Do Me Baby (The Beaumont Series) (21 page)

His child had been created on that cruise. That was one trip he would never forget. Rance felt a tightness at his chest at the thought of being a father. He liked kids, but had never thought much of having any of his own, at least not until his career was over.

All that was about to change for both of them. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into. But he was willing to find out. That baby growing inside Debra was a Beaumont, and he was going to make sure he was there for his child the same way Richard Beaumont had been there for him. It was going to be one helluva challenge, but he had never been one to back down from anything worth having. And he was certain that he would love that little kid with his every breath. He would never want for anything.

He nodded as he came to a decision, one he should have made at the hotel before he’d allowed her to leave. He wanted to be there to watch Debra’s body change and her belly grow with his son inside. It was a boy. He’d already decided. And just knowing she was the mother of his unborn child made him wanted to hop on the next plane to Delaware and embrace Debra protectively in his arms.

Rance shifted on the bench and spotted Kanye West up in the DJ stand. There were beautiful women with bodies out of this world surrounding him. But Rance found himself comparing them to Debra. She was in a class all by herself. At the mere sight of her smile, his body came to life.

God, the scent of her. Better yet, the taste of her. The feel of her lush body aligned with his and the soft cries she made when he was buried deep. His body stirred and he shifted uncomfortably at the ache at his chest that had become all too familiar. He was filled with so many emotions he’d never felt before. The feelings made him wish for things he never thought of having with any woman except Debra.

Damn. He’d gone and done the one thing he said he’d never do.

He had fallen in love.

Chapter 21

Debra stood back with her arms crossed, grinning at the new pink sign being hung on Main Street.

DebbieCakes
.

Giggling, she was ready to ask someone walking up the sidewalk to pinch her, because this had to be a dream. How many years had she spent thinking about this exact moment?

There was still a great deal of renovating to be done, but she was on her way and that was all that mattered. This was her legacy. What she would someday leave to her daughter. Thinking about her unborn child, Debra brought a protective hand to her stomach.

It had been almost a week since she’d stormed out of Rance’s hotel room, yet she hadn’t seen or heard a word from him. He was still mad, and part of her couldn’t blame him. She reminded herself with a frown that she had handled the situation all wrong. As soon as she had suspected she was pregnant, she should have told him. Rance was right. They’d talked on the phone almost every evening, and she should have shared her suspicions. Or better yet, as soon as Dr. Lipmann had confirmed the pregnancy she should have told Rance. He was the father. He had every right to know. She had been wrong, and for that she took full responsibility.

But then there was the other part of her that believed Rance’s lack of trust was the reason she had held back. She knew he wasn’t going to be happy to hear about the pill’s “two percent failure rate.” If she had been in his shoes, she probably would have had a hard time believing it. However, at least he might have considered the possibility that she was telling the truth.

Noticing the people staring as they walked up and down the sidewalk, Debra dropped her hand from her belly. Ever since she’d been seen at the nationally televised basketball game, residents had been coming into the bakery with knowing looks and questions about an upcoming wedding. It took everything she had to simply laugh and tell them she and Rance were just friends, even though deep down inside her heart was aching.

Debra glanced at her watch and noticed it was time to go. With a smile, she took one final look at the storefront and then hurried to her car.

* * *

“Deb, over here!”

She swung around to find her little sister waving in her direction. The moment Debra saw Harmony’s radiant smile, her entire face lit up. The nineteen-year-old was home to bring havoc to her life for the next six weeks before she joined her college roommate in South Beach for some fun and relaxation prior to returning to campus to start their sophomore year.

“I didn’t think you’d ever get here,” Debra said as she wrapped an arm around her sister’s tall, lanky frame.

“The plane kept getting delayed for mechanical issues. It was crazy.” Harmony released her and gave her big sister a quick once-over. “Look at you. Your skin’s glowing.”

Debra’s eyes bunched with surprise. Was her body already showing signs of pregnancy? “Drinking plenty of water will do that,” Debra said in a rush and avoided eye contact by reaching down for her sister’s rolling suitcase and heading toward the parking garage. When the time was right she’d tell Harmony about the baby, but not now. She wasn’t prepared yet for all the questions she was sure to ask. The main one being, the father of her child.

On the ride home they chatted nonstop about her prime storefront property. She drove her sister by to see it. Harmony was just as excited as she was, and Debra was grateful that she shared her dream. The young student spent all her summers working at the bakery, helping her with cupcake orders. Harmony had also taken classes in cake decorating, and after years of practice she required minimal supervision. Debra was grateful, because for the next six weeks she was going to need her sister’s help.

While Harmony walked around the new bakery, trying not to get plaster on her new sandals, Debra stood back admiring the teenager. She couldn’t get over how beautiful a woman her sister had become, with a butter toffee complexion, the same gold-green eyes that lit up an entire room, and unruly honey-blonde hair. While Debra was thick and voluptuous, Harmony was tall, with shapely dancer legs and small breasts. She had taken after their mother.

They finally made it to the apartment, and Debra helped Harmony carry her things into the spare bedroom. “Sorry, I’m still unpacking.” The room was lined with boxes, but at least she’d had the sense to have the movers set up the bed. “Your things are somewhere in these boxes.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll finish this room. I still can’t believe that ass, stole your apartment,” Harmony fumed as she lowered a bag onto the bed.

“Harmony!” Debra scolded with a frown.

The feisty teenager blew out a long breath. “Sorry, I’m just saying… Bianca and I helped you find that apartment, so why did he get to keep it?”

Debra shrugged. At one point she had been just as angry as Harmony. Since then she’d had the chance to meet and fall in love with Rance, and she had to silently thank Sony for making that happen. She never would have taken a cruise by herself if she and Sony had still been together. “It’s no big deal. I’m happier without him, and I’ll buy my own condo on the beach in a year or two after the new bakery turns a profit.” She gave her a confident smile. “Besides, I sold Sony’s truck and took some of the money and bought you something.” Debra tilted her head toward the closet.

Harmony’s brow bunched with curiosity as she hurried across the room and swung open the closet door. As soon as she looked up at the box on the shelf she started jumping up and down like a child on Christmas morning. “OMG! You got me a MacBook!” She reached for it, carried it over to the bed and opened the box. “I can’t believe you got this!” Harmony’s eyes brimmed with tears as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around Debra. “Sis, thank you so much.”

Debra hugged her back. “You’re welcome. I know how much you’ve been wanting one.” Before she got all weepy-eyed, Debra squeezed her once more and released her. “Okay, go ahead and get settled in. I’ve got laundry to do.” With a two-finger wave she was out into the hall before the first tear rolled down her cheek. She and Harmony had gone through so much together. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her little sister.

And she was determined to do the same for her baby.

“What do you have to eat?” Harmony asked an hour later. Debra was sitting at the small table in the kitchen working on inventory for the bakery.

Without looking up, she pointed to the refrigerator. “There’s some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge.”

“Ooh, sounds delicious,” she said and padded across the vinyl floor with bare feet. While she microwaved her plate, she flopped down in a chair across from Debra and asked between chews, “So, have you been dating anyone?”

Debra’s head snapped up to meet her sister’s intense gaze and then there was that swerve of nerves at the pit of her stomach again. Obviously, Harmony hadn’t been reading the tabloids.

“No one in particular, why?”

Harmony’s eyes softened with concern. “Because I want to see you happy. I never thought Sony was the right man for you.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? You never said anything.”

Harmony shrugged. “I didn’t think it was my place to say anything. I figured if my sister was happy, then so was I.”

Debra grinned at her little sister. She was smarter than she had given her credit for. “It wasn’t until we split up that I realized what we had wasn’t love.”

Rance had been responsible for that. She felt a tightening at her chest from just thinking about him. Did he miss her at all? she wondered. Maybe she shouldn’t have stormed out of his hotel room. But there was no way she was marrying him just because she was pregnant. All it would have taken was for him to say he loved her and she would have rushed into his arms and said yes. But that wasn’t the case. The only reason he had proposed was because he was being responsible. And that wasn’t good enough for her.

“It’s seven o’clock,” Harmony said, shattering her thoughts and drawing her back to the moment. “Game time.”

Debra gazed over at her sister. “You watch basketball?”

“Who doesn’t?” she laughed.

Rising, she scraped off her plate and put it inside the dishwasher, then scurried into the living room. Unable to resist, Debra put down her pen and followed.

“The Sixers and the Knicks are playing. It’s game seven tonight,” Harmony said by way of explanation, because she had no idea Debra had been following the series. “Whoever wins this, moves on to play Miami.” She flicked through the channels until she found the pregame show with Charles Barkley and Shaq, then lowered onto the red leather couch.

Debra took a seat at the opposite end and dragged her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Her body was trembling with anticipation. While Harmony went on and on about how gorgeous Nerlens Noel, the new center for the Sixers, was she watched the highlights from the last game. There was Rance, sailing through the air, slamming in the last two-point shot. Even on television that man had the power to make her pulse race and goose bumps run down her arm.

Before she knew it, the national anthem had been sung and it was game time.

It was an intense game, and during the entire first half she and Harmony were jumping out of their seats, screaming at the players and the referees. During half-time they popped a bowl of popcorn and went over the details of the first half, agreeing that the Sixers needed to bring it the second half in order to win. By the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, Debra was biting her nails. She saw Rance’s face and knew those worry line anywhere.

I know you better than you think.

It was amazing how much she had learned to love about that man in such a short period of time. After his injury, and being out last season, going to the finals meant everything to him.

Unfortunately, the Knicks landed a three-pointer at the last two seconds of the game, ending the series 112-111. Debra saw the pain on Rance’s face and her heart clenched. She wished she had been there.

A news reporter caught him on his way to the locker room.

“Rance, what are your thoughts about tonight’s game?”

He looked sweaty and tired, and when he spoke he was slightly out of breath,
“Well, we came here to win tonight. Unfortunately, the Knicks played harder. We couldn’t get the ball when we needed to, and there were more turnovers this game than we would have liked, and that cost us some key points
.” He scowled.
“The Knicks are a great franchise and we look forward to seeing how far they go in this conference.”

“What are you plans now that the season is over?”

“Assessing my injuries for next season and getting myself physically and mentally where I need to be. But for now I’m looking forward to the off season to further my relationship with my girl.”
And then Rance looked into the camera as if he knew she was listening and said,
“Debra Anderson, get ready, because I’m on my way.”

Harmony whipped around on the chair with an astonished look on her face. “Did he just say Debra Anderson?”

Shock rushed from Debra’s veins. “I was getting ready to ask the same thing.”

“OMG!” Confusion was etched on Harmony’s face. “Are you smashing Dr. Dribble?”

“Smashing?” Debra frowned in her direction. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“Then what would you call it? Because he’s on his way to Sheraton Beach.”

Don’t remind me.

“Deb, seriously, was he talking about you?”

She swallowed, then nodded, unable to find the words to explain.

Harmony let out a long, slow whistle. “Wait until I tell my friends at school that my sister is dating Rance Beaumont!” She stopped and gave Debra a long look, and then her eyes grew wide. “Is he related to Bianca?”

Still speechless, all Debra could do was nod.

“This is unbelievable! All this time, and I had no idea.” Harmony was shaking her head with disbelief. “And he’s on his way to get his boo,” she reminded her with laughter.

Debra couldn’t do anything but sit there in a daze. There was no way this was happening. She was trembling. Rance was headed to Sheraton Beach. For what? she wondered. She knew it was because of the baby, but there had to be more, much more. Why else would he have called her his girl on national television?