Foolish Expectations (10 page)

“Fine,” he huffed out. “But don’t be surprised if we run into each other again…soon.”

She didn’t think he meant it as a threat, but it sure came across like one, which only made her eyes narrow more. “Chances are, the next time I run into you, it’s going to be while I’m in my car with my foot on the gas,” she said, before sliding into her vehicle and driving away.

As she headed across town, tears blurred her vision before trickling down her cheeks. There were so many loose ends to tie up before she left town, and Nash was now one of them. Her life was complicated enough without adding another person to the mix. It wasn’t like she wanted to go through this alone. But she hated the idea of clinging to a man like some brittle…girl.

She was stronger than that, damn it.

But his constant reminders of what her first marriage should’ve been like were wreaking havoc on her brain and damaging her heart. Through his words alone, she saw a glimpse of what marriage to him could be like. Fully covered medical insurance, a nice home, a safe area to raise their baby, and a sexy husband who would love their child unconditionally and protect him—or her—with all the strength he possessed. But every time Nash pushed his marriage proposal on her, she knew what he was really thinking.

And it was the same thing she’d already thought.

She did well enough to take care of herself. How the hell was she going to take care of a baby, too?

But what he didn’t know was that the moment she’d realized she was pregnant and wasn’t having a miscarriage, the relief and happiness had unexpectedly overwhelmed her. Sometimes a person doesn’t know how much they want something until it’s almost lost.

The baby was her
something
.

Chapter Ten

Nash followed Bailey into town, waiting for her to pull over so he could apologize for his behavior. Then maybe—just maybe—he could talk some sense into her. But as she pulled into a parking lot, he glanced at the sign on the front of the building he’s seen hundreds of times and nearly side-swiped an oncoming car.

What the hell?

Nash drove past and parked in an adjacent lot, hiding his truck behind a row of flowering oleanders. He knew she hadn’t spotted him, otherwise she’d have marched over and told him to buzz off. Instead, she climbed out of her hunk of junk and headed for the entrance to the office building.

He suspected something was going on, but wasn’t sure exactly what. Maybe she was a professional con artist trying to rake him over the coals. No, that didn’t make any sense. He’d offered her everything he had on a silver platter, and she hadn’t accepted any of it. Medical insurance. Money. Hell, even his house. Bailey didn’t seem to want anything from him. Except for him to give up his rights to...
the baby!

Nash shook his head. Had he been that fucking gullible?

Sonofabitch.
Apparently, he had.

Any time he was around Bailey, he couldn’t see straight, much less use the proper head for thinking. But why was he surprised? After all, the woman had lied about her own name. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t lied to
him
directly. But she’d lied to the other guy in the bar without blinking an eye. And she never bothered mentioning her real name to Nash after sleeping with him. She’d spent the entire night in his arms and hadn’t bothered to say a word. But he still had no clue how deceitful she could be…until now.

His hands clenched the steering wheel as he watched her cross the parking lot and enter the lawyer’s office. Nash read the sign again, hoping he’d read it wrong the first time, though he knew he hadn’t.
Douglas J. Smith. Attorney specializing in Family Law.
Nope. It wasn’t a mistake. Bailey was in there right now talking to a lawyer to have his parental rights stripped from him.
Damn her!

Anger gripped his insides like an iron fist, twisting his stomach in knots. Here he was trusting she’d come around and they’d eventually get the details figured out together. Meanwhile, she plotted behind his back to take his child away. Although he knew it wouldn’t be an easy task to do, especially without allegations of abuse, he wasn’t about to put anything past her sneaky ass.

No wonder she kept putting him off, biding her time. Probably had planned this maneuver all along. Well, Nash wouldn’t allow her to get away with it. As the baby’s biological father, he had rights. And as a lawyer, he knew exactly what those rights were. If she wanted a custody battle, then he would damn sure give her one.

But just as he stepped out of the truck, Bailey walked out of the lawyer’s office, escorted by a gentlemen wearing a blue suit and lugging a black briefcase. Her lawyer, Nash presumed. Then he watched them make their way across the street and disappear inside the Flat Rock courthouse.

Fuck.
Bailey obviously hadn’t wasted any time. Pregnant for all of two minutes and she was already filing a petition against him. And on what grounds? He’d done nothing but try to help her in any way he could.

Nash gritted his teeth together and quietly seethed as he set out for the courthouse entrance. He’d been inside the old building so many times that he barely noticed the ugly fake plants, the ancient metal detector, or the faded typed-up signs taped to the outside of the receptionist’s office.

“Hey, Jill. Can I ask you something?”

The receptionist gave him a flirtatious smile, as she always did. “Sure, Nash. What can I help you with?”

“Do you know a lawyer by the name of Douglas Smith? He practices family law.”

“Of course. Doug just came in with one of his clients.”

Nash clenched his fist. “Which way did they go?”

“They were scheduled to appear in Judge Barclay’s courtroom fifteen minutes ago, but they were running late.” Jill checked the appointment book on her desk. “They’ll probably have to wait until the other two cases are heard before they can go in front of the judge.”

Nash blinked in astonishment. Bailey already had a court date? How the hell did she get one so fast? It was only days ago she found out she was pregnant. Even as a fucking lawyer, he couldn’t have made that happen in mere days.
Fuck. Who is this woman?

He had to give it to her, though. It was a smart move, catching him unaware and not allowing him time to build his own case. Unfortunately for her, she’d made one fatal flaw: he was aware of her bullshit plan. And the hell if he’d sit by and let her execute it.

“Is there a problem?” the receptionist asked, reading the distress on Nash’s face.

“No, no problem, Jill. I just wanted to stop in and introduce myself.”
As the baby’s biological father.
“Can I just go up and sit in the back of the room while I wait for them to finish up?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s an open courtroom.”

He smiled and winked at her. “Just checking. You know how these judges get a little testy if you break the rules.”

She giggled. “Don’t I know it.”

Nash high-tailed it to the elevator, hoping he would make it to the courtroom before Bailey had a chance to talk to the judge. It wasn’t the first time she had screwed him, though he doubted this encounter would be nearly as pleasurable as the last.

As he stepped into the empty elevator, the memory of that first night with her hit him with such force that he steadied himself against the cold, metal wall before hitting the button for the third floor.

That night, he’d taken her virginity—it was the only damn thing about her that he knew for sure. The moment he’d shoved into her, she couldn’t have convinced him otherwise. She was so fucking tight, her inner muscles clamping onto him in a way that was most likely painful to her, but nearly caused him to lose control on the spot.
Like a damn teenager getting his rocks off for the first time.

Even after that, he couldn’t get enough of her. He spent the entire night feeding this uncanny craving he had for her responsive body, touching her intimately, thoroughly, and watching the confused yet delighted faces she pulled. She had never been touched that way—in any way—before. He knew that for sure by the way her body betrayed her, stiffening and then relaxing, with each new sensation.

His eyes closed as the memory of that night drifted over him, and a heaviness crept into his groin with an aching throb. The moment the elevator dinged its arrival on the third floor, his eyes flared open.
What the hell is wrong with me? The woman is trying to take off with my kid to some remote corner of the world, and I’m sitting here fantasizing about the little liar. I’m a goddamn fool.

Disgusted, Nash hauled himself out of the elevator and strode down the hallway to Judge Barclay’s courtroom. He slipped inside, grabbed a seat in the back, and spotted Bailey almost immediately. She sat quietly with her lawyer in the second row on the opposite side of the room, waiting for their moment with the judge.

She looked nervous, squirming in her seat and touching her fingers to her lips, but Nash didn’t think she’d spied him. If anything, her lawyer had probably warned her about Judge Barclay. Everyone knew he was a hard-ass. Not only was he close to retiring, which lately had made him even surlier than normal, but the old coot was set in his ways. And Barclay liked things
his
way.

Nash hadn’t realized he’d come in while the second case was wrapping up until the judge called for Bailey Hobbs to approach the bench. Shit. He had no time to prepare and wasn’t sure what to do. But he had to do something.

Well, here goes…something.

“Excuse me for interrupting, Your Honor.” Nash stood up and everyone, including Bailey, turned to stare at him. Her eyes widened and blinked rapidly, as if she couldn’t believe he was there. “I need a word with Ms. Hobbs before this goes any further.”

Judge Barclay let out a heavy breath, filled with loathing irritation. “If you need to direct your client, then you should’ve done so before making an appointment with my court.”

Nash wasn’t surprised the judge recognized him. He’d been in Barclay’s courtroom twice in the last month alone. “Your Honor, Ms. Hobbs isn’t my client.”

That made Barclay sit up and pay attention. “Then what’s the meaning of this, counselor?”

“Sir, may I approach the bench?”

“Well, I sure as hell don’t mean for you to yell at me across the room,” the judge said, eyeballing Nash as he made his way up the aisle and stopped next to Bailey. “This better be good, Sutherland.”

Bailey looked frightened, her eyes flashing back and forth between the judge and Nash. “W-what are you doing?” she whispered.

“What I have to.” He turned to face the glaring judge. “I came to stop Ms. Hobbs from trying to revoke my rights.” Her head snapped up to look at him, but he continued. “She’s carrying my—”

“Nash, wait!”

“No,
you
wait. Damn it, Bailey, that’s my baby!”

She gasped and looked back at her lawyer, who glared angrily at her, as a low hum of voices settled over the courtroom. The judge beat his gavel on the desk several times, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Order! I want order in this court!” Judge Barclay set down his gavel and squinted at them as the room became silent. “I was under the impression that this young woman was here for a dissolution of marriage. What’s this about a baby, counselor?”

“The baby that Bailey…er, Ms. Hobbs, is carrying.” Everyone’s mouth, including Bailey’s lawyer dropped open. Then Nash realized what the judge had said. “Wait…dissolution of marriage?”
Christ. She isn’t here about parental rights. She’s divorcing her fucking husband.

“That’s right,” Bailey said, crossing her arms. “Not everything is about you, Nash.”

Damn. He ran a hand over his face. She’d been so close-mouthed about her spouse that Nash hadn’t considered divorce as a remote possibility. She’d said she loved her husband. Had that been a lie, too?

Bailey’s lawyer turned to her with an open mouthed, wide-eyed glare. “You’re pregnant?”

“Doug, I was going to tell you after—”

“You lying bitch!”

Without thinking, Nash lunged at her lawyer, grabbed him by the collar of his crisp, pressed shirt, and hauled him up on his tiptoes. “What’d you say to her, jackass?”

Bailey gasped, everyone in the courtroom jumped out of their seats, and the bailiff rushed forward to intervene. Judge Barclay put up his hand to stop him. The bailiff looked almost as surprised as Doug did.

The lawyer tried to free himself from Nash’s grip. “Let go, you lunatic, or I…I’ll sue your ass.”

Nash got even more in his face. “I’d love to see you try, dipshit.”

Bailey pulled on his bicep, though it had no effect. “Nash, stop. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. He has no business talking to you like that. Not only because you’re a woman, but he should never talk to a client that way.”

Bailey looked again toward the judge, then back to Nash, her eyes glistening with tears. “Please, stop.”

It angered him that she was protecting her dickhead lawyer, but he didn’t want to cause her any more stress than she was already under. He took a slow, calming breath, and although he didn’t want to, he let go of the man.

The lawyer stepped back, smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt, and straightened his tie and jacket. “She’s not my client, you moron. Bailey’s my wife.”

Nash stared at both of them, blinking, not sure what to say. It was a punch in the gut to hear another man say those words. But why? He knew there was a man out there tied by marriage to the mother of his child.

Then it hit him. Nash was not only jealous, but feeling territorial. He’d always hated the idea of another man laying claim to something he wanted. With Bailey, it was no different. No matter how many times he tried to reason with himself and talk himself out of it,
he
wanted her…in his bed and out.

Judge Barclay leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his full head of gray hair. “So, let me get this straight, Ms. Hobbs. You’re married to this yahoo over here,” he said, pointing his gavel at Doug until Bailey nodded silently. “But you’re pregnant with Bozo’s baby,” he said, swinging the gavel in Nash’s direction. Again, she nodded. “So you’re admitting that you committed adultery?”