Love You, Baby Read online

  Or she already knew it.

  His gut clenched at the thought.

  As the dishes were passed, plates filled, and conversations started, he added pepper to his eggs while casting a quick survey around the table. Over the past year, the make-up of their brunches had definitely changed. Grandpa Ira and Grandma Irene were still a constant, but since Dad had been sworn in as Senator in January, he and Mom were gone half the time.

  Celia, Loyal, and Asher all had significant others now, and the half-brother they’d found out about last May sometimes joined them, sometimes not. Grayson had come to the fireworks last night, only to skip this morning. Though he and Loyal were in the midst of starting up a veterans foundation together, the guy still hadn’t embraced being a Diamond.

  Merit didn’t blame him. Some days, he wasn’t so thrilled about it himself.

  “What’s the status on your clinic?” he asked Shelby near the end of the meal.

  “Construction begins on Monday,” she said with a wide grin.

  She’d hired Lockhart Construction for the renovation project of her rundown warehouse in a low-income part of town, and his pulse kicked up a notch at the thought of casually dropping in to visit his baby sis for lunch. It would be the perfect opportunity to see Mae again.

  Yep. Perfect opportunity for her to confirm in person she wants nothing to do with you.

  He gripped his napkin in his lap. Being insecure when it came to women was a new thing for him, and he had to say, it royally sucked. Specifically for this particular woman.

  “Your suggestions worked perfectly into the plans, by the way,” his sister said in a low tone. “I’m really glad you took a look.”

  “Happy to have helped.”

  He did a quick check to see if anyone had overheard the exchange. Since he hadn’t pursued a career with his engineering degree, he didn’t want to make a big deal out of helping Bells. It would only start up the badgering again.

  At the head of the table, he noticed his dad set his silverware to the side as his mom refilled his coffee cup. His dad gave her a smile of thanks, then sat back in his chair while taking a sip, his brown gaze shifting to catch Merit’s over the rim of his cup. “Any news on the job front?”

  He clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath to prepare for the inevitable as he shifted his gaze to glare down at his plate. “Nope.”

  “You bother looking?”

  “Been busy.”

  “Doing what?”

  He lifted his shoulders while toying with his fork. “Moving in. Getting settled.”

  There was more than that, but he wasn’t about to tell the entire table about it. Or any single one of them, for that matter.

  “You bought that house three months ago. You don’t do anything else useful with your life, so what in God’s name is taking you three months to get settled?”

  “Dad,” Loyal interrupted. “I have a few things to go over for the foundation. Can I get some time before you and Mom head back to Washington?”

  “Of course. After Merit and I are done.”

  “We are done,” Merit said. He wasn’t doing this again. And next brunch, he was fucking pulling a Grayson.

  “When are you guys flying out?” Asher asked from his right.

  “Bill has us scheduled for take-off at four,” their mom said. “We have to meet him at the hangar by three-thirty.”

  “Well, then, we might as well tell you now…” His middle brother paused, and everyone at the table turned, watching and waiting with expectation. Honor tucked her red hair behind her ear and lifted her eyebrows in silent question. Merit noticed their clasped hands just before Asher nodded at his wife, and they shared a smile.

  Together, they turned their grins toward his parents and said, “We’re pregnant.”

  “Oh!” Mom exclaimed. She clapped her hands, then waved a hand at her face as tears flooded her eyes. “The first grandbaby!”

  Merit sat quietly, smiling at the pure joy on his brother’s face while everyone else peppered him and Honor with congratulations and questions of the due date. He was happy for them. Asher would be a great father.

  He on the other hand, couldn’t even imagine being in his brother’s shoes.

  Someday maybe. Years from now. He’d only just turned twenty-six two months ago, he wasn’t ready to be strapped down with that type of responsibility.

  For his immediate future, the plan was to get over Mae Lockhart and get back to enjoying life. That infamous Diamond family plan he usually turned his nose up at was going to come in handy for once. His gaze strayed to the phone number on his coffee cup. Maybe Lyssa could help him with his plan. Starting tonight.

  Everyone had risen to exchange hugs with the expectant couple, so Merit took his turn and then started collecting dirty dishes. Sunday morning staff always cooked and served the meal, but then they got the rest of the day off and the kids all cleaned up. He didn’t usually stick around for that part, but maybe today he would. Loyal had jumped in pretty quick to distract Dad earlier. In fact, they’d grown closer since his oldest brother moved back from Texas last fall. It was surprisingly nice feeling like he had an ally.

  As he stacked a fourth plate in his hands, his dad stepped up beside him. “Merit, I’d like to see you in my office please.”

  “Sorry, but I’m on dish duty today.”

  “Let the others handle that. This can’t wait.”

  “Thanks a lot, Dad,” Shelby groused with a smile. “First time he actually wants to help and you take him away.”

  Their father leaned down to give her a kiss on the temple while shooting Merit a stern look that said he’d better follow.

  Yep, that’s about how it went around the Diamond house. Bells got a kiss, he got the evil eye. Figuring it was better to get this over with, he handed the plates off to his sister and grabbed his mostly empty coffee cup.

  He had a feeling he wouldn’t be sticking around after their chat.

  Chapter 3

  When his dad closed the office door, Merit wondered why he even bothered. As many times as he’d been hounded in front of everyone at brunch, why the privacy now? He took a seat as Dad walked around to sit behind the large walnut desk.

  “Your credit cards didn’t work this morning.”

  “Yeah. A couple of them were declined, but it’s not like I run them up to the limit, so I’m guessing it’s identity theft or something. I’ll call Rob in the morning.” The family finance manager would figure it out.

  “Don’t bother.”

  “Don’t bother?” he repeated with confusion. “Why not?”

  “You don’t bother with a job, why bother with the cards?”

  Heavy sarcasm filled his father’s question, so he gave it right back. “Because I need money.”

  “Then I suggest you bother with the job first.”

  He met his dad’s steely gaze and sat forward on the chair. That funny feeling in his gut from earlier grew heavier. “What does that mean?”

  “Your cards didn’t work because I cancelled them.”

  He drew back in confusion. “Why would you do that?”

  “It’s time to grow up, Merit. You need money—get a job like everyone else.”

  Like everyone else. Hot indignation burned along the back of his neck. “Why do I have to do that when I have enough in my trust to last a lifetime? It’s not like I’m blowing through it or anything.”

  “You haven’t earned one dime of that money. You went to school, but you haven’t done one damn thing with your degree.”

  He had. Dad just didn’t know about it. Wasn’t about to tell him, either. Not now.

  Now is exactly the time to tell him.

  No. He wasn’t going to beg his dad for anything. All he’d ever done was hound him to be more like his brothers and sisters. Play sports like Asher. Study harder like Bells. Be more serious like Loyal. Get some ambition like Celia. Hell, any day now, he’d probably tell him to join the fucking Army like Grayson. Like he could measure
up to that when the guy had done three tours over in the Middle East.

  The thing was, he wasn’t any one of them. He didn’t want to be them. And just once, he’d like his dad to acknowledge he was his own person. Ask him what he wanted to do instead of tell him what he should do.

  “Are you happy?” his dad suddenly asked.

  “I was.”

  For the most part, anyway. He wouldn’t tell him he’d been bored lately. Restless. Aimless.

  “Better question might be, do you feel good about yourself? Are you proud of the man you are?”

  What the fuck is this? Was he not man enough for his own father?

  His gut tightened and a heavy weight pressed on his chest as he clenched his jaw.

  Dad ran a hand through his silver-threaded hair, then leaned forward to brace his elbows on the desk while clasping his fingers over the calendar. “I’ve given you more than enough time to step up, Merit. Probably too much. But it’s time you stand on your own two feet. Learn what it feels like to earn your way through life. It’s going to make all the difference.”

  “What the fuck do you know about that, Dad? You don’t really know anything about me or how I feel.”

  “Watch your language.”

  “Are you fucking serious right now?”

  His father’s gaze narrowed in warning. “Dead serious.”

  Mid-senior year of high school, his parents had taken his car away for three months until he got his grades back to straight As. His dad had the same stern expression now as back then. Merit might have glimpsed regret, too, but that didn’t mean a damn thing.

  “Fine,” he ground out through clenched teeth. “I’ll start volunteering somewhere, like at the foundation with Loyal and Grayson. Does that count?”

  “Only if you can get them to pay you for your work.”

  “That would totally defeat the idea of volunteering. That’s not fucking noble enough for you?”

  The regret in his father’s face vanished as his expression hardened once more. “Your cards are cancelled and your accounts are locked. Man up and earn a damn living, son.”

  “You’re really cutting me off, just like that?”

  “I am.”

  He rose to his feet, his whole body vibrating with anger. “How long?”

  “Until your trust fund matures.”

  His pulse skipped and his stomach dropped. “That’s in four years.”

  “Yes.”

  Merit stared at him for a long moment, reading his dad’s brown eyes that were much like his own and his brothers’. The steely resolution in their dark depths had him spinning for the door with his coffee cup clenched in his fist.

  “You’ll thank me for this someday, Merit.”

  “Don’t bet on it,” he threw out as he yanked the door open.

  He managed to avoid the rest of the family on his way out. He slammed the door of his red Jaguar SUV and gunned the engine to peel out of the driveway. A detour on the way home confirmed every single one of his cards were useless, even his debit card. He had almost seven hundred in his wallet, but that was it for cash. Well, that and a change bowl on the counter in his kitchen, but there wasn’t much in there since he’d only started it the day he moved in three months ago. Maybe enough to buy a beer—or a cup of coffee.

  Merit glanced at the cup in his console as he pulled into his garage. Lyssa was not who he really wanted to see, but just like he refused to beg his dad for his own damn money, he wasn’t about to get on his knees for one little crumb of attention from Mae Lockhart. A guy had to have some pride.

  Besides, everything had changed in the past half-hour. Mae was the owner of her own construction company, with paying jobs and employees. He’d never worked a day in his life and currently had no source of income. Yeah, she’d be real impressed with him now.

  He took the empty cup inside with him, but after he put the barista’s number in his phone, he hesitated sending a text. Restless and frustrated, he left the cup on the coffee table and went downstairs to work out his anger on the weights in the basement gym he’d set up last month when his usual source of stress-relief quit working. Hard to relieve stress when your muse insisted on the subject being exactly the one you were trying to forget.

  After a long swim in his indoor pool, he finally sent Lyssa the invite to come over later. He would put a movie on in the theater room, but after the look she’d given him that morning, he doubted they’d even get past the opening credits.

  She responded almost immediately and said she was looking forward to it.

  After texting her his address, he reached up to rub the back of his neck. Guaranteed sex should make him happier. Problem was, the moment he imagined her dark hair spread out across his pillow, he wanted blond. Just the memory of Mae’s shoulder length waves in sexy disarray around her head as he moved over her had blood rushing to his groin.

  “Sonofabitch.”

  He shoved away from the doorjamb he’d been leaning against. Upstairs, he changed into shorts and a T-shirt before grabbing his keys, wireless ear buds, and his phone to start his playlist as he went for a run.

  Six miles round trip brought him back to the house, and he glanced at his watch to see he had enough time to shower before his ‘date’ arrived. He stripped off his sweaty T-shirt on his way to the sink to gulp down a large glass of cold water. Twin trickles tracked from the corners of his mouth, past his chin, throat, and down over his bare chest. The cool liquid felt good against his heated skin, but he still swiped up a kitchen towel to wipe his face.

  The peal of the doorbell jerked his head toward the front of the house before he checked the time. Quarter to seven. He clenched his jaw, then consciously forced the muscles to relax as he strode to the door, towel tossed over his shoulder.

  He leaned to grasp the handle, then swung the door open while plastering a smile on his face. “You’re earl—”

  Merit broke off at the sight of the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind for months standing on his doorstep. He raked his gaze down over her powder blue T-shirt, cut-off jean shorts, and sparkly sandals revealing red-tipped toes. His breath hitched in his chest as he lifted his gaze back to her face framed by those gorgeous gold-blond locks.

  Desire flooded his veins from one heartbeat to the next. She was even sexier than his memory gave her credit for.

  “Mae. Hey. I, ah, I…”

  Fucking A, man. Get it together. You sound like a virgin teenager.

  Felt like one, too. Racing pulse, flip-flopping stomach, short breath. He managed a smile and opened the door wider. He’d been dying for this for the past two months. “It’s really good to see you. Come on in.”

  She didn’t return his smile, and she didn’t move. Her blue gaze was fixed on his chest, and her cheeks were flushed bright red. As he watched, he saw her throat work in a hard swallow while he noted her hands clasped tight together in front of her stomach.

  Her gaze lifted to his, and this time, he heard her swallow before she said, “I’m pregnant.”

  Chapter 4

  Time froze. The world disappeared. Merit’s mind went blank except for the two words repeating in his head, over and over, louder and louder. But before he could form a coherent thought, all the color drained from her face.

  He frowned with concern. “Whoa, are you—”

  She swayed on her feet and stumbled a step to the side. When she started to tip, he lunged forward to catch her before she collapsed on the flagstone entryway. His heart thumped hard against his ribs as he held her petite frame against his chest. She felt small and fragile in his arms, and still her fruity, floral perfume that haunted his memories registered on his senses.

  “Mae? Talk to me. You okay?” Alarm raised his voice an octave as his pulse raced fast enough to steal his breath.

  She lifted a shaky hand to her temple. “Dizzy spell,” she whispered. “I just…need to sit…”

  He swept her up into his arms and turned for the door.

  Her sm
all palm flattened against his bare chest. “Put me down. I can walk.”

  Ignoring the weak order, he carried her inside, kicking the door shut on the way to the couch in his living room. She didn’t protest again until he gently laid her on the leather cushion and grabbed a pillow to put under her head.

  “Merit—”

  “Shh.” He kept her from sitting up. “I’m going to get you some water. Just lay here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

  He hurried around the partial wall into the kitchen to pull a glass down from the cupboard. Setting it on the counter, he took a second to brace his hands on the edge, then hung his head while sucking a huge gulp of air into his tight lungs. The oxygen kick-started his brain and brought everything back into focus—

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Sharp, shocking, terrifying focus.

  Merit straightened as his breath shortened all over again. He raised his arms to fist his hands in his hair, his clenched fingers pulling hard at his scalp as he stared at the water dispenser on his stainless steel refrigerator.

  Holy fuck.

  Was it his?

  Dumb question. She would not have come to tell him she was pregnant if it wasn’t his—would she? A tiny spark of hope lit. Maybe she just needed to tell someone, and he was an impartial party to test out his reaction.

  Keep dreaming, dipshit. She’d tell Honor, not you.

  He jerked his hands down and spun around. Honor was pregnant, too. Did she know about Mae? If so, she hadn’t said one word about it at brunch.

  On the heels of that thought, another hit him hard. Had the two of them planned this somehow? Or Mae, at the least? Outrage carried him forward a couple steps, but he caught himself and backtracked to fill the glass with water while he concentrated on taking measured, calming breaths. He had to make sure she was okay first.

  When he returned to the living room, Mae was sitting up, her elbows braced on her knees, head in her hands. She straightened as he moved in front of her and held out the glass.