Raine tried, but her confusion bled through. Hammer wished he could say more to soothe her.
The waiter returned, setting down numerous plates teeming with pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast. Hammer’s empty stomach demanded attention. He’d never realized how many calories sex consumed, and they’d had a lot of it in the past twelve hours.
The forty-something guy darted back with a fresh glass of orange juice for Raine. When Macen stopped eating to thank him, he noticed that she’d barely picked at her food. Concern gripped Hammer again.
“Eat up,” he encouraged. He would have ordered her if he’d thought it would do any good.
A painful fifteen minutes later, she’d barely consumed an egg and a piece of toast. Hammer had devoured most of his, but they still had a mountain of leftovers.
As the waiter cleared everything away, he excused himself and headed to the men’s room. When the door closed behind him, he dug out his phone and fired off a text to Liam.
Hammer: What’s your status? We’re heading back to the club. That ok? BTW, Raine found a pacifier. Guess who left that…
Pacing, he waited for a reply. Seconds passed to minutes. Growing more anxious and pissed off, Hammer clenched his teeth and texted Liam again.
Hammer: If you haven’t taken out the trash, keep the bag contained. I’ll tell Raine to nap. I’ll text you when she’s asleep. We’ll meet at bar.
“Fuck!” Hammer growled. He despised not knowing what was going on.
Shoving his phone away, he sucked in a couple of deep breaths. He had to keep his shit wired tight until Liam was ready to sit Raine down and talk.
Pasting on a smile, he returned to the table. Raine slouched in the booth, leaning her head against the wall.
“You’re exhausted,” Hammer murmured as he held out a hand to her. “We’re going back to the club, and I’m going to tuck you into bed.”
“I won’t argue with you,” she answered sleepily as she crawled out.
“There’s a first.”
She stood and glared. “Ha. Ha. Very funny.”
One of her acid smiles was better than no smile at all. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“Will you nap with me?” she asked as they headed to the car.
He tangled his fingers with hers. “For a bit. But I still have a club to run.”
The sunlight shining on her face made her glow. Hammer couldn’t resist trailing a knuckle down her soft cheek or pressing his lips to hers.
“Mmm,” Raine purred as he pulled back. “I like you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Affectionate. Loving. Soft.”
“Trust me, precious. I’m not soft at the moment,” he teased as he glanced at the erection straining against his zipper.
“If we can stay awake long enough, maybe we should fix that.” She winked.
As many times as he’d turned Raine away in the past, Hammer didn’t think he could ever do it again. His days of denying how much he loved her were over. He just hoped that Gwyneth and her machinations didn’t turn Raine against him and Liam in the end.
Liam strode down the corridor toward the remodeled rooms—and Gwyneth. He’d spent the last four hours dodging her calls while trying to figure out if Kyle was his son. A babe with Gwyneth… Oh, god. Though the boy couldn’t choose who his mother was, Liam didn’t relish dealing with that bitch for the next eighteen years, especially while he tried to cement his precarious threesome with Raine and Hammer.
This morning in the car, he’d taken his frustration out on the wee lass. The unreasonable jealousy had twisted his thoughts, clouded his judgment. Why else would he have rejected her? The way she’d withdrawn to ward off the pain he’d inflicted still soured his gut with raw guilt and shame.
And despite knowing how badly he’d screwed up, Liam wondered right now what his best friend was doing to the woman they loved.
Fuck. He tried to shake the vision free and concentrate on the coming battle with Gwyneth. But the news of Bill’s threat waited there to gnaw at his composure, too.
God, the day was already a catastrophe. Hammer’s lie to Raine only added to the shit. And Liam didn’t dare ask what else could go wrong. Nor could he let his ex-wife see him rattled. He needed to put himself on lockdown—fast.
As he reached the end of the hall, Liam donned a mask of indifference, then opened the door Pike had stashed Gwyneth behind.
From the portal, he surveyed the room. In a playpen sat the boy with a smattering of dark curls atop his round head and big, dark eyes. They had that much in common. He jerked a little blue rattle in his tiny fist and cried loudly. Tears soaked his bright red cheeks.
Where is your mother?
Liam heard the hum of a blow dryer behind the closed bathroom door. The baby was upset, and Gwyneth thought it was a fine time to do her hair?