A Perfect Love (10 page)

I gripped Liam’s hand and squeezed, all thoughts of peeing my pants forgotten. On the dark screen, an amazing image appeared—an alien Liam and me. It was bloody perfect, beyond amazing. Most definitely an alien life form, which explained my aversion to all things citrus and my projectile vomiting whenever I was in a car for longer than fifteen minutes, but the wriggling baby before us was at that moment the point where everything clicked.

Everything truly happened for a reason. The epiphany hit me with my knickers halfway down my arse and a glob of sticky wetness on my slightly swollen stomach. Despite the crazy and regardless of the pitfalls, the squirming image on the screen made everything make sense.

“Damn, Jo…” Liam trailed off.

“I know.” And I did. Liam’s lips found mine, and he kissed me sweetly. Opening my eyes, I didn’t brush away the tears that escaped.

“Perfect,” he murmured with another kiss.

Pulling away, we looked at the doctor who cleared her throat. “Okay, everything looks wonderful. I can tell you that August 31
^st
is your predicted due date.”

I knew I should have been listening to everything the doctor explained afterwards, but my brain swam with dates and lists, and my bladder chose that moment to remind me it was time to get the heck out of there. With a jiggling body while pulling my trousers higher up to cover my knickers, I said my thanks to the doctor and raced out of there, only half-listening to the information she was sharing with Liam.

It wasn’t until after I could finally think and breathe again that sad-faced Eeyore didn’t look as sad as before. I reached out, stroked the paint on the wall, and smiled. Maybe I could cope with the cheery crap that seemed to come with pregnancy, because if experiencing the wondrous moment of hearing my baby’s heartbeat and seeing the munchkin dance its booty around in my belly was anything to go by, then I could pretty much become used to it all.

Liam handed me the printout of our scan. “You were thinking alien, right?” he said, looping his arm around my shoulder.

I laughed, looking at the image again. “Yep. A pretty amazing alien, though.”

He kissed my temple. “You’ve got that right.”

As we stepped out into the March sun, the light breeze brushed against us, bringing with it an enticing Frangipani fragrance. I inhaled, enjoying the sweetness of the scent. As we walked by the beautiful tree, I bent down and picked up a few fallen flowers. Liam, resecuring his arm around my shoulder, gave it a light squeeze as we continued toward our car, both silent and caught up in our thoughts.

Chapter Eight

Liam

“Sod it.” My mind was not on the computer in front of me. Instead, it was drifting to my phone, waiting for a call from Mace. Saving my work and powering off, I looked in Jo’s direction. She was in the glass-walled meeting room, putting the final pieces in place for
Sutton
. She was smiling and laughing as she stood and shook his hand. He nodded toward her rounded belly and made a comment that left her smiling even wider and rubbing her swelling bump. She indicated her head in my direction and turned a moment later, still talking. Seeing me watching her, she winked before turning back and ushering
Sutton
toward the door.

I made my way over to the exit to give
Sutton
’s hand a final shake. Despite my anxiety while waiting for Mace, today was a pretty bloody awesome day. We’d closed the deal, despite the drama McKenny had thrown our way, and were a damn sight more comfortable as a result. We may actually be able to have a vacation this year. Looking at Jo’s rounding belly as she closed the door behind Sutton, I backtracked. Maybe a vacation wouldn’t be happening. It would rather mean Jo could take some decent time off to be a mum for a while. That was what I was assuming she would want to do, anyway. We hadn’t even discussed what to do once the baby came. We’d been too caught up with the pregnancy, the deal, and the other crap, which had cemented itself in our lives, namely David.

“All good?”

Jo nodded and threw her arms around my neck. “Yes, indeedy.” She planted a kiss on my waiting lips. “Bloody fantastic. We need to celebrate.”

I liked the idea of that. Jo knew how to party. Alcohol was not needed to spur my spitfire into party mode.

“Do you mind if we invite El and Preston? Perhaps we can have dinner out? Preston’s on day shifts this week.”

“Go for it.” A night out with El and Preston would be just what we needed to kick back and relax. Jo pulled away from me, and I smacked her arse lightly as she turned to walk away.

“Hey, buster.”

“What?” I asked innocently.

“Maybe later.” She laughed.

I joined her laughter until my phone rang. Turning, I grabbed it from my desk and headed outside before answering. I needed space. “Mace.”

“He’s out.”

While not a surprise—it was, after all, the call I had been waiting for—my breath still left me, making me light-headed before the nausea and anger set in once more.

“He’s staying at Alain’s. He hasn’t been to see Mum. Do you still want me to take care of this?”

What I wanted was for the bastard to curl over and die, or to rot away in prison and be castrated. “Yes, but keep it to words and then walk away. I want it over.”

“Done.”

The phone line went dead.

I looked at the phone gripped in my hand, my knuckles white. I brought it to my forehead and closed my eyes. There was nothing else I could do. I had to trust Mace to take care of it. The opening of the door pulled my attention away and my eyes sprang open.

“You okay?”

I took in the crease between Jo’s brow and hated seeing it there. “I sure am. Today is a good day.” Her frown lines eased at my words. Despite David’s release, it
was
a good day. We were going to have a perfect life, and the shit from the past would not mar our future. No way would I let that happen. I’d move hell and high water before I allowed our happiness to crumble and disintegrate around us.

A sexy smile lifted her lips. “It is, isn’t it?” She stepped back through the open doorway before pausing and turning back once more. “I love you.”

I turned to face her fully, still a few metres separating us. “I know.” I plastered a smug smile on my face, knowing she hated it when I responded that way. Just as she went to no doubt tell me to rack off, I jumped in and closed the distance between us. My mouth sealed over hers, a light kiss to keep her quiet and make her smile. “I love you,” I said once I pulled away. “Now, go get your crap together and we’ll head home.”

Standing on tiptoes, she pressed her lips against mine for a brief moment. “Okay, babe. Almost done.”

I held the door open as she disappeared inside. Glancing at my phone once more, I switched it off and placed it in my pocket. I didn’t want any more calls, none that could ruin my good day.

I was right. Jo never really needed alcohol to get her acting like a crazy chick. All she needed was Ella, and the two of them became wildcats. At that moment, Jo was bouncing up and down on the spot in desperate need of a pee, a normal sight when the pair of them were together. Admittedly, since being pregnant, however, she appeared to need to pee every thirty minutes. Christ knew what she’d be like heavily pregnant or after the baby came. I’d heard horror stories about that. If Jo ended up pissing on me while we were having sex, I know for sure I’d freak the crap out. I’d have to broach the delicate subject of those pelvic muscle exercise thingies for sure.

Ella was laughing hysterically and not helping with the whole pee situation, while Preston looked on mildly amused before glancing at me and shrugging. He was right. A shrug indicating we had absolutely no control over our women was spot-on.

“Jo, get your arse out of the chair and pee already. I want to pay and get out of here.”

She took deep, calming breaths—what she always did when she was close to the rim. The amount of times over the years I had to be her cover while she squatted behind a tree, car, or building were countless.

“Okay. I’m ready. I’m in control.” As she stood, her hand brushed against her glass, knocking it over and spilling the contents. Water flooded our table and the glass banged down, hitting the empty plate before her, drawing the whole goddamn restaurant’s eyes in our direction. “Shit.” She sat down quickly, no longer in control.

Ella laughed some more. She was pissed on the champagne we’d ordered, celebrating our deal. With Jo’s pregnancy, Ella had drank Jo’s share, and both mine and Preston’s, too.

“Oh, God, no!” Ella squealed, also bobbing up and down in her seat. “Now
I
need to pee. Damn you, Jo!”

“Me?” Jo laughed, still bouncing. “How am I responsible for you needing to pee?”

“I don’t know. It’s just…bloody hell, I need to pee but don’t think I can stand.”

At the same time, both Preston and I were standing and mopping up the water spillage, shaking our heads at their antics.

“Jo, get your arse up now, and go pee, for Christ’s sake.”

She glared at me. “Don’t you bloody tell me what to do and get shitty with me, buster.”

“What?” I said. “You don’t want me to tell you to pee in the toilet?”

She huffed. “You know what I mean. Just because—”

I lifted my brows at her, effectively cutting her off. She knew she was being ridiculous. She also knew if she didn’t get control of her bladder, she would piss herself.

Without a word, determination crossed over her features. She stood and waddled to the toilet. I laughed as she walked, her legs virtually crossed and traveling at a fast walk.

“Okay,” Ella interrupted. She also stood and chased after her.

Watching them, I signalled to the waiter to bring our bill and leaned back in my seat. “So how are things between you and El?”

Preston’s wide grin was enough of an answer. I was pleased for him. I’d spent a fair bit of time with Preston over the years, and we’d become good buddies. With him now dating Ella, it meant we saw each other a little more often. “Excellent, Liam. Life’s calmed down, so we’re all good.”

I nodded and returned his smile. “Good to hear, man. Is she still coping all right after the accident?” At the end of the previous year, Ella had been unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire of a psychopath who was looking for some messed-up revenge against Preston. She’d ended up in a bad car accident. Ben, the psycho dude, had died. Fortunately, Ella had lived to tell the pretty messed-up tale.

“Yeah,” Preston answered, a frown forming. “She’s still having nightmares, but they’re becoming less frequent. She’s finally reached a point where she can talk about it without breaking down, though, which is a relief.” He picked up his glass and drained the contents as the waiter arrived with our bill. “How’s the whole being-a-dad preparation coming along?”

It was now my turn to wear a shit-eating grin. Handing my credit card to the waiter, I pinned in my number and nodded my thanks. “It’s awesome. When we saw him at Jo’s appointment and heard his heart, it was bloody amazing.”

“He?” Preston raised a brow in question.

I laughed. “There’s no way it’s a girl. There’s no chance I’d be able to cope with a mini-Jo running around. Damn, I can barely keep up with your sister. A girl, Christ, it’d ruin me.”

Preston released a belly laugh. “I don’t think you have much choice in the matter, Liam. It’s going to definitely be a girl now. Someone’s gotta keep you on your toes.”

I scoffed. “As if your sister doesn’t.”

“As if his sister doesn’t what?” Jo asked, heading toward the table.

Grinning, I pushed my chair out, stood and pulled her to me by her growing waist. “Keep me on my toes, babe.” I kissed the top of her head and placed my hand on her belly.

“Too bloody right. Someone has to. God knows what mischief you’d find yourself in if I wasn’t here putting you in line.”

I laughed. “Says the woman who’s either up to no good or nearly peeing her pants. It
was
a nearly, right?” A firm elbow bashed into my side. “Oomph,” I groaned, rubbing my waist.