“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.

Beth parted ways with Ella at the reception desk and continued on to her office. She needed a few moments to come to grips with her doctor’s appointment before she had to face Suzy. But just as she finished the thought, the door burst open and her sister strode in. She carefully bit back the groan before it escaped her lips. Suzy perched on the corner of her desk and leaned in closer to Beth.

“So when did you get in?” Suzy asked.

“A few minutes ago. I was just coming to your office,” Beth lied.

“So, um, what happened at the baby doctor? Is it in the right place and all?”

Beth smiled at Suzy’s obvious discomfort talking about the pregnancy. You would think after Claire’s pregnancy that she would be used to it, but she still looked nauseous whenever babies were mentioned. “Yeah, they are just as they should be.”

Smiling, Suzy said, “Oh, well, good, glad to hear it.” Suddenly her head jerked up and she asked, “They? Shit, please tell me you didn’t say that word.”

Beth buried her face in her hands and mumbled, “You heard me right. I’m having twins; can you believe it?”

“Holy shit, how did this happen!”

Beth couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s question. “The usual way, I guess.”

Suzy stood up from the corner of the desk and slumped backward in the chair behind her. “My God, what are you doing to do? I mean—two babies? Hell, just one freaks me out. I’m not going to babysit, but I will at least pay for a babysitter on a regular basis for you, how about that?”

Beth chuckled. “Thanks, sis. It hasn’t really sunk in yet so I don’t know what we will do. I just need some time to think.”

Suzy jumped up and said, “Hey, I know just what you need: a distraction!”

This can’t be good. “What kind of distraction?”

“I need you to help me plan this wedding thingy. Apparently, Gray isn’t going to settle for living together forever. He wants to make it official. I told him it would be something simple. I am not walking down the aisle in a church in a gown bigger than I am.”

Beth clapped her hands in excitement. This was exactly what she needed to take her mind off her own problems. Of course, Suzy would probably give the term bridezilla new meaning, but it sounded like fun. Suddenly, another thought had Beth frowning. Unless we can pull this wedding together in a month, I’m going to look like a whale. Poor Beth, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

While Beth was pondering that depressing thought, Suzy dropped another bombshell. “The parents are coming for dinner Friday night. I told them you would be there.”

“What! Have you lost your mind? I can’t see them now; they’ll know.”

“No, they won’t. I’m doing you a favor. We’ll get the dog-and-pony show out of the way before you start showing and if they decide to skip the wedding, we probably won’t see them again until after the babies are born. If it’s any consolation to you, Gray is sweating bullets. I tried to tell him that our parents aren’t the type to come in and try to defend their little girl’s virtue. As long as he has a good IQ, they will be thrilled.”

Beth snickered. “How will we know? Their facial expressions never change. If I didn’t know better, I would swear they got Botox. So, should I bring Nick with me?”

With an evil smile, Suzy said, “Oh, yeah, he’s not getting out of this. Gray probably needs the moral support, too. He thought we should meet them at a restaurant so we could all go our separate ways afterward, but I insisted they come to the house.”

Beth had to wonder where her sister’s head was. “Did you really think that through? Of course Nick and I can just go home after dinner, but you and Gray will be stuck with them until they decide to leave.”

With a grimace, Suzy said, “Shit, I didn’t think of that. If I get desperate, I’ll have to turn on the television and find one of the comedies. You know how much they hate meaningless shows. I blocked the science channel long ago, so we should be safe.”

Beth laughed as Suzy stood to leave. Just as she opened the door, Suzy said, “Hey, I loved the picture of you and Nick passed out on the couch after your night of babysitting. It looked brutal. You guys are in so much trouble—you know that, right?”

Beth flipped one of her sister’s favorite hand gestures back at her. Were there no secrets anymore? She didn’t think they had done too badly watching Chrissy. No one had to go to the emergency room and they had managed not to panic . . . much. Suzy is right; we are in trouble.

* * *

Nick sat in his office chair staring out the window. He was proud of how well he had held it together through the doctor’s appointment and the drive to work. Now that the shock was wearing off, panic was setting in. Twins? Dear Lord, what were they going to do? He could think of only one answer to the question. Mom, help! His mother always had an answer for everything and he sincerely hoped she would have some advice on fatherhood.

With that thought, he remembered the conversation he and his father had had when Gray thought he had fathered a child with Reva. His father had lectured him about safe sex and promised to revisit the conversation if he did something stupid. Now his father would have to break out that lecture again. How about not one grandchild but two? Oh, yeah, I have been a busy boy.

He had talked nonstop on the way to the office to fill the silence. He wasn’t ready to have an intense conversation with Beth over their future, and he always talked a lot when he was nervous. But now that he was gathering his wits about him, he realized that not much had changed. Sure, there was another baby now, but he was still in it for the long haul. Seeing the heartbeats on the ultrasound had made it feel so real. Beth was carrying his babies inside her. Babies they had created together. He was both scared to death and strangely excited. He was going to be a father, something he had never imagined.

He was jerked from his thoughts when Gray walked in unannounced and raised an eyebrow at his expression. He imagined he looked like he was in shock. “Everything okay?”

Clearing his throat, Nick said, “Yeah, it’s fine. Beth had her first doctor’s appointment this morning and, would you believe, we’re having twins?”

Gray rocked back on his heels, visibly taken aback by the news. “Damn. I mean congratulations. Wow, that is some news. How are you two handling all of this?”

Nick laughed at his brother’s attempt to sound excited. “We haven’t had time to talk about it. We came straight to work. I thought I would piss my pants at first, but now I’m down to just the slight urge to pass out. I think Beth is still reeling, too.” Then, looking his brother in the eye, he added, “I’m with her, though. She won’t do this alone. Those are my babies and I’ll never leave them. She might try to force me away, but it’s not happening.”

“Do you love her?” Gray asked quietly.

“Love? Hell, I don’t even know what that is. I care about her. I can’t keep my hands off her and I want to be with her. I don’t need to label it. It is what it is and I’m happy with that.”

“What if that’s not enough for Beth? Don’t you think she deserves the whole package? Plenty of people raise children that aren’t together.”

Jumping up from his chair, Nick walked over to his brother, snapping, “What do you know about us? Your romance hasn’t been too smooth, either, so I don’t think we need any advice from you.”

Instead of being mad at his harsh statement, Gray clapped him on the back and smiled. “Good answer. I think you two will be just fine.”

Without another word, Gray walked out the door and left him baffled.

It’s official, the Merimon brothers have lost their minds.

Chapter Fifteen

Later that day, back at home, Beth shifted around uncomfortably and wondered if she was going to have to resort to “barbecuing alone” as Nick called it. Why am I so horny? Even though they had slept together less than twenty-four hours ago, she felt like it had been years. If she had hit one more pothole in the road on the way home, she would have probably had an orgasm from the bump.

As soon as Nick walked in the door, she wrapped herself around him. He probably didn’t even know what hit him. He had barely dropped his briefcase on the floor before she was thrusting her hands in his hair and pulling his mouth down to hers. She groaned as the heat of his mouth met hers. You had to give the guy credit; he didn’t ask her any questions. Buttons were flying, hands were grabbing and mouths were clinging. She couldn’t remember ever being this desperate to have a man inside her. This man.

Her hands wrestled with his belt and then the button at the waistband of his slacks. Finally, she had her hand inside his briefs and his erection swelled in her hand. She moaned low in her throat, desperate for his possession.

Nick grabbed the cheeks of her ass and squeezed them while his tongue nipped and sucked at her bottom lip and her tongue. Beth pushed him backward, aiming for the chair, but his feet got tangled in his pants and they ended up in a startled heap on the floor. Her breath left her in a whoosh and she could only imagine how Nick must be faring with the weight of her body pushing against his. As she started to shift to the side, he gripped her hips and whispered softly, “Oh no, baby, finish what you started.”

That was all the encouragement she needed. She quickly pushed his briefs down and released his cock to her hungry gaze. Instead of raising herself to lower her panties, she slid them to the side. Circling her hand around his length, she raised herself above him and then lowered onto him slowly, inch by inch. She couldn’t remember anything ever feeling better than the slide of his body into hers.

Nick groaned and raised his hips to meet hers. She threw her head back in ecstasy as he caught her newly sensitive breasts in his hands and rubbed the nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She felt a lightning bolt directly to her core as he continued to rub and tweak her nipples almost to the point of pain. With his next tug, she felt her body convulse around his as spasms of pleasure rippled through her body.

His hands moved from her breasts to her ass as he ground into her while she rode the crest of her orgasm. When the ripples subsided, Beth realized that he was still hard inside her. Looking down into his handsome, flushed face, she felt desire start to build in her again. Nick circled his hand around and palmed her mound. One of his fingers slid past her slit and flicked her tightly budded clit. Beth moaned as pleasure coursed anew through her body. She rocked her hips against him trying to rub against his hand while pulling him deeper inside her.