Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(26)
Beth might never finish her meal, but at least she enjoyed all things in moderation. He knew she worked out regularly, which he admired. She had a stunning body and he practically drooled every time she walked by.
How would she be able to mentally handle the changes in her body that this pregnancy would bring? That was something that he hadn’t even considered, but for Beth would it be more traumatic than the baby? He had never given a thought to how scared she might be to gain weight. Was there a way to recommend that she see a counselor without her blowing up at him? The terror in her eyes just a few minutes ago went far beyond the normal aversion that women had to telling their real age or weight. Maybe Suzy could give him some advice. Yeah . . . maybe. Unless she still wants to cut off your penis for getting her baby sister pregnant.
Chapter Fourteen
Nick and Beth drove straight to work from her doctor’s appointment. The drive gave her some time to adjust to the shock of learning she was pregnant with twins.
Nick had been the loving partner that women dream of. When they met with her doctor, who was a very nice middle-aged woman who instantly made Beth feel comfortable, he had asked most of the questions. Since Beth was pregnant with twins, she would need to be more closely monitored as her pregnancy advanced. Nick had been intensely interested in everything the doctor had said. At one point, Beth found her head going back and forth just trying to follow the conversation between them. She had started to remind them that she was in the room, too. Dr. Winters clearly was charmed by Nick and thought Beth a lucky girl.
Ella was standing in the lobby of Danvers when she and Nick came in the front entrance. Beth gave him a quick kiss good-bye and walked over to join her friend. “Hey, Ella, are you just getting in, too?” Ella continued to stare across the room and Beth followed her gaze, curious as to what was holding her friend’s attention. Across the lobby stood Declan with a striking blond woman who looked about Beth’s own age and a very handsome man, wearing what Beth was sure was an expensive suit. Turning back to Ella she asked, “Who are those people with Declan?”
“I don’t know,” Ella whispered. “She’s really pretty and she has her arm through Declan’s. Do you think she’s his girlfriend?”
Beth heard the note of despair in Ella’s voice and wondered again what her relationship with Declan was. She had walked in on them talking frequently. Actually, Ella seemed to be the only one with whom Declan made small talk. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen either of them around here before, but this is a big place so it could be a customer.” As they continued to stand and stare, Claire walked through the door with Starbucks cups in hand. When she spotted them, she walked over with a smile on her face.
“Hey, you two. I was just bringing Jason some coffee. I’ll admit he’s getting pretty spoiled from me dropping in. Thank God Louise is back and was over to get her Chrissy fix early this morning.” Finally noticing that they were looking across the room, Claire turned to look as well. “Hey, Ava and Brant are here. I better hurry up and deliver this coffee. I think they have a meeting with Jason soon.”
Claire now had Beth and Ella’s complete attention. “Who are they?” Beth asked.
“Oh, that’s Declan’s sister, Ava, and his brother, Brant. They own a company that makes one of the components that we use here.” Then, lowering her voice, Claire continued. “Jason is interested in buying their company and bringing them on board. They’re headquartered near Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“Does Declan own part of their company?” Beth asked curiously.
“Yeah, from what I gather, it was left to them by their father when he passed away. Ava and Brant run the day-to-day operations and Declan handles the troubleshooting. It’s a very successful business and I know Jason would like to bring it into the Danvers family. Just as we did with Mericom and Gray and Nick, Ava and Brant would relocate to Myrtle Beach and work from the corporate office.”
Beth saw Declan looking at Ella inquiringly. “It looks like they’ve caught us staring; maybe we should go over and introduce ourselves.”
“You’re right,” Claire agreed. “We don’t want to take off like we are guilty of talking about them—even though we are.”
Ella reluctantly followed them as they walked across the lobby to greet Declan and his family. Claire stepped forward first and graciously offered a hand to each sibling. Beth followed her lead and then all eyes turned to Ella expectantly. Beth could see the slight flush on her friend’s cheeks as she squared her shoulders and introduced herself to Ava and Brant. When she came to a stop at Declan, he gave her a soft smile and, if it was possible, she flushed even more.
Again, Beth wondered how Declan felt about Ella. She was sure that Ella had a crush on him. Maybe he was just being nice to her, but something in his eyes made Beth pause. She suspected there was something more than polite friendliness when he looked at Ella. Beth wanted to tell her to start running and never stop because Declan was more than Ella could handle. She needed a nice, dependable guy who would worship the ground she walked on. Declan would shake the very foundation under her, and Beth seriously doubted if Ella would ever recover. Nick might be a bad boy in the ladies’ man sense, but Declan was just a bad boy, period.
They all loaded onto the elevator and Claire exited several floors later with the Stone family. Oh God. Ella just checked out Declan’s ass as he left the elevator. I need to have a serious talk with her soon, even if I’m not the best one to give advice. After all, I did get accidentally pregnant with Nick’s babies. Maybe I should send Suzy to have a chat with her. It might scare the hell out of Ella, but she wasn’t likely to soon forget it.