Waking Up Wed. Christy Jeffries

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       Chapter Two

      “Oh, my gosh. No. No. No.” Kylie thought of every curse word ever uttered by her father and four athletic brothers, and then repeated one that would have shocked a war-weary sailor, let alone the confused doctor in front of her.

      “Sorry,” she mumbled. She hated offending Drew, who finally looked uncomfortable. It wasn’t his fault she’d sacrificed her much-practiced poise for the feistiness she usually kept hidden. “I don’t usually talk like that. I didn’t mean to let my mouth get away from me.”

      He looked at her lips and she instantly regretted the words that drew his attention there. But she was too absorbed in her own panic to worry about what kind of pleasure they might or might not have partaken of last night.

      “I know we wouldn’t have forgotten that. Right?” She was too mortified to even say what that was.

      He ran his hand through his close-cropped military-style haircut, and she wondered how she could have possibly thought this conservative, clean-cut man in the crisp jeans and J.Crew sweater was a male stripper.

      “I would like to think that we both would have known better than to be so reckless.” His confident tone didn’t quite match his puzzled and slightly pink expression. “Yet from the looks of everything else around us, we should have known better about a lot of things.”

      “But you don’t understand. I can’t just be married. Or suddenly pregnant by someone I don’t know. My father would kill me. My brothers would kill you. Everyone in Sugar Falls would say they knew something like this was bound to happen. I’ll have to give up my accounting practice and move to Boise. Wait. Farther than that. Siberia, maybe. This is going to ruin my whole life.”

      “Well, at least we’re equally screwed.”

      Wait, had he just said screwed? Perhaps the gravity of the situation was finally sinking in for Doctor Perfect.

      “I mean, it’s not as if this is going to look really great for my career or my family.” He waved his arm dramatically at the room, including the empty beverage cups and her. “I’m not exactly proud of all this.”

      It was difficult to not take the insult personally. Why would he be ashamed of marrying her? Maybe she wasn’t some stuffy Miss Priss, but she was decent in the looks department and she was financially successful. Plus, she didn’t have any standout mental health concerns, addictions or genetic diseases—that she knew of. Frankly, he could do a lot worse.

      Of course, so could she. And hadn’t she proved just that with some of the losers she’d dated in the past? No man she’d ever been out with—and if you asked her two best friends, they’d say she’d been out with a lot—had made it past her rigid checklist of qualities for Mr. Right. Her strike-one-and-you’re-out policy explained why she went through eligible men so quickly. That and her fear of taking home anyone to meet her opinionated family.

      While life had taught her to be pragmatic about most things, Kylie believed in true love. She was a romantic at heart and knew that somewhere out there, her soul mate was waiting for her. Unfortunately, she doubted that her soul mate would want the pregnant ex-wife of some military shrink.

      She sighed. “I’m sorry if it seems as if I’m only looking out for my best interests here. This probably wasn’t exactly what you envisioned, either, when we ordered that first round last night. But at least you don’t live in a small, judgmental town like Sugar Falls. You won’t be carrying around a nine-month reminder of this night or have smug busybodies shake their heads at you when you pass them on the street with your love child in tow. You get to hop on the first navy plane out of here and go on about your life.”

      Drew knelt in front of her, his fingers cupping her chin, gently forcing her to meet his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Especially if you’re carrying my child. You don’t know me or the kind of person I am, so I’m not going to take offense at what you just said. But I’m telling you this now, completely sober and with every moral fiber in my body. We will be in this together, and any decisions that need to be made will be made by both of us.”

      Kylie wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a vow. He seemed to have an abundance of moral fibers floating around in his perfectly formed body. Yet, behind the clear lenses, his eyes were very serious and solemn. For some reason, his words soothed her, and she no longer felt as though she was drowning alone. The fact remained, though, that she was still drowning. All she could hope was that this guy didn’t sink her in his quest to save himself first.

      It must’ve been the lingering effects of the alcohol causing her palms to sweat and her tummy to swirl. Out of all the men she’d gone out with, not once had one’s nearness ever made her feel this light-headed.

      Kylie needed some food to ease her roiling stomach, and they had only about ten minutes to get to brunch downstairs before their dual absence caused speculation.

      “Okay,” she said. “Let’s agree to get through today and this upcoming week back in Sugar Falls as if nothing has happened.” Hopefully, by then, she’d have some more answers—like whether she’d need to buy a pregnancy test and when he’d be on his way out of town and out of her life. “We won’t make any decisions until after the wedding. Their wedding, that is. Maxine and Cooper’s. Not yours and mine. Ugh. You know what I mean.”

      Great. How was she ever going to get through this brunch if she couldn’t even get through a sentence?

      “That sounds like a good plan.” He stood back up, his hand that had gently stroked her chin now extended in a handshake. She hadn’t noticed before but his right pinkie was slightly bent—an interesting flaw in an otherwise perfect specimen of man.

      He had replaced an intimate gesture with a businesslike stance. So she rose from the chair in order to cover up the fact that she was leaning toward him like a lost kitten seeking out a friendly pat. Had she been wearing her usual four-inch heels, she would have come close to matching his impressive height. However, in her bare feet and oversize robe, she felt more delicate and womanly than she was used to when around average-size men.

      Whoa, he was well built. As his hand shook hers, she smiled, thinking that under his preppy sweater and starched jeans was a rippling specimen of a man that only she was privy to. She liked knowing that.

      He still hadn’t released her from his grip when two abrupt knocks sounded at the door. Drew turned to answer it and she grabbed his forearm and pulled him back. What was he thinking?

      She put a finger to her mouth and shoved him toward the bathroom. A second passed before his brows lifted in surprise. He finally figured out that she wanted to hide him from whoever was knocking. The guy was obviously not schooled in the art of clandestine operations, which was probably a point in his favor. Just not at that exact moment.

      She СКАЧАТЬ