Love You, Baby (Must Love Diamonds 3)

“I am.”

He rose to his feet, his whole body vibrating with anger. “How long?”

“Until your trust fund matures.”

His pulse skipped and his stomach dropped. “That’s in four years.”

“Yes.”

Merit stared at him for a long moment, reading his dad’s brown eyes that were much like his own and his brothers’. The steely resolution in their dark depths had him spinning for the door with his coffee cup clenched in his fist.

“You’ll thank me for this someday, Merit.”

“Don’t bet on it,” he threw out as he yanked the door open.

He managed to avoid the rest of the family on his way out. He slammed the door of his red Jaguar SUV and gunned the engine to peel out of the driveway. A detour on the way home confirmed every single one of his cards were useless, even his debit card. He had almost seven hundred in his wallet, but that was it for cash. Well, that and a change bowl on the counter in his kitchen, but there wasn’t much in there since he’d only started it the day he moved in three months ago. Maybe enough to buy a beer—or a cup of coffee.

Merit glanced at the cup in his console as he pulled into his garage. Lyssa was not who he really wanted to see, but just like he refused to beg his dad for his own damn money, he wasn’t about to get on his knees for one little crumb of attention from Mae Lockhart. A guy had to have some pride.

Besides, everything had changed in the past half-hour. Mae was the owner of her own construction company, with paying jobs and employees. He’d never worked a day in his life and currently had no source of income. Yeah, she’d be real impressed with him now.

He took the empty cup inside with him, but after he put the barista’s number in his phone, he hesitated sending a text. Restless and frustrated, he left the cup on the coffee table and went downstairs to work out his anger on the weights in the basement gym he’d set up last month when his usual source of stress-relief quit working. Hard to relieve stress when your muse insisted on the subject being exactly the one you were trying to forget.

After a long swim in his indoor pool, he finally sent Lyssa the invite to come over later. He would put a movie on in the theater room, but after the look she’d given him that morning, he doubted they’d even get past the opening credits.

She responded almost immediately and said she was looking forward to it.

After texting her his address, he reached up to rub the back of his neck. Guaranteed sex should make him happier. Problem was, the moment he imagined her dark hair spread out across his pillow, he wanted blond. Just the memory of Mae’s shoulder length waves in sexy disarray around her head as he moved over her had blood rushing to his groin.

“Sonofabitch.”

He shoved away from the doorjamb he’d been leaning against. Upstairs, he changed into shorts and a T-shirt before grabbing his keys, wireless ear buds, and his phone to start his playlist as he went for a run.

Six miles round trip brought him back to the house, and he glanced at his watch to see he had enough time to shower before his ‘date’ arrived. He stripped off his sweaty T-shirt on his way to the sink to gulp down a large glass of cold water. Twin trickles tracked from the corners of his mouth, past his chin, throat, and down over his bare chest. The cool liquid felt good against his heated skin, but he still swiped up a kitchen towel to wipe his face.

The peal of the doorbell jerked his head toward the front of the house before he checked the time. Quarter to seven. He clenched his jaw, then consciously forced the muscles to relax as he strode to the door, towel tossed over his shoulder.

He leaned to grasp the handle, then swung the door open while plastering a smile on his face. “You’re earl—”

Merit broke off at the sight of the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind for months standing on his doorstep. He raked his gaze down over her powder blue T-shirt, cut-off jean shorts, and sparkly sandals revealing red-tipped toes. His breath hitched in his chest as he lifted his gaze back to her face framed by those gorgeous gold-blond locks.

Desire flooded his veins from one heartbeat to the next. She was even sexier than his memory gave her credit for.

“Mae. Hey. I, ah, I…”

Fucking A, man. Get it together. You sound like a virgin teenager.

Felt like one, too. Racing pulse, flip-flopping stomach, short breath. He managed a smile and opened the door wider. He’d been dying for this for the past two months. “It’s really good to see you. Come on in.”

She didn’t return his smile, and she didn’t move. Her blue gaze was fixed on his chest, and her cheeks were flushed bright red. As he watched, he saw her throat work in a hard swallow while he noted her hands clasped tight together in front of her stomach.

Her gaze lifted to his, and this time, he heard her swallow before she said, “I’m pregnant.”

Chapter 4

Time froze. The world disappeared. Merit’s mind went blank except for the two words repeating in his head, over and over, louder and louder. But before he could form a coherent thought, all the color drained from her face.

He frowned with concern. “Whoa, are you—”