Winning Dawn (12 page)

He was beginning to feel desperate on Friday evening when he did his now customary drive by. His heart lurched when he saw her SUV in the drive.

He almost expected her to ignore him as he knocked at the door. But she opened up right away. He could tell she had been crying. She was sniffing and her eyelids were puffy. Pregnancy hormones, he thought with dismay. Should they have kicked in already? “What’s wrong?” he asked, hoping she wouldn’t say it was something as trivial as a broken nail.

“I lost my job.”

“Dawn, I’m so sorry.” He didn’t think about it. He pulled her into his arms, stroking her from her neck to her lower back. The hair at the nape of her neck was soft and sexy. She smelled as sweet as he recalled. Like a tropical flower. “What happened?”

“The firm declared bankruptcy.” She sighed and withdrew from his embrace. He reluctantly let her go. “It’s a long story and I don’t believe they told us all of it. There are rumors about embezzling, but nothing has been confirmed. Suffice it to say that Myers & Donahue is done.”

“I’m sure you can find something else. You’re bright, capable—”

“But I need health insurance now. I can’t afford to keep paying for it and this place if I don’t have a job.”

He wet his lips. “I may have a solution.”

“You’re offering me a job?”

He took a deep breath and plunged right in. It was a big risk on his part, opening his heart to her, but he didn’t see as he had any other choice. He wanted Dawn and he would have her. “Of sorts,” he said, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her face to his. He couldn’t resist rubbing his thumb across her full bottom lip. “Marry me.”

* * * *

“No.”

He let his hand drop. “No hesitation at all. You really know how to wound a guy.”

She glared at him. “I know that you know about the baby. I don’t want to marry a guy who’s marrying me out of some sense of obligation. And I don’t want a man who doesn’t know how to be faithful.” So why did she want to say yes?

Dawn turned away from him. This was too hard. And it wasn’t fair. How dare he show up looking gorgeous in a black turtleneck sweater and fitted jeans when she looked and felt so miserable? The color emphasized his beautiful dark eyes and the jeans molded his sculpted thighs lovingly. And then he had the audacity propose to her? True, it wasn’t much of a proposal. It was more like an afterthought. But that was Evan for you—straightforward and brash.

“What makes you think I don’t know how to be faithful?”

“I’ve seen you with two different women in the last week,” she reminded him.

“Those women—”

She whirled on him. “If you say those women meant nothing I will slap you so hard, you won’t wake up until next Christmas,” she flashed.

He held his hands up as though in surrender. “Dawn,” he said softly, “I haven’t so much as touched another woman in a sexual manner since our first time together. Hell, since that kiss at Josh and Kayla’s dinner party, I haven’t been able to think of anyone but you.”

The romantic comment surprised her coming from Evan because she knew he meant it. She realized in that moment that she trusted him. She’d never doubted that he was telling her the truth. “So supposing I believe that you can be faithful—”

“I’ve never cheated on any woman I’ve been with.”

She nodded her acceptance of his answer. “I still can’t marry you.”

“Why? Don’t you want to marry me?”

She avoided that question. “I don’t want you to marry me out of obligation. We don’t have to be married to have a baby.”

He took her hands and held them up to his muscled chest. She closed her eyes. “No, look at me.” When she complied, he continued. “I want you to be my wife. I’ll be the best husband I can possibly be to you. I know you don’t love me like you loved Reggie, but I won’t let a day go by when I won’t try to prove to you that you made the right choice. I’ll take care of you. I’ll add you to my health insurance. You won’t have to work. You can go back to school and finish your degree.”

Eyes brimming with tears, she looked away. “Those are all very logical reasons.”

“And then there’s the passion. Do you need to hear how much I want you?”

But I want love
, she thought, but was afraid to say it. He would scoff at it like he once had at the idea of commitment. This may be as much as she could expect. It was certainly as much as Evan was willing to offer her. She lowered her head to rest it on one broad shoulder. She needed him and she wanted him. Marrying him because of the baby would be selfish and wrong. He kissed her forehead tenderly. She closed her eyes and prepared to tell him no again.

“Please, Dawn.”

She sighed. “Yes.”

Chapter 16

They married at the Justice of the Peace the following Monday because Evan didn’t want to wait. Dawn suspected that he feared she would change her mind. He was probably right. She had her doubts up until the last minute as to whether she should go through with the marriage. She wore a simple white sheath dress. Her mother loaned her a pearl necklace and earrings. She weaved white flowers in her hair. Evan wore a black suit and a white shirt and tie.

He held her hands as they recited their vows, his voice low, steady and solemn. He surprised her during the brief ceremony by slipping not only a two carat diamond ring on her finger but also a wedding band surrounded with pave set diamonds. “Oh, Evan,” she whispered. “They’re beautiful.” The platinum rings glittered white fire on her hand.

“Not as beautiful as you.”

She felt self-conscious during the kiss as everyone at their ceremony had known about their relationship for only a week. They had dined at her mother’s house the night before. Evan had insisted on asking her mother for her hand in marriage. Alma had looked him over, interrogated him to within an inch of his life, and finally said, “Well, yes, since you’ve already impregnated my daughter, you might as well marry her.” Once Evan was in the car waiting for her, Alma admitted that she liked him and thought he was a vast improvement over Reggie.

Their small group of guests applauded as they broke apart. Josh hugged her and welcomed her to the family. The reception was held at Evan’s house. Because of the hurry in which they had planned their wedding, Evan and Alma had served as caterers. Alma made a caramel apple cheesecake and a simple two tier wedding cake decorated with lavender sugar flowers. Evan made hors d’oeuvres. As she was moving in her belongings over the weekend, she’d discovered that cooking was a passion of Evan’s. One of the shelves in his home office was filled from top to bottom in cook books. When she’d asked about it, he’d shrugged. He’d had to take care of Josh so he’d learned to cook.

More guests arrived at the house for the reception. Jenna Mae had been unable to make it to the ceremony, but met them at the house with a gift and Marshall in tow. Friends of Evan’s joined them also.

She was weaving around among their guests, nursing a goblet of grape juice, her and Kayla’s choice of symbolic wine, when she overheard Evan’s friends Lucas and his girlfriend Mandy discussing Evan’s first wife. “I never met Sylvia,” Mandy was saying in her slightly high-pitched voice. She seemed quite nice, but a tad on the dim side.

“She was hot. Thin, like Evan usually likes them, not at all curvy like our sexy little Dawn.” His words were cut off abruptly with an, “Oof.” She supposed Mandy had given him an elbow to the ribs. She was standing around the corner from them and was loathe to give away her position. Eavesdropping was rude, she knew, but she was eager to hear more about Sylvia as Evan wasn’t given to talking about her.

“But no one’s as sexy as you, babe,” Lucas continued a bit breathlessly.

“Mm.” Mandy didn’t sound particularly appeased.

“Anyway, she left him for some other guy. It was probably for the best.” He laughed. “Evan used to describe her as his ‘perfect glass of water.’”

Dawn frowned, thinking she had heard more than enough. She didn’t need to know how much Evan had once loved Sylvia or how perfect and beautiful she was. She had enough to fret about without worrying about competing with his ex-wife.

She saw her mother and Kayla standing by the remnants of the wedding cake. They’d taken several photos of it before cutting it. And, of course, they had pictures of her and Evan making the first slice. Kayla’s stomach was only slightly rounded and not visible in her pink suit unless she was molding the fabric to her belly as she was currently. They were discussing baby names. She still didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl so they were trying out names for both.

Dawn put a hand over her flat tummy. When the time came, she wanted to know the sex of her baby. Josh approached her with a smile. “You’ve made my brother a very happy man today.”

She glanced over at Evan who was now in deep discussion with Marshall, and tilted her head in consideration. “You think so? I seem to recall him not wanting to commit to
dating
. Now I’ve leg shackled him for at least nine months.”

“Dawn, he wanted to marry you. Trust me, there would have been no dragging him to the altar if that wasn’t the case.”

She nodded and murmured, “Of course,” but was not at all convinced. She took a sip of her grape juice.

“Don’t underestimate my brother. He can surprise you every once in a while. The thing about Evan is he’ll always be there for you when you need him—whether you want him there or not.”

She wrinkled her nose. Marrying her was his way of being there for her, she supposed. She downed the remainder of her juice. “I need a refill.” She escaped into the kitchen. She wasn’t a drinker, but if she wasn’t pregnant, she’d want a drink right about now. She glanced at her watch. It would be time for her evening nap soon. She needed one every day now. She wasn’t generally a nap taker, but her body was currently demanding she take a break while it was busy baby making.

She was filling her glass when Evan walked in, a beer in hand. “I love them, but damn, I’ll be glad when the lot of them is gone and we can have the house to ourselves.”

She smiled then stifled a yawn behind her hand.

He stood straighter. “You’re tired. Say the word and I’ll tell them all to get out.”

“You can’t. It would be rude.”

“I can. Watch me.”

She grasped one muscled forearm before he could leave the kitchen. “Don’t. I’m fine.”

He turned and pulled her into his arms, fitting their bodies together from chest to thigh. It was a heady experience being surrounded by all that hard muscle. She barely managed to contain a moan. “Don’t think this is all for you. The sooner I get rid of them, the sooner I get to have you beneath me naked.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. She offered him a fuller kiss, but he refused. “No. Once I start kissing you, I won’t be satisfied until I’m buried in your tight pussy.”

She swallowed. “Okay, do it. But be subtle. And polite,” she called after him.

“Party’s over, folks,” she heard him call out in the den. She winced. She’d finally met her match, she thought with a shake of her head. “Dawn needs her rest,” Evan continued. “We’d like to thank you all for attending on such short notice.”

She put down her glass and hurried out in time to hug her family and friends goodbye.

Chapter 17

Dawn liked to think she was a smart woman despite her past stupid relationship mistakes. It took her only a week to realize she was totally in love with her husband. Evan worked at home during the day, but he took breaks to make her lunch and dinner. They spent their evenings together snuggled up on the couch watching movies or simply talking about the baby or cooking. Then he’d draw her bubble bath. After which, he’d massage her all over with baby oil. She told him he was spoiling her. He said it was necessary for her to retain skin elasticity. He’d been reading pregnancy books also. After the massage, he’d make love to her. Sometimes, it was slow and sweet. Other times, it was a hard, fast fuck that had her toes curling and her nails scoring his back while she begged for more.

But it was as he slept one morning, his thick lashes dark and lush against his golden skin, his face relaxed in repose, that she realized that she was in love with him. A lock of his hair had fallen over his brow. She brushed it back into place. He smiled and murmured her name.

Her heart seized. He looked happy. At the thought of her. Dear Lord, he was such a good man. She had never been treated with the respect and the love with which Evan treated her. He was kind, considerate, and honest to a fault.

And then she panicked. What if she lost him? After all, he’d only married her for the baby. What if he still loved is ex-wife? His perfect woman who’d left him. What could she do to keep him? How could she make him love her in return?

He stretched suddenly. When his eyes opened, they met hers. His lips curved upward in greeting. “Morning.” His voice was gravelly from sleep and his cheeks were rough with stubble. He was beautiful.

“Morning,” she said in return. She wet her lips. “What would you like for breakfast?”

He arched a brow. “Don’t I usually ask you that question?”

“I’m treating you today.”

“What’s the special occasion?”

“It’s our one week anniversary and I haven’t fixed you a meal yet.” She realized she hadn’t done much of anything for him yet. Well, with the exception of purchasing his Christmas gift. She’d found the perfect present for him over the weekend. It was software to organize recipes. It combined his love of cooking with his love of computer software. She’d noticed that he also had a penchant for organization.

He stretched again and she followed the play of muscles in his arms and chest with her eyes. He smiled at her. “Surely, you’re sated? I think I’ve been too rough on you lately.”

She wet her lips, recalling how he’d placed one of her legs over his shoulder while he drove his cock deep into her pussy. Her body pulsed at the memory. While she lay there bemused, he slid out of bed. “You rest. I’ll make you breakfast. You need to keep up your energy.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before he was back with a stack of apple cinnamon pancakes and a bottle of pancake syrup. She moaned in delight at the first taste. “These are delicious.”