Claiming His Read online

  “It was. Until this girl I have met one time skated up to me and, out of nowhere, kissed me. That’s when everything fell apart. The girl I’m crazy for…hell, the girl I’m in love with…suddenly fell, hurt herself really badly, and now I’m in the hospital with her.”

  “Shit went south, huh?”

  “Yeah. Shit went south fast. Now I need my sexy dream girl to believe me that I didn’t know the kiss was coming. I didn’t want the kiss.”

  “Who was she?” Even though I believe him and think that he’s being honest, I still need to know more about this mystery drive-by kisser. “What kind of woman just randomly kisses guys on the ice rink? When they’re on a date?”

  “In her defense, I don’t think that she knew I was on a date.”

  He saw the “eat shit” look I shot him and changed his tactic.

  “But it’s a crappy thing to do. Her name is Jessica. She’s the owner of the barkery. I went there to check out the space and see what you were missing out on so that I could find you something better than what you have.”

  “You went to the barkery? And then the owner suddenly decides that it’s okay to kiss you?”

  Lance sighs and runs his hands through his hair. I remember how it felt to have my hands knotted in his hair the other day in his office, and my stomach tightens. There’s absolutely nothing sexy about a hospital gown, which sucks, because I want him.

  Oh, God, I want to have sex in the hospital bed with Lance. Even though I’m mad at him about the barkery girl. Jessica. Whatever.

  “Maggie, I’m sorry that she kissed me. I’m sorry you saw it and got hurt, but I need you to believe me that this was not my intention.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “I did not want our date to end like this.”

  I suddenly realize that I don’t know what time it is or how long I’ve been in the hospital, but before I can ask him, the door opens and a doctor strides in, holding my chart and tapping it with a pen.

  “Oh, good, you’re up. Maggie, I’m Dr. Hendrix. Your fiancé here has been taking great care of you all afternoon, but now it’s time for him to leave. You need to get some rest so that you can be discharged in the morning, okay?”

  My fiancé?

  Glancing at Lance, I see that he’s picked up on the same thing that I have. He should look guilty about lying to the doctor about our relationship, but he doesn’t. He looks pleased.

  “Okay, I’ll leave her in your capable hands, Dr.” Lance stands up and then turns to kiss me, pressing his lips to mind with urgency. I can feel his desire and moan into his mouth, immediately blushing when I realize that the doctor probably heard me.

  “You’ll come back in the morning to bring me home?” I grab his hand and don’t want to let go until he nods.

  “Yes. And Julie has made sure that Liv is okay. She’s still with your mom, so no worries, okay? Get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning. I love you.”

  He’s out the door and Dr. Hendrix is explaining to me how lucky I am that I had a concussion without any major brain bleed, how I’d still be sore for a while but can go home and rest in the morning, and how lucky I was to have someone taking such good care of me.

  “To be honest,” he says, I’ve never had a patient’s family member who wouldn’t leave like him. He was very vigilant. You’re quite lucky.”

  “I am. Thank you.”

  He nods and then walks to leave my room. “Make sure you get some sleep so that you can feel better in the morning. If you’re really tired and we get concerned, then we will keep you for longer. Good night.”

  He closes the door and I exhale, slowly laying back down in the bed. I’m alone now with the beeping and whooshing of various machines, as well as my thoughts. I can’t get over the expression on Lance’s face when he saw me sitting up in bed, and also the look when he was explaining the kiss.

  He was telling the truth.

  As much as I believe him, it still damn near killed me to see Jessica kiss him.

  I’m going to have to get over that if I want to keep him in my life.

  And, honestly, there isn’t anything that could happen that would make me want to let him go.

  Chapter 11

  Lance

  As soon as I woke up this morning, I was ready to go get Maggie. Julie checked in with Maggie’s mom and with Liv and everything was fine there, so all I need to do is get the woman of my dreams and bring her home.

  I’m halfway to the hospital, pushing the speed limit a little, when I realize what this means. If I take Maggie home – to the home she shares with her mother – not only will I meet her mother, but I will also meet Liv at the same time.

  The thought is so overwhelming that I almost pull over to the side of the road. I’m ready for this, but I don’t know if Maggie is. I know that the reason she fell yesterday was because she saw Jessica kiss me. I also know that she doesn’t want to believe that I would ever cheat on her.

  I wouldn’t, but convincing her of that may be harder than I thought, especially after Jessica’s forward debacle yesterday. I was pissed once I got home from the hospital and thought about what her stupidity had almost cost me.

  Maggie. It had almost cost me Maggie.

  Once in the parking lot, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for bringing Maggie home. I can’t help but wonder if she’s thought about the implications of me being the one to pick her up. Maybe it should have been Julie.

  These thoughts occupy my brain all the way up to her room. I wave at the nurses on my way to her door and they all wave back and giggle.

  When I open the door to her room and walk in, I can’t believe what I see.

  Julie must have swung by some clothes this morning, or maybe it was her mom, because it’s not the same outfit that she had on yesterday when we were skiing. She’s fully dressed, but sitting on the edge of her bed, like too much movement is going to wear her out.

  The way she’s dressed, I want to be the one to wear her out.

  In addition to painted on blue jeans that are so tight I think they’re going to split and pop off of her at any second, she’s wearing a skintight sweater that perfectly hugs all of her curves. It’s a deep purple and offsets the golden highlights in her hair.

  The hospital room must be colder than I thought, because I can see her nipples poking through the fabric. They’re straining to get out, and I feel my cock shift in my jeans.

  Jesus, pull it together. She’s been in the hospital.

  Maggie stands when she sees me, but sways a little, so I rush over and loop my arm around her, pulling her close to me. She exhales in relief and allows me to support more of her weight.

  “Hey, you.” Bending down, I plant a kiss on the top of her head. “You ready to break out of this place?”

  “God, yes. The food is horrible. You should have tried what they tried to pass off as bread with dinner last night.” She gives a little shudder and I laugh.

  “Spoiled, are we?”

  “In more ways than just that. You taking me home?”

  I squeeze her closer in answer, loving how her curves press up against me. She’s unsteady on her feet, so I hold her closer and tighter than is probably necessary.

  We walk slowly down the hall, both of us taking baby steps as I try to match my steps to hers. “Liv misses you, I’m sure. Maybe not as much as I do, but I think she needs her mom.”

  Maggie looks up at me and smiles. “You missed me?”

  “Hell, yeah.” Slowly I help her to a bench inside the hospital and run out into the cold to get the car moved around front to pick her up. When she slides inside with the help of a hospital aide, I put the heat on full blast, aiming it at her so that she’ll warm up.

  Without asking her, I pull out of the parking lot and head straight for her house. As much as I’d love to take her to mine – especially wearing that tight sweater she has on – her daughter needs her more.

  “Thanks for taking care of me. Dr. Hendrix says that you were really attentive.” Magg
ie breaks the silence after we’ve been in the car for a few minutes and then reaches across to take my hand. I interlace our fingers and sit in silence for a moment before answering.

  “I’d do anything to take care of you. I wish that yesterday hadn’t happened.”

  “Well, I was having a great time up until then.” Maggie chuckles and squeezes my hand.

  “Me, too. Although, I’m not sure that Ian and Julie hit it off as much as I hoped they would.”

  “No? What happened? She looked so happy and he was pretty cute.”

  I raise my eyebrow at her, and she laughs.

  “She told me this morning that after you went to the hospital that when she told him she needed to go to your mom’s he got upset that she would cut the date short. So maybe I’m not the best matchmaker of all time.”

  “Well, you can’t be good at everything, you know. Did she seem okay when you talked to her?” She’s rubbing her thumb along the back of my hand and I’m finding it hard to concentrate. I want to feel all of her bare skin under mine and I have to focus hard to keep the car centered in the lane.

  “Oh, yeah, you know Julie. More irritated at him for wasting her time than anything else. Told him that it was his loss and just strolled off, if you believe her version of events.”

  “Hmm. I’ll talk to her later today and see if I can get the whole story out of her. Julie acts really tough, you know, but there’s more to her than that.” She looks out the window and, for a moment, I can turn and watch her without her seeing me.

  God, she’s beautiful.

  “Yeah, I’m learning that about her. I hate that I missed out on so much after the funeral, but I went a little off the rails.”

  “I’ve heard.”

  My stomach sinks. Of course, she already knows what an ass I acted like. I was hoping that I could keep things to myself, but it makes sense that Julie would need her to talk to when I was acting so childish. The thought of all the things I did and the fact that Maggie had to be there for my sister when I couldn’t be makes me feel ill.

  I clear my throat. “So, we’re almost to your home. I’m sure that your mom and Liv will be thrilled to see you.”

  Maggie looks at me for a second and then recognition flashes across her face. I can see that she suddenly understands what I’m saying.

  “I don’t know how you want to handle this, Mags, so I can drop you off and not come in if you don’t want me to. The last thing I want to do is put you in an awkward position with Liv.”

  “Thank you. I don’t know…”

  We’re getting closer and closer to her house and she really needs to make a decision.

  “Your choice, Maggie.” I’m torn between parking on the street so that I can make a quick getaway and pulling up into the driveway so that she doesn’t have to walk very far. The best compromise I can come up with is to back up the driveway so that her door is close to her porch, making it difficult for anyone in the house to see who’s driving her.

  “Listen,” Maggie says, turning to me. She looks exhausted, although she is getting some color back in her cheeks. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I can’t thank you enough. You mean the world to me but I need to make sure that I protect Liv. You understand, right? I want you to meet her, I just need to make sure that it’s the right time.”

  “Yeah, I totally get it,” I tell her.

  But just at that moment, a small girl pops up to look in Maggie’s window, rapping lightly on the glass. Even though Maggie may want me to wait for a better time to meet Liv, it looks like it’s happening now.

  Maggie’s face slowly changes from a cautious smile to a huge grin when she realizes who is knocking on her window. As she turns around to face her daughter, I get a chance to look at her first.

  Liv is cute, as far as germy kids go. She has her mom’s eyes and face, and when she smiles, they look like sisters. I scan her face quickly, looking for the one thing I didn’t know I was afraid of seeing – any sign of Damien.

  Nothing.

  She may as well be a clone of her mom as far as I can tell.

  I didn’t realize that I’m holding my breath until I exhale so hard that Maggie turns to look at me. It’s obvious that she mistakes the sound for stress.

  “Well, Lance, I guess if you can fake being my fiancé with the doctor then you’re ready to meet Liv. Do you want to?”

  I nod. Of course, I want to. She’s the most important thing in Maggie’s life and I want to get to know her. Even though I never thought that I would want kids, in every version of my life together with Maggie that I have imagined over the week, Liv is there.

  Climbing trees in the backyard, playing with a dog, hell, even making a mess in the kitchen. My whole life now is Maggie, and that means that my life is Liv, too.

  Maggie grins and opens the door to greet her daughter, and I slowly get out on my side. Julie and Maggie’s mom are on the porch, watching, but Liv hasn’t noticed me yet.

  This feels like one of those pivotal moments in my life. I take a deep breath, shut my door, and walk around the front of the car to the rest of my life.

  Maggie

  Heaven is Liv’s arms wrapped so tightly around me that I can barely breathe. I’m a little dizzy, but I would never let her know that, and so I lean back against the car a little to catch my balance. Lance must see that I’m struggling, because he practically runs around the front of the car, slides his arm around my waist, and supports me.

  Liv’s eyes grow wide as she looks back and forth between the two of us. I’ve done everything I can to make sure that she wasn’t ever introduced to someone who wouldn’t be staying in our lives, which means that while I went on dates, she’s never met a man who was important to me.

  Julie, sure. Julie’s been there since day one, but no man has. I’ve honestly never met a man I thought would want to be there long-term, so none of them were ever worth bringing home.

  Until Lance.

  “Who are you?” Liv stares up at him, her mouth slightly slack, and glances at me, a small frown creasing her forehead. “Did you just drive my mom here?”

  “I did. I’m Lance.” He slips his arm from around my waist and drops down to his knees so that he can look her in the eyes. “And I’ve heard so much good stuff about you that I know you must be Liv.”

  “I haven’t heard anything about you. Good or bad.” She crosses her arms and looks at him defiantly.

  “Fair enough. You will, though.” Standing, he grabs hold of me to support me again. “Now, I need to get your mom to the house so she can rest, but I could use some help. You mind taking her other side?”

  If nothing else, Liv is a helper, and her eyes lit up as she ran to my other side to grab my leg and help me walk to the porch.

  That’s how I made it home. It was a slow trip up the sidewalk and even slower up the three stairs to the porch, but my mom and Julie pulled me straight into a hug once I got there, and I could relax.

  I was home.

  My mom had always been there for me, and then Julie came along, and she was always there. When I had Liv, I thought that my life was finally complete and that I could never love another person the way that I loved her. Now, though, Lance was back in my life, and I was happier than ever.

  Well, minus the concussion. I really could have done without that happening.

  I’m basking in the glow of being surrounded by my family before I realize that this is really it. Liv and Lance have met. Mom and Julie are helping me through the door, and I look around in a panic, wondering where the other two are.

  “We’re right here.” Lance’s voice comes from behind me and I turn to see the two of them sitting on the stairs of the porch, talking. Liv is holding her favorite rock that she keeps perched on the edge of the porch and explaining it to him. They’re both bundled up against the cold and Liv scoots closer to him for warmth.

  He’s smiling.

  “You two okay?” My voice doesn’t sound quite like mine, and I
realize how very tired I still am.

  “We’re great. Be in to see you in a minute.”

  I nod and walk through the door with Julie and Mom. Once I’m on the sofa, they both sit down next to me, Mom handing me a glass of water.

  “So that meeting went better than expected,” she says.

  I take a huge drink and nod. “This is not how I wanted them to meet. But then again, I also didn’t want a concussion.”

  “Weird night.” Julie takes my glass from me and sets it on the coffee table. “You had us running scared for a bit there last night, Mags. Don’t do that again.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t if I hadn’t seen…”

  “Seen what?” Moms always know when their kids are hiding something.

  “Just some crazy stuff at the rink.” Julie covers for me and squeezes my hand. “Hey, did Lance tell you what a jerk his friend Ian turned out to be? You think you had a bad night? I would have paid to go to the hospital just to get away from this guy.”

  She launches into her story and my mom and I listen, transfixed. We’re both gasping at the right times and Julie has us both cracking up with how she left him standing alone at the rink as she stomped off.

  “The only problem is that he was really cute, so I’m sure he ended up with someone else last night. Just pisses me off that he probably wasn’t even miserable about me walking away, you know?”

  “Don’t worry, honey. You’ll find the right person eventually.” My mom reaches over to pat her knee and gives it a squeeze. They’ve known each other for so long than Julie smiles instead of being offended.

  “You’re right, Mrs. Ward. I just really wish it would happen for me sooner rather than later.” She shrugs and stands up to stretch. “What do you need from the kitchen, Maggie? Snacks? I know there are snacks in there.”

  She wanders off to rummage through the kitchen for something to eat, leaving me and my mom alone on the sofa.

  “You want to tell me why you fell so hard, honey?”

  I really don’t, but I also know that my mom and I are close enough that the truth will come out eventually, whether I want it to or not, so I sigh and take a deep breath to tell her.