Dare to Hold (Dare to Love 4)

“Yep. Her behavior and selfish actions mocked my change of heart. I should have gone with my gut instinct after all. My father had taught me a hard-won lesson.”

“What lesson was that?” Meg asked softly, almost afraid to hear.

He let out a harsh sound she couldn’t interpret. “That the whole family thing is for suckers and happily ever after only happens in fairy tales.”

Meg ducked her head, not wanting him to see how much she hurt for him … and for herself. Because like Scott, she’d seen the worst in relationships, but unlike him, she kept wanting to believe in the fairy tale. Even now. And she obviously wouldn’t be finding it with him.

Her eyes filled and she blinked back the tears. Despite having promised herself she wouldn’t hold out any hope for something more with Scott, she knew now that she had. Having him around, so caring and invested in her safety, him looking at her like he wanted to eat her up and come back for seconds… A tiny kernel of hope had taken up residence in her heart. Thank God he’d revealed his past and his feelings about marriage and family now and not down the road when Meg would really have begun to delude herself into seeing what she wanted to see. After all, she was good at that.

“I’m really sorry,” she whispered.

“At least now you know why I reacted the way I did when you told me Mike demanded you terminate the pregnancy.” His tone softened, as it always did when he spoke to her. “I know how much you want this baby.” He stood in front of her chair, so big, handsome, and at the moment, self-contained.

He’d pulled into himself much the way she had. And that was a good thing, she told herself. Perspective was something she desperately needed.

“I do want it.” Meg pressed a hand to her belly. “And I appreciate you telling me everything. I know it wasn’t easy.”

He rolled his shoulders, stretching as he rotated his muscles. She watched the flex and bend, swallowing hard at the perfect specimen of masculinity he presented.

“It’s in the past,” he finally said.

Not so much, she wanted to tell him. But she didn’t. Perspective, she reminded herself. She eased herself to a standing position, rubbing her arms, suddenly a little chilled now that the sun had set … and reality had dawned with it. Facing the truth was a gift she was determined to give herself from now on.

“I’m going to head inside. I’m cold,” she told him.

And where normally he’d wrap his arms around her and chase away the chill, he merely nodded. “I’ll be up soon.”

“I’ll probably be asleep. It’s been a really long day.”

He didn’t answer and she wasn’t surprised. He was lost in thought, probably somewhere in the pain of his past. She wasn’t as keen on thinking

deeply or dwelling on what she couldn’t change. She’d do as she’d told him. She’d turn in and hope she fell asleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and the way things were going, it would bring new challenges. Meg had to be ready to face them.

* * *

Scott headed indoors shortly after Meg went upstairs and popped open a cold beer. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked himself. Why had he let Meg go to bed alone when he knew how upset she had to be after his story? Not the story, asshole, but his gut reaction to what Leah had done.

That family thing is for suckers, and happily ever after only happens in fairy tales. What the fuck had possessed him to dump all that on her and in those words?

He rubbed his burning eyes with the heels of his hands. Meg had asked for honesty, and once he’d gotten rolling on what Leah had done, his lingering anger had burst through. He hadn’t been talking to Meg. Sensitive, caring Meg. He’d been furious and still feeling betrayed by his ex-wife.

Scott put down the full bottle of beer. Drinking wasn’t going to help. Neither was attempting to sort through his feelings for Meg, though he couldn’t contain his thoughts.

He’d been unable to stay away from her, attraction and desire overcoming any rational thought. To be honest, he hadn’t had a single rational moment since laying eyes on Meg in that hospital bed. As a result, he’d talked her into a one-night stand, though admittedly he hadn’t had to try too hard to convince her. She’d been right there with him. Except he’d known going in that one night wouldn’t be enough.

And now he found himself acting like her white knight and protector, and he had no regrets about it. None at all. The desire he’d felt for her from the beginning was still going strong, but now he knew her. Liked her even more.

Meg was everything Leah wasn’t. Warm, caring, nurturing yet strong. Beautiful and real, inside and out. And she was more independent than she wanted to believe herself. He admired everything about her. But as much as he’d told himself he’d known she was pregnant going in, that it didn’t matter, suddenly it did. She was creating a life for herself that he’d never believed he desired. And the one time he’d allowed himself to want it, everything had been ripped away from him in an instant, leaving him raw and back where he’d started. Convinced marriage, babies, and family weren’t for him.

Except with Meg, a part of him was starting to envision just that, and it scared him to death. He couldn’t pull away from her if he wanted to—and he didn’t. Nor could he tell himself he was staying because she needed protection. He was sticking because he needed her. Wanted her. But Meg made it perfectly clear she preferred to be independent and not lean on any man. Which put him back in the same position he’d unwittingly found himself in with his ex. When this mess with her stalker baby daddy was over, Meg might just decide she no longer needed Scott in her life. At all.

Chapter Eight

Meg woke up the next morning to find Scott wrapped around her, his big body curled around her back, one hand cupping her breast. Someone had put last night behind them, and she wished it were as easy for her. Still, nothing had changed between them, at least overtly. She was here until the threat was over, and neither of them had made any promises. If anything, his story and beliefs about the future merely reinforced her need to keep on as she had been. Planning an independent life on her own. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the here and now.

His lips nuzzled at her neck, his breath warm, his touch electric. He pulled her closer and plucked at her nipple with one hand, turning her insides to liquid and making everything inside her melt with need.

She purred at the sensations pulsing straight to her core.