Marco (The Men of Indecent Exposure #1) (24 page)

Now, there was a chance that what I do for a living might actually stand in the way of me moving forward and… well…
living.
It came down to my priorities. On the one hand, I couldn’t be responsible for my family falling on hard times simply because I wasn’t able to provide. That didn’t sit well with me. But I also didn’t see the sense in not giving Brynn and I a fighting chance when, technically, she’s family, too.

With my little girl on the way, I’d been feeling this strong urge to change, this deep seated need to be better than I’d ever been before. I owed it to her, to Brynn, to my family, to myself, to do the right thing.

It’s just that, with everything I had to consider, I think I lost sight of what that ‘
right
thing’
was a long time ago.

Brynn

The sound of my doorbell had me hopping up off my couch and readjusting the towel wrapped around my freshly-washed hair. Mona didn’t even get a word in before I had my arms around her neck, squeezing her like I hadn’t seen her in years, although it’d only been months. She dropped her bags and then took my hands in hers, looking me over with wide eyes.

I imagined the reality of me actually being pregnant was just hitting her now, seeing me with her own eyes. I was six months on the nose and there was absolutely no hiding it now.

“Oh my gosh, Brynn, you’re like… for real having a
baby!
” she screeched. I laughed and let her touch my stomach when she asked permission, although she really didn’t need to. I wasn’t surprised to see her getting teary eyed. “It looks good on you, girl,” she added.

I flashed her a cheeky grin. “Thank you.”

She nodded as her gaze slipped down to my belly again and then she came in for another big hug.

“I’m so happy you’re here!” I squealed.

“So am I,” she said back. “I can’t wait for Ced to see you, too, though.”

At the mention of my brother’s name, my heart broke a little. It would’ve been nice to have him here this weekend, but he’d been in litigation hell with one client in particular for months. The case was huge, demanded all his time and attention. However, he sent Mona here with his blessing, wanting her to celebrate her birthday with me and a few of her cousins who live in the area—the same who’d gone out to
The Alibi
with us for Mona’s bachelorette party, the night everything changed.

To say that I was less than excited about the plans was an understatement, but this wasn’t about me. Since first having to endure her in high school, I’d never been too fond of one of the three cousin’s Mona invited—Tasha. However, Mona had no idea I felt this way, nor
would
she,
because I didn’t want to spoil her night. Tasha definitely rubbed me the wrong way with her bad attitude and snobbery, but I could tolerate her for a few hours.

Apparently, we were club hopping, which I wasn’t looking forward to for obvious reasons. Worst case scenario, I’d get stuck babysitting their drinks and purses all night. The thought of it bored me to tears, which reminded me not to leave here without charging my phone. I’d probably be relying on it to keep me entertained.

“Okay, so come on and put your things in your room, rest for a bit, and then I’m ready for you to get this hair together,” I said, smiling as I pointed to the towel I was currently sporting.

The plan was for Mona to redo my sew-in while she was in town, which would save me from having to pay someone to do it this month. I was much more mindful of my budget these days.

She waved me off. “I don’t need to rest. That’s all I did on the plane ride here. We can start now.”

Sounded good to me.

I’d always been particular about my hair so I picked up a trick or two to make it last longer in between appointments, but it was definitely time for a redo. Mona took her things to the spare room and then met me in the living room where I already had everything set up—hair, scissors, needle, thread, and everything else I anticipated she’d need. We didn’t talk while she blow dried me, but after that, all she wanted to discuss was Marco.

“So… did that kiss change everything?” she asked.

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders as she parted my hair to oil my scalp. “Yes and no,” I answered vaguely, knowing the short answer would drive her crazy.

Mona predicted that kissing Marco would fast-track us to a relationship, but I begged to differ. We were both all about moving forward slow and steady. Had feelings deepened? Of course, but there still weren’t any titles being tossed around.

Using the section of my hair gripped in her hand, she tilted my head to the side so she could look me in my face. “As nosey as I am, did you really think that was gonna cut it? I need details and lots of ‘em.”

She released me and continued to prep my scalp. At her words, I recalled the last intimate moment Marco and I shared, a moment that had less to do with anything physical and more to do with the emotional. The walls were tumbling down quickly and I can admit to being nervous, admit to having mixed emotions. Marco and I were no longer just making this work. We were no longer just going through the motions. We were making progress and… it scared me a little.

Especially after our talk a couple weeks ago.

Truth moment: finding out what he does for a living was a minor setback after I came down from the high of our connection that night. I stepped back and started thinking about the long-term. Not jumping the gun, just being realistic. Say things with us became solid, say we became more… would I really be okay knowing that he takes his clothes off for other women for a living? Would I be comfortable, for lack of a better word,
sharing
him like that? I mean, no, it wasn’t like he was sleeping with them, but… it just made me uneasy. There’d be too much room for doubt, too much temptation, too much uncertainty. But the other side of the coin is that I completely understood why he did what he did and I would never ask or expect him to change for me. I guess Marco’s profession had become somewhat of an impasse.

At least for now.

“Why’re you quiet?” Mona asked when I stopped talking. I didn’t have it in me to tell her what I found out, for fear of her passing judgment on Marco without getting to really know him.

“I’m not,” I replied. “Just thinking.”

“Hmm,” she said back before firing off another question. “What about Naseem? You haven’t brought him up lately. He still in the picture?”

Naseem… we hadn’t spoken since the argument and, honestly, I had no desire to any time soon. The things he said hurt deep because they came from
him
, someone I never expected to come at me like he had. From the beginning, I’d been up front with him about everything. I was careful not to string him along because the last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt. However, despite my efforts, it happened anyway and now our friendship hung in the balance once again. This time, the offense wasn’t on me. I wasn’t the one who owed the apology.

“He’s around,” was all I said, not wanting to get into it any deeper than that.

“
Alrighty
, then,” she replied, getting the hint.

Wanting to change the subject, I asked what our final plan was for the night, crossing my fingers that one of the ladies came up with something better. Whatever happened to dinner and a movie being enough?

“Well, Pam said there’s a spot she’s been wanting to check out, so I think we’re just following her lead. I don’t know much more than that, though. She was being really secretive about it.”

Perfect.

Mona and I talked each other’s ear off until my hair was done. All was right with the world again now that I had that taken care of. After we cleaned up the mess the hair made, she did end up needing that nap after all and I went to my room to do the same. It seemed like no matter what time it was, I could fall asleep. If the fatigue was this bad in month six, I could only imagine how much worse it would get by the end.

I popped my head up when Mona’s soft knock hit the door. Already, it was seven, which meant I’d been asleep for a couple hours. We were supposed to take off at nine this evening, first to grab drinks at a local bar—drinks I couldn’t even have—and then we were off to the place Pam mentioned to Mona.

“I’m up,” I mumbled, feeling weak as I forced myself to sit upright.

“Okay, I’m about to hop in the shower,” she called out through the door. The sound of her light footsteps carried her back down the hall toward the guest bath and I breathed deep, trying to fully wake myself.

I stood and walked to the closet to decide on an outfit. This week, I ventured to the maternity store in the mall and came out with a few new pieces I could mix and match with the items I could still fit. This body of mine was ever-growing, so that would not be my one and only trip.

I stepped out of my closet with the cute, stone-washed jeggings I’d been wanting to wear anyway, and an off-the-shoulder, white, cotton shirt I’d pair with a matching tank underneath. I stood back, made up my mind that this was the outfit, and then grabbed some silver accessories. The only thing missing, the only thing I
couldn’t
wear were heels. Not because my
doctor
said I couldn’t, but because
Marco
said I couldn’t before I even had the chance to run it by Dr. Rubino. He read somewhere that they were dangerous at this stage in pregnancy. I smiled thinking about how he seemed to know more about all of this than I did, thanks to some book he picked up and
Google
.

I showered, did my makeup, and then took the curling wand to my freshly done hair. Mona only beat me to the front door by a few minutes, but we were still on schedule. We drove the truck she rented to Pam’s house where she and the other ladies were already waiting.

“Mona!!” Pam squealed, coming around to the driver’s side of the truck.

Mona hopped out and hugged her cousin after spending several long months apart. I was sure she missed having her here in Texas as much as I did. Tasha and Hayley, the youngest of us, did the same, making it around to embrace Mona. They chatted for a few and then Pam came to her senses and her eyes lit up when she saw me.

“Brynn! I got so caught up, I almost didn’t see you sitting there,” she said excitedly, coming around to my side next. I undid my seatbelt and opened the door, forgetting that not everyone knew I was expecting. However, the surprised look on Pam’s face reminded me.

“Oh! Well… Congratulations, girl!” She hugged me gingerly like most people did since I started showing. “Wow!” she added, flashing a genuine smile. “How far?”

I sighed. “Not far enough.”

She laughed. “Don’t I remember. I felt the same way when I was in your shoes.”

The rhythmic click and clack of a set of high-heels off to my right made me turn that way, zeroing in on the loaded stare of Tasha. The half-smile on her lips let me know she had something smart to say.

“Girl, congratulations!” she yelled theatrically, leaning to hug my shoulders. “Mona didn’t even tell me,” she added.

“That’s cause it wasn’t any of your business,” Mona laughed from behind the steering wheel as she re-clasped her seatbelt.

Tasha ignored her with a nonchalant wave and perched both hands on her thin hips. “So, Brynn’s having a baby,” she reiterated, looking me over. “I didn’t even realize you’d gotten married?” she added, tilting her head to the side.

None of this was her business, but I said I’d be on my best behavior. “Nope,” I answered. “Not married.”

She frowned a bit. “Really? I never pegged you as the type.”

Never pegged me as
what
type
?

She must’ve noticed the look on my face because she bellowed a fake laugh to break up the tension. “Girl, you know what I mean. You were just always such a goodie-two-shoes,” she added with a shrug.

Feeling myself getting angry, I remembered how I got worked up over the argument with Naseem. I wouldn’t let things escalate to that level. Not tonight.

“Quit talking and get in the truck,” Pam said playfully, shoving Tasha’s shoulder right after. I turned to get back in, too, considering the idea of just having Mona take me back home. I could easily fake not feeling well. However, I had to be a good sport for her. This was all for her birthday and she deserved to have a good time.

Yeah… tonight should be a blast.

*****

I sat through three rounds of drinks, sipping nothing but water while the others tossed back martini after martini—except Mona, who had to stay sober to drive her rental. But on the bright side, I soon realized I liked Tasha better with alcohol in her system. So, there’s that…

“Make a left here, Mona,” Pam instructed. Mona turned and we made it maybe a few blocks before the long line appeared. I rested my chin on my fist as we approached the crowd, feeling in my gut that this was the place, which meant we, too, would have to stand in this long line.

“Where the hell are you taking us?” Hayley asked from the backseat, laughing.