One Lucky Deal (24 page)

“Ooh, a date.” Jeannie shot her a wink.

Candace’s smile faltered and she looked up, shocked at Jeannie. Candace gasped and in disbelief uttered the word, “No?”

“Yes.” Jeannie laughed before insisting that what Tad had planned was a real date.

“No.” Candace straightened and turned back to her computer monitor.

“No? So I’m wrong that you two spent last night getting it on?”

Candace felt her face flush and after a considerable pause came clean about it. “No. You’re not wrong about that.”

“Then what makes you think I’m wrong about this?” She provided a good point.

“He doesn’t do stuff like that, and besides, we’re just friends.” Candace furrowed her brow in thought.

“Right.” Jeannie nodded. “And he hasn’t been doing other things lately that he doesn’t normally do? And you guys haven’t been toeing out of the friend boundary for awhile now, right?”

Candace sucked in a deep breath and looked up at her friend, who was perched on her desk. “A date, huh?” Candace thought about it and her belly fluttered to life and her heart jumped around in her chest. Her toes had already begun to curl and they weren’t even on the same side of town as Tad.

“Yep.” Jeannie nodded excitedly.

Candace tried to bite back the anxious and excited grin that had sneaked onto her face as she met Jeannie’s green eyes dead-on. “What would one wear on a maybe, maybe not date?”

Jeannie jumped up and down with her pink flip-flops slapping between the tiled floor and her feet. “C’mon let’s take lunch early and raid my closet.”

* * * *

Reed had shown up to the office for a minute, all golden tan and relaxed-looking. Relaxed in a way that only beaches, mai tais, and lots of sex could do. They had apparently gotten back to town last night but hadn’t called anyone. Instead, they’d just picked Chloe up from her stay with Ronnie and Joe and spent the night at home.

So tonight they had all wanted to go out and shoot the shit, apparently. Reagan was busy helping Miranda with last-minute baby shower things for Ronnie’s party this weekend so Reed had asked if Tad could text Candace and ask her to come out.

Tad had every intention of calling her but he hadn’t remembered to plug his phone in. So he quickly sent her a text before his phone died. He was going to stop by the animal clinic on his lunch hour to see her, but it was all locked up as if she’d already gone out for lunch.

So now he was just sitting there with his friends listening to Reed and Reagan talk about the Virgin Islands and how great their trip had been. Tad could only half listen because his belly was full of anxious bees. He couldn’t wait to see Candace. He didn’t care if that made him a sap. It wasn’t like he had any plans to tell or show anyone else how he felt.

Then she walked in and the image of her socked him in the gut.

It was just a little black dress with a simple square neckline, but the dress hugged her—everywhere. It cupped and pushed up her breasts and it cut off at midthigh. Tad ran a hand over his face in an attempt to nonchalantly check to make sure his tongue wasn’t hanging out of his mouth.

He hadn’t a freaking clue why she was dressed like she was, but it was going to give him a heart attack. She approached the table. Her face was masked. She was hiding how she was really feeling, and Tad didn’t want her to do that even if it was just to avoid questions—but he had a few of his own.

What was with the dress and when could he get her out of it?

“Hey!” Reagan squealed and urged Reed to scoot out so she could get out of the booth and hug her sister. Reed got out of the way and Reagan hugged Candace for the longest time. “That was too long.”

“Yeah, it was.” Candace smiled and hugged her back.

“It was torturous, I swear. I missed everyone so much. We spent like three hours a day on the phone to Chloe. I don’t ever want to do that again.” Reagan shook her head but looked fondly at her husband.

“Hey, it wasn’t all bad.” They were still glowing. Candace wouldn’t look at him. It was killing him. Tad just wanted to get her alone and quick.

“No. It wasn’t.” Reagan grinned warmly. They were still in the island state of mind apparently, because everything could be read in their eyes and their grins.

“So what’s with the dress?” Ronnie asked. Tad could have kissed her.

She sighed. “I don’t know. I just felt like getting a little fancy tonight.”

She lied. He could tell because she still avoided looking in his direction. “Who needs?”

“Me.” Joe raised his almost empty beer bottle. Reed raised his hand, and Tad slid out of the booth.

“I’ll help you,” Tad said, mostly for the benefit of the others. He walked behind her on the way to the bar, just so he could watch her sway. Candace had slipped her feet into a pair of heels, making her legs and ass killer.

When they leaned up onto the bar, Marlena came up to Candace and eyed her warily. “It’s out of my system, I promise.” Candace held her hands up in surrender. “Sorry about the other night.”

“No worries.” Marlena then went about filling her drink order.

“What’s really with the dress?” Tad asked. His body language was reserved,. but he couldn’t help how warm his voice sounded.

“Why? Do you like it?” Candace asked, her body language also standoffish.

“Hell, yes.” Tad coughed the excitement from his voice.

Candace finally turned to look at him for the first time. “I was hoping you’d think it was hot.”

“Smoking. Tell me why.” Tad discreetly ran his finger over the knuckles of her hand on the bar. He watched the goose bumps race up her arm.

“You’ll laugh at me.” Candace pulled her hand from his.

“I swear to God I won’t.”

“I thought this was a date.” Before she headed back to the table, Candace gave a nervous self-deprecating laugh as she took the beers from Marlena. It all came with a roll of the eyes that was probably supposed to cover the humiliation she was feeling, but it didn’t. Not quite.

Tad sat back and thought about what that could mean. Dumbfounded, he hung at the bar alone for a second. “Did you hear that?” Tad asked Marlena.

“What’s that, hon?” Marlena played coy.

Tad looked at her and shook his head. “Nothing.” He laughed at himself and headed back to their group of friends. He was apprehensive to approach Candace because things were still shifting around inside him.

Tad slid in beside her, anyway. Her bare thigh wound up tucked snugly against his leg, and he could feel her heat radiating through his clothes. It was sexy as hell. It was sexy as hell that she’d dressed like that on what she thought was a date with him.

His heart raced. He knew what he would do if this was some other girl. That seemed to always be their problem—she wasn’t just some other girl. A huge part of him had wanted this. It was just that somewhere it had begun to escalate into something so much bigger than he was used to. He wasn’t afraid to admit that this—that Candace still scared him. Before he could run, or hyperventilate, or spill his guts, Ronnie let out a low moan.

“What?” Joe jumped. His hand hovered over her stomach. “Are you all right?”

She reached out for his hand and she gripped it tightly and gritted her teeth, and then proceeded to take deep breaths.

“Oh God.” Reagan clasped a hand over her mouth.

“Is this happening?” Joe asked in a mixture of shock and awe.

Ronnie just nodded. “I’ve been having little ones all day. I think this is the real deal, though.”

“We’re having a baby?” Candace asked. With wide eyes, her gaze looked horrified. Tad knew she was scared for her sister, and though she wouldn’t, he wished she’d talk about it and lean on him with things like that.

“Looks that way.” Reed nodded and tipped back the rest of his beer.

“Isn’t it early?” Tad asked.

“A week.” Ronnie nodded.

“Is that dangerous?” He felt like an idiot for asking, but no one treated him like one.

“Not really.” Ronnie smiled.

“Oh God. Okay. What do we do? We need to get her to the hospital, right?” There was a hint of panic in Candace’s voice. Tad allowed himself one brief squeeze on her thigh. Candace’s hand came down off the table and she clutched his hand quickly but tightly before letting go.

“Yes, get me to a hospital. I am not going to have a baby in a bar,” Ronnie demanded.

*

“Okay, let’s go.” Reagan, the klutzy, sweet-intentioned, completely unorganized sister began rallying the troops into action, because for the first time in her life Candace felt completely out of touch with her common sense and sanity.

She was sleeping with her best friend, and not just sleeping with him; she was falling for him. Falling for someone at all was a huge step for Candace, but falling for Tad was like stepping onto the moon. Now here she was panic-stricken over what her sister was about to go through. Also, she was horribly and selfishly worried about how this was going to change the dynamic of their sisterhood—their friendships, and the group.

“Ronnie, in the cruiser.” Reagan pointed when they had all filed outside. The night was warm, but the breeze blew shivers all over Candace. “We’ll follow. Candace, go—”

“I’m coming,” Candace said adamantly.

“But we need someone to go—” Reagan shook her head.

“No. I’m coming.”

Reagan must have sensed Candace’s mood and so she turned to Tad, who had his hands stuffed helplessly in his pockets. “Can you call my parents and Stella, and pick up my mother?” Reagan asked of him.

“Of course.” Tad nodded.

“Thank you. Come on, Candace, you’re with me.” Reagan urged her to hurry up.

Candace went to follow them, but Tad snagged her by the wrist and pulled her back to whisper in her ear first. “Some first date, huh?” He grinned, and her shoulders relaxed some. Even a tentative smile spread across her face and finally she could breathe a little easier again. She was eternally grateful that sometimes he knew just what to say.

“Memorable.”

“You coming or what?” Reagan called to her.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Candace called over her shoulder.

“I’ll see you up there.” Tad nodded for her to turn and walk away. She left him with a soft, lingering gaze before she hurried to Reagan’s car. As soon as she’d slipped into the vehicle they pulled away from the curb and followed Joe in his cruiser. His lights were on and the siren was blaring.

* * * *

Tad pulled up in front of Whisper Hollow’s hospital. It was located on the very outskirts of the township, closer to the town of Glenn Hill than the small pier-side town of Whisper Hollow. Tad got there as quickly as he could.

Miranda was hard to please with her, “Step on it, Tad” and her, “You are going to get us pulled over.” He didn’t know what to do but drive carefully and push the speed limit a little bit. He had wanted her to be out of the car as quickly as possible. She made him edgy and he had plenty on his mind making him nervous as it was.

Reed met them at the entrance of the hospital. “Where is she? What’s going on?” Miranda asked. When Tad had arrived he had woken her up. Her hair was still perfectly coiffed if not slightly flat in the back, but her face was fresh and clear of makeup. Tad had never seen her like that, nor had he ever seen her in a pink velour tracksuit like the one she was sporting now.

“We tried calling you a bunch of times.” Reed rubbed the back of his neck fiercely.

“Oh yeah.” Tad pulled his dead phone out of his pocket. “It was on its last leg earlier.

“Good to know.” Reed shook his head and then looked at Miranda. “We called the house, but by the time I thought to do so Greg answered and said you guys were already on the way here. I tried calling your cell too, but Greg answered that as well.”

“Oh dear.” Miranda placed a hand over her heart. “Tell me she’s all right.”

“She’s fine,” Reed assured her.

“Then what’s the problem?” Miranda wrung her hands in a way that Tad had witnessed Candace do when she was very agitated. He wondered if she were wringing her hands right now as well. He also wondered how she was holding up. She’d looked a little ashen earlier.

“It was just Braxton Hicks.” Reed shrugged.

Miranda put a hand over her heart. “Oh, thank goodness. You were giving me quite the scare there for a minute, Reed.” She pulled her son-in-law in for a tight squeeze.

“I don’t know what that means,” Tad admitted.

“False alarm,” Reed clarified.

“So where is everyone?” Miranda asked. “I’d still like to see her.”

“Just inside. They’re just waiting for the doctors to give clearance to release her.” Reed pointed back toward the hospital.

“Are you guys coming in?” Miranda asked.

“Actually, Chloe’s home alone, and I was hoping Tad could give me a ride back. Reagan will just bring you when she comes. If that’s all right with the both of you?”

“That’s fine.” Miranda nodded, waiting to hear what Tad had to say.

He wanted more than anything to be where Candace was, but he shrugged and said, “Sure, yeah, let’s go.”

* * * *

Tad got home after playing taxi all night and he was dog tired. He’d let the dogs outside and was getting ready for bed. He had every intention of waiting up for Candace since she’d looked pretty shaken up earlier. They had plenty to talk about and she was looking like sex in a dress.

He just didn’t make it. He tried, but he’d figured she would have been coming home sooner. Eventually he trudged off to bed confused, frustrated, and mad that he wouldn’t be getting
this
dress off her, either.

* * * *

Candace came home restless. Getting Ronnie released took a bit longer than expected. Her blood pressure was too high, and Ronnie told them that it was because she not only had to deal with these mini contractions but had also been waiting to be seen for an ungodly amount of time.

Candace had hoped that Tad would have waited up for her, but she glanced at her watch and realized it was two in the morning. She went to her bed but was too wired to even lie down. She felt like she had something sitting on her chest and a sea of butterflies in her stomach.

She walked around the house for a little while pacing in circles and trying to breathe it away—shaking the tingling from her fingers. With a hand on her belly, Candace walked across the room and didn’t knock but instead just pushed inside Tad’s room.