Baby Come Back(11)
“Gina is carrying my baby. We have proof; you just need to accept that and move on with your life and out of ours. Have I made myself clear?”
(Holy Shit!)
By this time Ian had comprehended that the safest thing to do was to shut the f*ck up and leave. He gave Tristan a brief nod. Tristan relaxed his grip; Ian shrugged free of his grasp, smoothing out his jacket as he departed. Tristan followed him down to make sure that he left the establishment.
I went over to where Tylar was filling a mug with draft beer.
“Do you believe that shit?”
“Oh my God Gina, that was hot!”
“No Tylar; I want to know who the bitch was that was in here talking about how Tristan was hung.”
“Oh come on, Gina. Ian was drunk. He was making shit up to start trouble.”
“If that’s the case, then how would he know that Tristan is, well, you know, hung like a freakin’ horse?”
We both started giggling at once.
“Hey,” she said, “Do you suppose that Libby was in here? You know she has an axe to grind still with you and Tristan.”
I considered that for a moment. It did make sense. We hadn’t seen her in a while but that didn’t mean she didn’t occasionally stop in when neither Tristan nor I were here. I mean Ian had been barred for a while yet he had apparently managed to sneak beneath the radar if he was in fact here a week or so ago like he said.
“You’re probably right, Ty.”
Tristan was back up on the mezzanine heading towards the bar. He looked like a man on a mission.
“Tylar, thanks for helping out at the bar. Could you hang around for just a couple of more minutes? I need to talk to Gina.”
“Sure,” she replied, smiling. “Take your time.”
“Come on, Gina,” he said, holding up the counter-top so that I could follow him outside of the bar. He took my hand and pulled me over near a table outside of the immediate bar area. Once then, he turned me to face him.
“Gina, I love you. I don’t care whose baby you are carrying it doesn’t change the fact that I love you. I can’t stand being apart from you. Baby come back - please?"
I looked up into his magnificent eyes and I knew that he meant it. Still, he had put me through some shit. I wasn’t sure he should get off that easily.
“I will think about it, Tristan. I can’t give you an answer right this second. I’m the one that needs a little time right now, okay?”
He nodded, smiling, pulling me to him. I pulled back, still wanting to make my point with him.
“And for the record, Tristan; this baby is yours. I will have DNA testing done just as soon as possible-”
“Gina - that is not necessary, babe,” he interrupted, trying to quiet me.
“Let me finish, Tristan. I will have DNA testing done so that there is never any doubt. And when those results come in, I will personally have the pleasure of shoving them up your ass, do you understand?”
He smiled, and nodded. “I understand babe. I deserve it. I love you, Gina.”
I heard Tylar squeal with happiness over at the bar where she apparently had made it a point to eavesdrop on our conversation.
CHAPTER 6
It was my third week living back in the apartment with Tristan. I loved having the master suite now with the kick-ass bathroom and the huge closets. I had naturally taken Trey’s old closet which was fine with Tristan. We had gotten my furniture out of storage and moved into the apartment. Tristan had taken me shopping for accent items and the apartment looked fabulous. We still had the nursery to decorate. I had decided on a new color scheme.
Tristan had gone to my doctor’s appointment with me the previous afternoon. We were expecting a baby boy. Tristan was thrilled by the prospect, I could tell. I had phoned Tylar immediately upon returning home to share the good news. She didn’t seem all that enthusiastic. I wrote it off to the fact that she said she had been in bed all day sleeping between puking. She was still in a snit about how much time Trey was spending with the new partner, Amber. I listened as she went on and on about it. I loved Tylar. She was my best friend, but there were times that I wanted to slap her. This was one of those times.
Tristan had worked an earlier shift at the club today so I was expecting him home at any time. I had made lasagna from scratch. He loved it; in fact, he loved everything Italian that I made. I guess being a Valenti had paid off.
He was in the door just before six. I had set the table with candles to make it romantic.
“Hey sweet baby,” he greeted me, immediately coming over to where I was standing in the kitchen. He wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me against him. God, he could make me tingle in my special places. He was the first man to ever make me feel all warm fuzzy, and cuddly. That was so not me in the past. Ian and I had a very different type of interaction. It had been more of a one-on-one; most of the time I had gotten my own way with Ian by nagging and wearing him down.
Tristan was very different. He made me feel soft and feminine and totally let me have my way when it was the right thing to do. However, Tristan could hold his ground and be relentlessly stubborn when he took a position that differed from mine. He was not temperamental like Trey; yet he had his limits.
We kissed playfully. “I missed you,” I said, which again, was something I found myself saying to Tristan that I had never said to Ian. The dynamics were so much hotter.