Page 21 of A Wife by Christmas

She growled. “I didn’t say that. Well, I did, but it was in context of attempting to understand what people want. No two people are the same.”

“You know Cathy, though, right.”

“No, we’re not close. In case you didn’t know, I was barely close to anyone in town. I’m the last person on the planet you should be asking for advice.” She shook her head. “You hear that, Sweet Pea? People think Mommy is good at giving advice.”

Brick sighed. “You’ve got no choice but to help me. No one else is around, it’s just you and me, you’ve got to help me.”

She frowned. “No, I don’t.”

“Okay, if you don’t help me, then it is quite simple, I’m not leaving your side until you do. You’ve already told Rebel before that you’re tired of seeing me mope at the bar. Imagine my face by your side, even when you’re fucking Rebel,” Brick said. It would never happen. Rebel would kick his ass first, but he liked the threat of it.

Willow rolled her eyes. “Does that even work for anyone?”

“It used to.”

She blew out a breath.

“Trust me, I have a special way of irritating people.”

“I can see that.” Willow ran fingers through her hair. “Fine. Fine. I can’t give you much in the way of advice. All I know is that Cathy’s family is fucked up, and for a long time, she was always on her own. From time to time, she meets people but they either use her or treat her like shit. It’s not a good thing. I’ve seen the way Cathy looks at you. She’s not after just a good time. I don’t even know if she is aware she has feelings for you. Just so you’re aware, we can feel things for people and not be aware of it.”

“Is that what you felt for Rebel?”

“Rebel and I … we’re … it’s not the same, okay.”

“But I know he loves you. I know even when we were miles away, he thought about you. This is the one place he wanted to be, and that is because of you.”

Willow smiled and he knew he’d helped Rebel for tonight,so long as their little girl slept the whole night. He’d offer to babysit the little terror, but then he thought about Cathy and had a great idea.

“So, uh, are you and Rebel wanting some alone time?” Brick asked.

Willow frowned and looked at him. “I don’t know, do we?”

Brick smiled and he held his hands out. “I could take this little darling to Cathy’s and give you a night to enjoy with Rebel when he gets back.”

“What do you want?” Willow asked. “I know that look you have in your eye.”

He tried to be innocent, to smile at her, and pretend she was imagining it all.

“Okay, I see what you’re doing,” Willow said. “And you’re not going to use my daughter to do it.”

“What?” he asked. “What am I doing?”

“You’re not going to use my daughter to convince Cathy to have your kid. I see what you’re doing, and it’s not even funny.” She didn’t hold out the baby to him. “What you and Cathy need to do is talk. Trust me, it sounds difficult, but it’s not. The two of you, alone, talking, and once you have done that and realize you love one another and want to spend the rest of your lives together, then we will talk.” Willow got to her feet. “But you will owe me and Rebel a babysitting night. I will cash in when we’re ready.”

Chapter Nine

Cathy planned to do the right thing, to tell Brick she wasn’t on any contraceptive, and they were risking pregnancy. There was a chance she could be pregnant. She had prepared a whole speech in her head. Even as she’d been testing out the new makeup, she’d been going over it in her head. So much so, that the footage she had captured was useless, as she didn’t speak. Randomly, she threw out words, as she was so distracted.

Then, she came up with a plan to have a nice dinner where they could sit opposite one another, enjoy a meal, and she’d bring it to him.

She’d began working on a quick pasta dish, paying careful attention to the flavors, not wanting it to be too spicy. She’d also baked a cake, and it was frosted and in the fridge. They had already purchased ice cream, which was in the freezer. She’d changed into a beautiful red dress, pinned her hair up, a flick of lipstick over her lips. Nothing too much.

Brick entered and looked at her, looked at the table, and she somehow ended up naked on the dining room floor. He did as well. Clothes had gone within seconds. Their first time had been in the dining room, the second one on the stairs, and now they lay in her bed, and Brick stroked the tips of his fingers down her back.

Cathy was on her stomach, as he teased her body. He’d already pushed a pillow beneath her stomach, raising her ass and spreading her cheeks.

She licked her lips as she had a feeling of what was coming next. For the last few days, every chance he got, he’d been teasing her ass. Cathy didn’t for a second believe they were going much further.

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