, he wasn’t merely handsome, he was hot as hell in his tuxedo, could charm the panties off a nun, and those gorgeous, golden-brown eyes of his promised more fun of the mature variety than she’d had in seven years.

  Actually, seven-plus long, celibate years.

  Sober, responsible, conservative Mae blinked against the sting of tears as she looked at the pink lines again. “One night of fun,” she whispered, “for nine months of pregnancy and eighteen years of—”

  “Mom! Hurry up! I gotta pee.”

  Mae jumped as her six-year-old son’s fist pounding on the door underscored his plea. She hurried to stuff the test and wrapper back in the box as she rose from the toilet. “One sec, Ian. I’ll be right out.”

  She buried the box in the waste basket, then washed her hands again so she could splash cold water on her face.

  “Mooommm.”

  Mae took a breath and opened the door to find him dancing from foot to foot. “Morning, Scoob.”

  She stepped aside as he rushed past, then pulled the door mostly closed behind her when she stepped into the hall. For a moment, she leaned against the wall, heart thumping hard at the thought of adding a baby to their duo. For six years—seven in two weeks—it had just been the two of them against the world.

  What would Ian say when she told him? Would he be happy he was going to become a big brother? Or would he be upset?

  No. He’d be happy. That’s just the kind of awesome kid he was. The kind of kid she’d never once regretted a day in her life. Not even for a second.

  She tilted her head toward the cracked door to ask, “What do you think? Pancakes or eggs this morning?”

  “You said we could have muffins,” he called back. “Remember?”

  That’s right, she’d bought a pack of four at the bakery yesterday. “I forgot.”

  The toilet flushed, and then he opened the door. “Geez, Mom, how could you forget?”

  Mae pointed toward the sink. “Wash.”

  He huffed out a sigh but turned back to do as she said.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind,” she replied to his question.

  “You always say that,” he grumbled.

  “Because I always do.” She squinted against the glare of the rising sun hitting the mirror through the window. “You’re up extra early this morning.”

  “It’s Friday Fun Day at school today.”

  He had that tone again—how could she forget Friday Fun Day before the 4th of July?

  Because she truly did have a lot on her mind. Monday, she was starting construction on Shelby Diamond’s vet clinic, between now and then she had to fix the lawn mower so she didn’t get dirty looks from her neighbors when her grass grew to six inches tall in a week, and she had to make a casserole for the holiday picnic at her brother’s house tomorrow. Not to mention, dishes and laundry both needed to be washed, the house cleaned, bills paid, paperwork filed, and I am pregnant!

  A wave of panic had her drawing in a steadying breath and blowing it back out. “Brush your teeth and get dressed, bud. You can watch Scooby Doo while you eat breakfast.”

  “Yes.” He grabbed his toothbrush with a grin, always thrilled when she let him watch his favorite cartoon while she got ready.

  Mae narrowed her eyes at his cheerful reflection in the mirror. Come to think of it, this was the third morning in a row he’d gotten up before she’d had a chance to take h
er shower. Little smarty pants was working her. Being it was summer school, she decided to let it slide. “Make sure that toilet seat goes down.”

  She ruffled his hair before going to her room for clean underwear, a Lockhart Construction logo T-shirt, and jeans. The TV blared to life as she returned to their one bathroom in their little two bedroom home. While she showered, dressed, and applied minimal make-up, her mind whirled like crazy, and her stomach balled up in a tight knot, threatening to reactivate her earlier nausea.

  Now she knew the queasiness was morning sickness, not just a stomach bug. And knowing she was pregnant also explained her couple bouts of dizziness the past couple of weeks, even though she hadn’t experienced either while pregnant with Ian. Could it be a girl this time?

  This time.

  Of course, she couldn’t help but think about the last time she’d been in this situation nearly eight years ago. Things had been so different, and yet, they were so damn similar. She’d been all alone, broke, and determined to love her child even if his father wanted nothing to do with them. She might not be broke anymore, but she was still single, and she would love this baby even if its father wanted nothing to do with them.

  Her pulse skipped at the thought of telling Merit Diamond she was pregnant with his baby. Hell, it skipped more than a few beats at the thought of telling her best friend she was pregnant with her new brother-in-law’s baby. She hadn’t told Honor about their hook-up the night of her and Asher’s wedding. Hadn’t planned to, either.

  That night had been amazing, and yet she’d done everything possible to forget the guy’s smile, his sexy, husky laugh, the fire of his touch on her skin, the feel of him over her, in her, taking her higher than she’d ever gone before. The man was dangerous to her in a way only one other man ever had been, and she refused to go down that road again.

  The first week after the wedding, Merit had texted and left her a couple of messages. He said he wanted to see her again. Her heart had done a giddy little dance, but common sense reminded her she couldn’t afford to let emotions overrule cold, hard facts. She had to keep a clear head for both herself and Ian.

  Asher had made more than enough comments about his playboy younger brother. As the stories went, he was a one and done type of guy, and messages or not, leopards didn’t change their spots. Not to mention, she’d experienced his velvet smooth charm in action more than once. So, she’d ignored him, hoping he’d lose interest and move on to his next conquest.

  Reminding herself she was nothing more than that to him shored up her resolve whenever she had a weak moment of wanting to reply.

  The second week, he’d sent her one text and left one message. The third and fourth weeks, he was down to one text each week. It had been a month since the last time she’d heard from him, and with each week that had passed, she was convinced she’d been right to not respond. Clearly, one night with her hadn’t magically changed the guy into someone worthy of letting into her son’s life.

  Of course, him being the brother of her best friend’s husband meant they’d run into each other sometime in the future, but she’d figured she would deal with that when the time came.

  Mae drew up short as she thought of the test buried in her bathroom garbage.

  Unfortunately, this morning, the future had arrived in the form of two pink lines.

  Chapter 2

  “Sorry, this one is declined, too.”

  Merit Diamond’s frown deepened as he took his second credit card back from the barista across the counter at Brew For You. The pretty brunette offered a sympathetic cringe.

  What the hell is going on?

  An impatient huff from some yuppy behind him prompted a glance over his shoulder. When the guy motioned for him to get on with it, he bit his tongue and turned back to hand over a ten.

  “Keep the change,” he said as he moved to the side to wait for his latte.

  His cards had no limits, or if they did, they weren’t ones he’d ever come close to reaching, so two separate cards being declined in one morning didn’t make any sense. Unless his numbers had been stolen, and the card company had shut them down to avoid additional theft? That had to be it.

  But two different cards?

  Maybe it was identity theft, not just stolen cards. He had some sort of security in place for that. He thought he did anyway. All his finances went through his trust fund, so he’d have to deal with it tomorrow.

  Right now, he needed his caffeine before Sunday brunch at his parents’ house. Dad and Mom had flown home from Washington D.C. for the Fourth of July weekend, so everyone would be there this morning after having gathered at the house the previous night for their annual fireworks display.

  He had hoped to see his new sister-in-law’s best friend at the cook-out yesterday, but when he’d managed to casually ask Honor if Mae was coming with her little boy, she said they always went to Boulder to her family’s picnic for the Fourth. She’d given him a quizzical look, but he masked his disappointment with a long pull off his beer.

  Mae Lockhart had caught his attention good and hard the night of his father’s senatorial election back in November. Petite, blond, and fantastically feminine, she’d worn a black dress that clung to all her sexy curves.

  But she’d shot him down without blinking an eye, and talked about the guy in her life named Ian, so he’d put her out of his mind. He enjoyed women, but never another man’s woman.

  Two months later at Honor’s bakery opening in January, he’d met Mae’s Ian—her six year old son. She looked mildly guilty for duping him, but it hadn’t kept her from turning him down when he asked her out again. Then, and every other time they ran into each other—until Asher’s wedding at the beginning of May.

  That night…holy shit that night.

  Except, she’d left his bed before seven a.m. and ghosted him ever since. He found himself thinking about her every day. Dreaming about her at night. It wasn’t like he’d never had great sex before, and it wasn’t like she’d done anything crazy wild or kinky, but something about the blond beauty had gotten under his skin like no woman ever had.

  “Here you go, Merit.”

  He shook off the memories to take the coffee cup Lyssa offered across the counter. The brunette gave him an inviting smile, her brown gaze telegraphing clear signals like every other time he’d stopped at the shop since she’d started back in May. Had she started a few months earlier, he’d have gladly taken her up on the obvious offer. A few months ago, he hadn’t had the night of his life with Mae.

  The woman had ruined him in the span of about six hours.

  Somewhat annoyed he didn’t even feel a spark of interest for Lyssa, he gave the barista a cool smile and headed out. By the time he got to his parents’ house, everyone was seated out on the sunny patio, waiting for him before starting to eat.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said as he slid into his seat between Asher and his baby sister, Shelby. “I had an issue with my credit cards this morning.”

  “You haven’t been on time since you moved out,” his dad grumbled.

  He shot him a quick look. The credit cards were a valid reason, not a bullshit excuse he’d cooked up at the last minute.

  “He wasn’t always on time before he moved out,” Shelby teased.

  See?

  “Your mother and I had hoped when you bought your own place you were finally growing up. Learning to become responsible.”

  Merit sat back in his chair and arched his brows. “Can we at least say grace and start eating before this turns into a pile-on-Merit fest?”

  His mom reached out to grip his dad’s hand. “He’s right. Let’s pray and then have a nice meal. Save it for later.”

  The look the two of them exchanged gave him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. But his mom folded her hands, and the rest of them bowed their heads. As the chorus of amens sounded after the prayer, Asher jabbed him with his elbow.

  “Who’s the number?”

  His brows dipped in confusion. �
��What?”

  Asher pointed to Merit’s coffee cup before taking the bowl of scrambled eggs and ham Honor passed him. “That this week’s flavor?”

  He reached to rotate his cup and realized Lyssa had written a phone number on the side. He hadn’t even noticed it because he’d been too preoccupied with thoughts of Mae.

  Honor leaned forward to shoot him a smile. “So that’s why you stop for coffee on your way here.”

  Nope. Since moving out, he’d discovered he preferred the sweeter lattes to the robust Jamaican roast his mom served. He kept meaning to get himself one of those special espresso machines, just hadn’t gotten around to it. Maybe he’d stop on his way home. Or order one online.

  On his left, Shelby snorted. “A coffee barista? Could you get any more cliché, Mer?”

  He shrugged as he took the eggs from Asher, scooped some onto his plate, and passed them to his sister. Let them think what they wanted. He’d cultivated the playboy rep long enough, he wasn’t about to broadcast the fact he was hung up on a woman who didn’t want him. Especially now that each of his older brothers had the love of their life sitting beside them. It was yet another way he didn’t measure up.

  Across the table next to Loyal, Roxanna Kent caught his eye. When his brother’s girlfriend arched one dark eyebrow, he quickly averted his gaze. Great. The psychic was eyeing him like she was trying to figure out his secret.