Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(16)
Chapter Eight
Nick opened Beth’s apartment door that evening with the key that she had given him a few months back. Since their schedules were often different, it had made sense to be able to come and go as needed. She also had a key to the penthouse where he was staying.
He laid his briefcase down on the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the dining area. He noticed the blinking light on her answering machine that indicated a message. In all of the months that he had been in her apartment, he had never seen a message light blinking on the machine. He knew it was none of his business and an invasion of her privacy, but he couldn’t seem to look away from the flashing light. Maybe it was something concerning the baby.
He managed to pull himself away from the machine without pushing the button to hear the message and walked to the bedroom to find Beth. She was curled up on top of the comforter on the bed sound asleep. She took his breath away. He didn’t know how long he stood in the door just watching her. She looked so young and so vulnerable in sleep. The need he felt to protect her since he had learned she was pregnant was suddenly overwhelming. She looked so small lying there that it was hard to believe their child was nestled inside her.
In between meetings and conference calls, he had spent his day reading everything he could on pregnancy. Truthfully, a lot of it had scared the shit out of him. He had so much sweat on his face at one point that his secretary had asked him if he was feeling okay. He had wanted to yell, “Hell, no, I’m not feeling okay. Beth is carrying a ticking bomb. A million things could happen to her or the baby. Oh, God, I’m having chest pains. Am I too young for a heart attack?” Instead, he had offered her reassurance that he was far from feeling ill and then called Beth for the tenth time to see how she was feeling.
Now, standing here and looking at the beautiful woman resting so peacefully, he once again felt his chest go tight. He knew she couldn’t hear him but he made the promise anyway. “I won’t let you down, Beth. I’ll be the best husband and father that I can possibly be. Just give me a chance to prove it. You will never want for anything. I’ll lay the world at your feet. Just believe in me, please.”
Nick quietly shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen for a beer. The light on the answering machine was again calling to him. You really should check it. What if there is a family emergency? She would want to know immediately. You would be doing her a favor. Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed a pen and a notepad to write down the message and pushed the button.
“You have two new messages. First message today at four twenty p.m. Hey, Beth, it’s Seth. I wanted to make sure that we’re still on for dinner tomorrow night. Please give me a call and let me know. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” The next message was also from Seth leaving his cell phone number in case Beth had lost it.
Who in the hell was Seth and what was with the “Looking forward to seeing you again”? Had Beth been out with this guy recently? Nick felt something completely alien take control of him: jealousy. Maybe they hadn’t formally talked about making their relationship exclusive, but he had assumed they were on the same page. He didn’t date other women when he was involved with someone. Had Beth been dating? She was late coming home from time to time and she did mention going out to dinner with friends but at the time he thought she meant women friends.
Seth’s intimate tone on the message didn’t sound like that of a buddy. It sounded like a guy excited about seeing a woman. Well, she didn’t have any problem letting you know that she wanted you, did she? You may not be the only ticket in town, my friend.
* * *
Beth rolled over in bed surprised to see how dark the room was. A look at the clock showed that she had been asleep for almost two hours. Despite the nap, she still felt fatigued. The morning sickness was taking a toll on her body. With another quick stretch, she slid her legs off the side of the bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face and straighten her hair.
Looking much more presentable, she walked into the living room and stopped short at seeing Nick sitting on one of the barstools deep in thought. She took a deep breath and allowed herself the pleasure of just looking at him. God, the man was beautiful. She had the urge to rip his clothes off every time he was anywhere near her and now was no exception. Her body tightened with need as she slowly approached him.
As if sensing her, Nick’s head shot up. Beth stopped in her tracks at the look of confusion and sadness on his face. Something was obviously wrong. She reached out to take his hand and he moved his away. She dropped her hand back to her side and asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering her question, he held up a slip of paper and snarled, “Who is Seth?”
Beth drew a complete blank. “Um, Seth who?”
Nick tossed the piece of paper down in disgust and jumped to his feet. “Beth, don’t you have anything a little more original than that?”
Had he lost his mind? Maybe he was drunk. Where was the happy-go-lucky Nick that she was used to? This Nick was cold, angry, and, damn him, a complete turn-on. She wanted nothing more than for him to slam his mouth down onto hers and take her hard and fast. Talking slowly as she might to a child, she said, “I really have no idea what you’re talking about. You aren’t making any sense.”
Never breaking eye contact with her, he pushed a button behind him and played the messages on her answering machine. When the second message finished, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. A giggle escaped her and then another until she was doubled over laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face. Instead of looking at her in anger now, Nick was just looking at her as if she were insane.