Nick prowled toward her and she took a step backward, suddenly nervous at his intense expression. When he had her backed up against the wall, she laughed nervously. “What’re you doing?” He ignored her question and lowered his head to her neck. She felt his warm lips slide against her sensitive skin and she gave an involuntary shudder. “Nick—”

His tongue thrusting into her mouth silenced the feeble protest she attempted to make. With a groan, she surrendered to him. They both knew she was powerless to resist how he made her feel. At that moment, she would have followed him off a cliff, so she issued no denial when he backed her toward the bedroom, never once breaking contact with her mouth. Just one more time and I’ll be stronger the next time. Everyone deserves a weak moment, right? Even as she repeated the reassurances to herself, Beth had to wonder if she would ever be strong enough to walk away from this man who took her breath away and set her body on fire with just one look. Would it be so bad to take what he’s offering?

Chapter Nine

Beth had worked steadily through the morning, and she stood up behind her desk stretching her tired muscles. It was probably the workout from last night that had her fatigued the most. My God, that man knew how to use his tongue and the rest of him wasn’t too shabby, either. She hadn’t realized how lost in her thoughts she was until a snort from the doorway startled her back to the present.

Suzy, Ella, and Claire stood there looking at her. Suzy looked disgusted, Claire looked amused, and Ella looked as she always did, supportive. “Ugh, I know that look. She’s either thinking about the last time she got lucky or she just got lucky in her office. Just for the record, Claire, as an owner of this company, now objects to any sexual activity in her building, right, Claire?”

Claire looked at Suzy and laughed. “Um. . . . Sure, yes, whatever she says.”

Beth stuck out her tongue at Suzy and grabbed her purse to join them. They all chatted about their mornings until they were in Suzy’s SUV. Suzy turned in her seat and looked over at her sister sitting in the rear seat. “Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room. I told Claire you have a bun in the oven. You know I suck at keeping secrets from her. Now all of us know and you don’t have to sit through lunch wondering.”

She could feel her cheeks flushing as Claire gave her a sympathetic look. Ella, bless her heart, quickly changed the subject. The conversation was light and easy and Beth was just starting to relax after placing her lunch order when Suzy decided to move in for the kill. “So, what’s the status on the whole marriage, white-picket-fence thing that Nick’s trying to sell you?”

You really had to give Claire credit. She didn’t even look surprised by her best friend’s abrupt question. Ella was looking like she wanted to crawl under the table. She still hadn’t gotten used to Suzy’s direct way of getting straight to the point. “Nothing’s really changed; he still wants to marry me, but I told him it’s not gonna happen. Boy, if you think he was pissed off over that, you should have seen his expression when I told him I was still going on my date tonight with Seth. Now, that was a Kodak moment if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Whoa, wait a second. Who’s Seth?” Suzy demanded.

Beth immediately cringed. Way to go, Big Mouth. Now you’ve moved Suzy up to DEFCON, level 5. Lie or tell the truth? Crap, he’s probably already told Gray, so you might as well come clean. “Um, just a guy from the dating service.” Have you lost your mind? No one else knows about the dating service! Three sets of eyes were riveted on her and she fought the urge to slap her hand across her mouth in horror.

“Shit, I need a drink. Someone might have to drive us back to work because I don’t think I can handle any more of this story sober,” Suzy said, groaning. Beth thought she was kidding until she flagged a waiter down and ordered a grande margarita. She held her hand up to keep everyone silent until the large drink was sitting in front of her. After a dramatic gulp, she said, “All right, let’s hear it.”

Nervously stirring her drink with a straw, Beth said, “I . . . I, um, joined a dating service a while back. It’s no big deal. I just wanted to meet some new people.”

Looking stunned, Suzy asked, “You joined a dating service while you were sleeping with Nick?”

“Oh, no, it was right before. Since Nick and I aren’t really in a relationship, I’ve still been dating casually.” Oh, God, they are all staring at me. Why did Ella look so shocked? She knew about the dating service. Beth had even tried to talk Ella into joining with her.

“Sis, I’m not a cheerleader for Nick or anything, but how can you still be dating when you are involved with him? Doesn’t he notice how often you are busy?”

“It’s usually only once or twice a week. He just assumes I’m with Ella. I’m not lying to him; he just doesn’t ask,” she defended herself.

With a smile, Claire said, “Well, in his defense, he is Nick Merimon. As much as I love my husband and as sexy as he is, I can still appreciate the fact that Nick is hot, hot! It probably never occurred to him to think that you were seeing anyone else. I’m betting this is the first time . . . ever. Just out of curiosity, why are you automatically counting him out? You obviously have feelings for him or you wouldn’t be practically living together. Why won’t you give him a chance? He’s said he wants to marry you and raise this baby with you.”

Beth’s shoulders suddenly slumped as she whispered what she already knew. “Because he’ll leave. I can’t let myself get attached to him. I know I am not the type of woman that someone like Nick will end up with.”

“Has he said something to you?” Suzy demanded. “I’ll kick his ass. Who does he think he is running my sister down? You’re way too good for him!”

Suzy was getting to her feet, her face enraged, but Beth managed to pull her back down. “No, no it’s not that. Nick has never said anything negative to me.” Looking down, she added, “He seems to love my body . . . a lot. I just know it won’t last, though. I’ve always known that we were short-term.”

“My God,” Suzy said. “You’ve continued to date this whole time so you would have someone to rebound with immediately, in case Nick left. You never intended for him to last this long, did you?”

This lunch seemed to be going from bad to worse. Beth was never comfortable being the center of attention, even around her closest friends, and Suzy, Claire, and Ella hadn’t stopped staring at her since she dropped the dating-service bomb. She knew that they weren’t judgmental people, but she could see the shock and another emotion she knew well: pity. “Guys, it’s not that bad. Nick and I have a good time and when he leaves, life will go on. He’ll see the baby whenever he wants to. I would never deny him that right. I just can’t get caught up in what he’s selling. Soon, the new-baby glow will wear off and he will be looking for a way out. I refuse to be a stage-five clinger like all the other members of the Nick Merimon Fan Club.”

Suzy chuckled beside her. “Stage-five clinger? God help you, Beth, because you are my sister through and through. Hell, you actually shock me on a regular basis now, and I didn’t think that was possible. So you’re testing Nick now to see if he’ll run? Aren’t you? Maybe a little torture? No boom-boom? Making him jealous?”

“Um, no, I’m not doing that.” Then with a laugh of her own, she said, “There is no way I can withhold the boom-boom. I never get enough of him.”

“Ugh, TMI! Please don’t say anything else. I can’t get drunk since I have to go back to the office, and this sure isn’t a conversation I can deal with sober,” Suzy moaned.

Beth took pity on Ella since she was already almost crimson with embarrassment. Ella had confided in her that she was still a virgin and Beth knew that she was easily embarrassed, especially over anything concerning sex. She patted her on the hand and whispered, “Sorry, Ella.”

Ella gave her a shy smile in return and said, “Are you kidding? This is like watching a live taping of Days of our Lives or Desperate Housewives.”

Everyone around the table laughed and kept it light while they finished eating. When they were waiting for their bill, Claire looked at Beth with what could only be called an evil smile. “So, Beth, I have an idea. You say that Nick will cut and run when things get tough. I’ve got the perfect way to give him a little test.” Beth wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but she let Claire continue. “You know Mom and Tom are on their honeymoon, and Louise and her sister have gone to Florida for a few weeks. Jason and I would really love a date night, and we wouldn’t trust just anyone with Chrissy.”

Suzy looked at her friend in admiration. “Ohhhh, I like where you’re going here. Hey! If you need a babysitter, why haven’t you asked me? Gray and I are perfectly capable of babysitting.”

Claire threw an arm around her friend’s shoulders and laughed. “The last time I was at your house you set my diaper bag and purse on the sidewalk when Chrissy started crying.”

“Hey, I couldn’t see you pop your boob out one more time. The kid’s going to choke on that thing, or something. Those babies are never going airborne again after the workout she’s giving them.”

Ella looked even more mortified if that was possible. Beth quickly asked Claire, “You would actually trust us to babysit for you? You know we don’t actually have much baby experience.”

“I trust you completely, Beth. You were an elementary schoolteacher for years. We can go over all of the details and I’ll run you through her routine. She goes to bed early so you guys wouldn’t be on duty the whole time. If you want to see how Nick is around a baby, this is a perfect chance.”

“Hmmm, okay. Why not? I might as well start getting some practice in, and Nick needs to know what he is trying to get himself into. How about Saturday night?”

Claire smiled. “That sounds great. Jason will be so excited. It will be nice to go to a restaurant to eat without spit-up all over us. I don’t think we’ve had a conversation since the baby was born that didn’t involve the contents of her diaper. Maybe we should just use our date time to catch up on our sleep in the car.”

Suzy snickered. “That’s just sad. It must be depressing to have a stallion that you never have the energy to ride.”

Ella almost fainted when Claire smiled and said, “Oh, honey, my stallion is never in the stable. I’m never too tired to give him a good workout.”

Beth grabbed Ella’s elbow and pulled her out of her chair. “Let’s go before you’re ruined forever.”

She was surprised when Ella said, “Oh, man, I just love them. I didn’t know that Claire had a horse, though.”

Beth’s mouth dropped open in shock. Surely, Ella wasn’t that naive. When Ella doubled over in laughter and said, “Got ya,” Beth had to admit that her shy little friend had certainly come a long, long way.

Chapter Ten

Beth was relieved to see that Nick wasn’t at her apartment when she arrived home. She didn’t know who she thought she was fooling by insisting that they didn’t live together because he was always here, and she didn’t even question it anymore.

She quickly showered and pulled on a black jersey dress that landed just above her knees. It was sleeveless with a daring neckline. She pulled on some black sandals that added inches to her height. A pair of simple silver hoops and a matching necklace completed the look. She was supposed to meet Seth at one of her favorite seafood restaurants in half an hour. She grabbed her purse and gave a prayer of thanks that she had avoided a confrontation with Nick.

* * *

Seth was waiting for her in the lobby of Sara J’s. Beth just loved the restaurant’s beautiful view overlooking the marsh in Garden City, South Carolina. She summoned up her best “date smile” as Seth leaned in to kiss her lightly. “You look beautiful, Beth. I’m happy to see you again.”

Seth Jackson was tall and thin. He had sandy blond hair that he kept neatly trimmed and groomed. He was the manager for one of the bigger hotels on the Grand Strand, and he was always trying to convince her to come take advantage of the many amenities that it offered. He placed a polite hand at the small of her back as he led her to the hostess stand. The restaurant was crowded, as usual, but they were quickly seated at a table on the outdoor patio.

“I thought you might enjoy dining outside this evening.”

“This is lovely; I’m glad you thought of it.” Conversation with Seth was always easy and uncomplicated, just as life with him would probably be. He was attentive, polite, and funny. He didn’t set her on fire like Nick did, but he wasn’t likely to burn her in the end, either. She ordered a glass of tea and Seth ordered a glass of red wine. When their drinks were delivered, she took a sip of hers and smiled at Seth as he regaled her with tales of the more unusual hotel guests in the last few weeks.