Just His Type (Part Two) Read online

  "Besides," Joe said softly as he broke the kiss to look down at me with bright blue eyes. "I like you just the way you are."

  I smiled and reached up to run my hands through Joe's short auburn hair. It was thick and soft with a bit of a wave to it; hair any woman would kill for. He purred as I flexed my fingernails against his scalp.

  "I like you too," I whispered.

  "Like," Joe paused and there was an enigmatic smile on his face. "That's not a bad start."

  I arched an eyebrow as Joe chuckled. He leaned in to kiss me softly.

  "Anything else you'd like darlin'?"

  I grinned. "I'd like you to take your clothes off," I teased. "And then I'd like you to make love to me."

  Joe's hand closed possessively over my lace-clad breast. He squeezed gently. His chest rested against my arm and I could feel how quickly his heart was beating. It matched my own.

  "I'd like to do that," he murmured and then his mouth claimed mine again and nothing more was said.

  ~~~***~~~

  "How tall are you?" Joe asked, his voice husky with sleep. My hand lay resting on his chest and he entwined his fingers through mine and gave them a comforting little squeeze. We were both floating on a lazy, post-coital cloud and it made it hard to move.

  "Five-foot-nine, in my socks. Why? How tall are you?"

  "Six-four," Joe mumbled. I could feel him rubbing his fingers against the cool smoothness of my engagement ring, another strangely comforting gesture. "I was just wondering how tall our kids would be."

  I sat up. "Kids? Plural? Kids with an 's'? As in more than one?" My heart was beating much too quickly. I looked down at him with what had to be shock.

  Joe chuckled before he reached up to brush his fingers against my bottom lip. The sensation made my insides jump. "Don't tell me you want just one, Rhi? I can't imagine being an only child, it'd be too lonely."

  I slumped back down beside Joe and let myself laugh.

  "It was," I confessed. "I wouldn't wish that childhood on anyone. But who says our baby has to have brothers and sisters anyway? She'll have cousins galore eventually."

  Joe shook his head. "Cousins just ain't the same thing as brothers and sisters. My brothers and sisters are the best part of my life. Can't imagine life without them."

  I couldn't reply. It wasn't just that I had no point of reference for what he was saying, it was that Joe had given thought to our baby. What she might look like, how tall she would be, what sort of older sister she'd be someday. A veil of tears threatened to spring up but I fought to keep them down.

  "You know," Joe said sleepily when the silence had stretched on a little too long. "You always call the baby 'she' and 'her'... do you know if it's a girl already?"

  I shook my head, bumping Joe's chin and we both laughed. "I guess you could say it's just a hunch. I won't know for a while—if I want to know, that is. Do you want to know before the baby is born whether it's a girl or a boy?"

  Joe kissed my forehead and I looked up to see him close his eyes, a contented smile on his face. "Nah," he sighed sleepily. "Doesn't matter to me one way or the other if it's a boy or a girl. I'd kinda like a girl though, so I'll follow your hunch on that. And why would I want to know if it's a boy or a girl before the baby's born? Isn't that like knowing what you're gonna get for Christmas beforehand? Where's the fun in that?"

  I giggled. "Well, I guess some people like to know ahead of time, so they can paint the baby's room and buy all the right colored clothing, you know little frilly pink dresses or little blue denim overalls, stuff like that.."

  "Some people are too uptight. What's it matter what color the baby's clothes are as long as she's got all her fingers and toes?"

  "And what if she doesn't?" I asked in a whisper. It had been one of those fears crowded at the back of my brain since the day I'd found out I was going to be a mother and it surprised me to hear it voiced aloud. I hadn't expected myself to admit that to anyone.

  Joe opened his eyes; his sapphire gaze was both serious and gentle. "Darlin', then we'll just love her all the more for her missing parts."

  I cried then.

  Joe said nothing. He pulled me into the circle of his arms and let me cry all my fears into the warmth of his neck until I felt light, drained of them. He didn't say anything, didn't spout out all those meaningless platitudes that any other person would automatically resort to. He just let me cry until the ache in my lungs subsided enough that I fell asleep.

  ~~~***~~~

  The ringing noise woke me instantly. Joe stirred beside me, still asleep. The afternoon sun had settled below the bluff, throwing our little cottage in the cove into dusky darkness. We must have slept for a few hours, longer than I'd meant to at any rate.

  "Wassat?" Joe muttered. He tossed a thick arm over his eyes and grunted unhappily.

  "My cell phone," I said, slipping from between the warm sheets. I tried to pretend Joe didn't watch my naked progress into the main room to find my handbag. But the greediness of his gaze was flattering. The little extra swish in my hips just might have been for his benefit.

  I dug about in my bag until I found my phone and flipped it open without even checking to see who's number flashed up on the screen.

  "Rhi!" Lilly's cheerful voice came scratchily through, proving phone reception wasn't great in the cove. "Where are you? It's Sunday. You said you were coming to dinner! Adam's cooking for us. Adele's already here!"

  Shit. "Already?" I echoed, frantically trying to muster my wits. I'd forgotten all about the dinner invite Lilly had extended over drinks Friday night, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings and tell her that. "I'm sorry," I lied quickly. "I thought maybe we'd be eating later."

  "It's five and we're just going to start into hors d'ouvres. Are you still coming?"

  I looked over my shoulder at the languid, large, naked form of Lilly's brother rising from the rumpled sheets of our bed.

  "Yeah, yeah I'm still planning on coming," I stuttered. I tried frantically to think. I didn't want to just ditch Joe, not if I was going to dinner at his own sister's house, but I wasn't sure he'd been invited. If he had, he'd failed to mention it.

  Lilly babbled on about bacon-wrapped scallops and white asparagus spears and some other nonsense I hardly understood. Joe came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me before bending down, moving aside the tangle of my hair and kissing my neck.

  "Uh, Lil," I spat out, interrupting her mid-sentence. Joe made his way to my ear and I felt myself losing the ability to put together coherent thought. "Do you think I could bring someone with me?"

  "S-sure," Lilly said quickly. "Shouldn't be a problem. There's plenty to eat."

  "Thanks," I sighed. I swatted at Joe with my free hand, but he just chuckled and took the abuse.

  "You're with a guy!" Lilly exclaimed, laughing. "Oh Rhi, I'm sorry to interrupt!" She giggled again. I was struck immediately at what a change that was from the old Lilly, the one who would have blushed and stammered and more than likely changed the subject. Obviously Adam had a good effect on her. "Is this a new one?"

  "Uh..." I paused, uncertain. "Not exactly."

  Joe cupped my right breast in his wide hand, squeezing gently. I bit back a moan.

  "R-really," Lilly drawled with a giggle. "An old one came crawling back huh?" I tried to correct her, but words didn't come. Joe was exerting a pleasant sort of pressure on my nipple and my tongue felt thick in my mouth.

  A man's voice rumbled in the background, joining the musical trill of Lilly's laughter into the phone. "Adam says he can push dinner back to 6:30 and wants to know if that'll give you two enough time to get cleaned up and dressed?"

  "6:30 will be just fine," I gasped, trying to twist of out Joe's teasing embrace. I felt his cock beginning to harden against my ass as I struggled to free myself but that wasn't helping manners any. I managed to whirl about and give him a dirty look. Joe just grinned.

  "Do I know this one?" Lilly prompted, laughing again.

  "You could
say that," I replied, trying not to laugh as Joe came at me again with a lusty grin.

  "Gonna drop any hints Rhi? Or should I just plan on being surprised when you two arrive?" Lilly asked. I heard Adam laughing in the background and I couldn't help but wonder if he'd guessed before her. He didn't strike me as the type who missed much.

  I hesitated. It was the perfect opening in two ways. I could just leave it for the moment when Lil opened her door to find me and her brother standing there together. Still I couldn't shake the feeling of guilt from the last time I'd surprised her like that. At least if I warned her it would give her time to prepare. Or to refuse to see me.

  "It's Joe," I spat out quickly before I could change my mind. My stomach did somersaults and I held my breath.

  "Oh," Lilly replied. There was an awkward moment of silence. "Well." She cleared her throat. Joe must have sensed something was wrong by the look on my face because he took a step back and looked worried too.

  "Well," Lilly repeated with a little sigh. "You tell Joe that I made Angel Food Cake for dessert, from Mom's recipe. It's his favorite, although mine's probably not as good as hers."

  "I'm sure your Angel Food Cake is just lovely," I responded automatically. Joe's bright blue eyes lit up. He grinned before he headed towards the bedroom and started digging around for clothes. "Thanks Lilly," I sighed with relief.

  It took her a moment to respond, and I got the impression she was choosing her words carefully.

  "No problem, Rhiannon. After all, everyone deserves a second chance.”

  Chapter Five

  Joe and I sat in his truck outside of Lilly's apartment in silence. My stomach was churning with nervousness and I didn't feel good.

  "Ready for this?" I asked. My voice wobbled.

  Joe cleared his throat. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

  I looked down at my left hand, where Joe's tiny engagement ring sparkled on my fourth finger. I wasn't sure if I was ready to tell Lilly about that yet, since it meant I'd have to tell her about the baby. But I didn't want to hurt Joe's feelings and take it off. I didn't know what to do.

  Joe took my hand and kissed the back of it. He touched the small diamond and smiled sadly. "I'll understand, darlin'."

  I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. Was it fair to Joe to pretend that the ring didn't exist; that the question had never been asked? I took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. Lilly was an adult and besides, I couldn't control her reaction. If she was giving me a second chance, then I should be honest with her from the beginning.

  "Well, let's get this over with," I said in a fake bright voice. I opened the door to Joe's truck and slid out. He did the same. We crossed to the stairs of Lil's second story flat.

  "You first?" I prompted.

  Joe nodded and took a deep breath. He reached out and squeezed my arm and then led the way to Lilly's front door.

  She answered his knock with a shy smile and I couldn't read her expression. She seemed warm and friendly enough, but she was a Tanner and I knew all too well how still and deep the waters ran with that clan.

  "Adele's in the livingroom with Nate," she said. "Adam's just about ready to go with dinner, so why don't the two of you join them? Would you like a drink?"

  Joe requested a rye and water, but I kept quiet. If I turned down a drink I'd have to explain why, since Lil would never believe I was simply abstaining for the fun of it. I knew I'd have to tell her at some point in the evening, but I didn't want it to be the first thing out of my mouth.

  Adele's flirtatious laughter drifted from in the other room, which piqued my curiosity. Who was Nate anyway? Did she bring a date and not tell me? I didn't even know she was dating someone. It hurt to think there might be someone new in her life and she hadn't told me about it, although to be fair, I'd had other things on my mind lately.

  Adam was leaning in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, his arms crossed over a t-shirt-and-apron covered chest. He flashed me a sexy, welcoming smile over his shoulder which I instantly returned.

  "Hey, gorgeous," he teased. His smile was all teeth. The damn man looked like a movie-star, except for the tattoos. A small part of me wished I was the one he had stared at that night at the bar two months ago, but he only ever had eyes for Lilly. "Glad you two could finally join us."

  "Thanks for holding dinner," I laughed. "I didn't mean to complicate things."

  Adam looked past me to Joe and gave him a crooked grin full of innuendo. "I figured you two had better things to do."

  Joe actually blushed, which sent Adam and me into a peal of laughter. Adele inquired into what was so funny from the living room. She sounded happy. She hadn't sounded truly happy in a long, long time.

  "Come meet someone," Adam prompted, taking my arm. Joe followed and the three of us stepped into Lilly's cozy livingroom. Adele was seated at one end of the couch, and a blond-haired man at the other. The two of them were smiling at each other with a look I recognized and which might bode trouble. The man rose to his feet and smiled shyly at me.

  "Rhi, Joe, this is my best friend Nate. Nate, this is Rhiannon Barnes and this Lilly's big brother, Joe."

  The blond man held out a hand, which I took. I knew my jaw had hit the floor but I couldn't keep the shocked expression off my face. The handsome man shaking my hand was clothed in head-to-toe black and wore a clerical collar.

  "Reverend Nathaniel Fontaine," he chuckled. "And don't worry, I get that look all the time," he laughed over my shoulder at Joe, who was making mumbled excuses for me, before moving to shake his hand too.

  "Your best friend is a priest?" I sputtered to Adam, who was laughing.

  "Actually, I'm a Presbyterian Minister," Nate explained politely. "It's a little different."

  There was such an odd dichotomy between the two it was positively comical. Like something out of a sitcom really, the dark, tattooed former-bad-boy and the angelic blond man-of-the-cloth. I threw back my head and laughed.

  "I'm sure there's a story there," I giggled as I sank onto the couch beside Adele, who joined in my laughter. "Are you going to tell it?"

  "Nate saved my life when I was in prison," Adam admitted with a sheepish grin. "Not physically, mind you, more like metaphorically."

  "Now if only I could convince him to go to church," Nate muttered with a teasing laugh. He sat down in an empty armchair. "There's not much to tell really. I met Adam while I was the chaplain at a correctional center. Understandably it was a difficult time for Adam but we struck up a friendship as best we could. When I took a parish here on the Island I suggested he move here too. I thought it would be a good place for a fresh start and his parole officer agreed. That's all there is to it."

  Lilly entered the room with a rye and water in hand and passed it to Joe, who took a grateful sip. He had said very little since we'd arrived and looked a little awkward and out of sorts. I smiled encouragingly at him. I knew he wasn't completely comfortable with Adam's past and really I couldn't blame him. Joe had always been protective of Lilly, of all his younger siblings. Lilly tended to gripe and moan about it, but she had no idea how lucky she was to even have a brother who cared so much.

  Adam told the story of how Nate had put in a good word for him with the owner of the La Langoustine Fâchée, a parishioner of the good reverend's. That was how Adam started working at the most exclusive restaurant on the Island. I was struck by how easily the two men worked Adam's incarceration into the conversation, like it was nothing to be ashamed of, although if that was Adam's feeling on the whole thing then I guess it wasn't. It didn't matter to me one way or the other, the man was just too nice to look at to hold past sins against him.

  Joe stood awkwardly to one side, watching as Adele asked Nate questions about his parish and life on the Island. I followed along as best I could without really understanding much. I hadn't been to church a day in my life, except for the occasional wedding or funeral. I knew the Tanner family had though; I e
xpected Joe to jump into the conversation but he didn't. He just shifted his weight from foot-to-foot and went through the first glass of rye a little too quickly. I wondered if he felt awkward around Adam, who was just so completely opposite to him and who I knew Joe would probably never feel comfortable with, or if it was something more than just shyness.

  Adam slipped back to the kitchen to finish with dinner while Adele held the pace of the conversation just as she usually did. She was remarkably comfortable with strangers, but I guess as a lawyer she was used to questioning people she didn't know and finding out what she could about them. Usually Lilly would be right there with Adele, armed with a long list of questions of her own, but like her brother she was unusually quiet, and kept watching me with an unreadable expression.