Читать книгу Summer in Manhattan - Katherine Garbera - Страница 8

At the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox were up by two and Cici wasn’t feeling the love from the others around her. Except for Hoop who couldn’t stop smiling at her.

She stood up to cheer.

“Cici.”

“Yes?”

He didn’t say another word, just lowered his head and their lips brushed. There was that electric buzz that went from her lips through her entire body. She closed her eyes and felt the brush of his breath over her lips before he kissed her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth with a gentle caress and she pulled him closer, going up on her tiptoes to deepen the embrace.

He smelled of summer. Sunshine and beer and hotdogs. And some scent that was just Hoop. He held her close and she felt like she wasn’t alone.

Damn.

She wanted to pull him closer and take more from him. Take everything that he had to give her and keep it. But she wasn’t sure that was possible.

He was strong, so she wanted to borrow his strength. She wanted to figure out how he was able to always be that way when she’d been faking for too long.

He kept his hands on her face, his touch light and she held onto his waist as he angled his head and broke the kiss. He looked down at her and she looked up at him and realized that no matter what she was trying to convince herself of, she wanted Hoop.

Her blood was pounding a little heavier through her veins, her skin felt so sensitized that when he skimmed his fingers down the side of her neck, goose bumps spread down her arm.

She pulled back and felt the hotdog and kale chips she’d eaten earlier start making their way back up. Damn.

“Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand.

She swallowed and reached for her bottle of water. Her “morning” sickness wasn’t going away. She tried to bolt down the aisle but not everyone was quick to move.

“I’m going to be sick,” she yelled, and if she wasn’t feeling so bad she would have laughed at how quickly the Yankee’s fans moved out of her way. She barely made it to the restroom before she threw up everything she’d eaten that day.

Her stomach wasn’t happy just emptying the contents but added acid and bile to the mix. When she was finally finished heaving, she went to the sink to rinse her face and wash out her mouth. She hadn’t realized how much she hated throwing up. But to be honest, until her pregnancy, it had been limited to some mornings in college when she’d drunk too much the night before.

This was different. She felt weak and wanted to just curl in a ball and have her mom bring her warm 7-Up and crackers. But she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She had to go back to her seat and rejoin Hoop. She patted her pocket and realized she’d left her phone and bag in the stadium.

“Bean, you are torturing me,” she said.

She walked out of the restroom and found Hoop standing against the cement wall across from the exit. He had her purse in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He had his legs crossed at the ankles and gave her a tentative smile when he saw her.

“Some of the other fans thought you had it coming for cheering so loudly,” he said. “A few unkind ones suggested it might have been my kiss.”

“It definitely wasn’t your kiss,” she said, trying to smile. Her voice sounded funny and raw from being sick and he pushed away from the wall and walked over to her, holding out the bottle of water. She took a swallow. He handed her a piece of minty gum and she took it. He was very thoughtful and thorough.

How could she think about getting involved with Hoop? Would he even want to after that?

Being sick was just the beginning. Her body was going to change and if the chapters she’d skipped ahead to read in her pregnancy book were any indication, some of the stuff was not going to be pleasant.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I can’t do this to you. You don’t want to be friends with a pregnant lady, Hoop. I’ve read the books and it’s just going to get worse.”

He put his hand on the back of her neck and rubbed in a soft circular motion. “Too late. I’m not going to let you keep backing away. We’ve already decided to give this a try.”

“We did?” she asked. She didn’t think they’d done that but she wasn’t ready to walk away from him yet.

“And you don’t strike me as someone who backs down. I mean, I saw you cheering on your team in enemy country.”

She smiled, even though she didn’t want to. And then wondered why she didn’t want to. Did she have to punish herself because she’d made a mistake with this man? Was that why she was trying so hard to find any reason not to be with him.

She leaned forward, putting her forehead on his chest and her arms around his waist. She could tell she startled him because his hand dropped to his side and then he wrapped his arms around her.

She held him and didn’t say anything. Just took comfort from this man who she really didn’t know what to do with. And right now, as crappy as she was feeling, she didn’t want to have to figure it out or worry about the future. She just needed…Hoop.

She lifted her head, staring up into those brilliant blue eyes of his and he put his hands on her head, tucked the long strand of her bangs back behind her ear.

He tangled their fingers together and turned so they were facing the exit. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Somewhere we can be alone,” he said.

She wanted to be the woman she saw when he looked at her. Someone who was strong. Strong enough to make the right choices and to own up to the world if she didn’t.

They’d caught a cab to Red Roosters in Harlem because Cici was hungry and somehow taking her back to his place had bad idea written all over it. Kissing her had changed something inside of him. Watching her run away to be sick had been a pretty clear reminder of her circumstances.

She needed a friend and he’d offered.

It wasn’t one he’d made lightly though. His hormones were doing their damnedest to convince him that friends with benefits was a good idea, but he knew she needed just a friend. She was on her own with the baby. And he knew how fragile that could be. He’d seen it as an adult and lived through it as a child.

And she had seemed to lose some of her glow after she’d gotten sick. Who could blame her? So, he sat in a corner booth across from her and asked her about baseball.

“You are a crazy massive fan of baseball,” he said, taking a sip of his sweet tea. He needed something to cool him down but it wasn’t the heat in the city that had him on fire. It was Cici.

Her hair kept curling around her face and she tucked the same strand behind her ear repeatedly. That strand. It had been soft and silky to the touch. Just like her lips. He wanted to kiss her again but he was being cool. She’d worn contacts today and he noticed how pretty her eyes were.

But he was honoring her desire for them to be friends. Plus, he knew she needed more from him than just full on guy hormones. She needed comfort and to feel normal. He’d not been around pregnant women much. One of his sisters at the Fillions’ foster home had a baby last year but she lived in Florida now with her husband so he hadn’t seen her while she’d been expecting.

Just from watching Cici, he noticed how much it drained her. She’d been pale when she’d come out of the bathroom and shaken. The way she’d hugged him…she needed him.

No one had ever really needed him. He volunteered, of course, and he knew the kids he was a big brother to really appreciated it, but he had never felt as needed with them as he had with Cici this afternoon. This had felt more personal.

“I am a pretty intense fan when it comes to the Red Sox,” she admitted. “One year I went to spring training.”

“Just one year?” he asked with a wink. “How can you call yourself a massive fan?”

“Alright smarty, how many spring training games have you been to?” she asked.

“One. And that was just because my sister had a new baby and we all went to Florida,” he explained.

“Sister? I thought you were adopted. Did your parents…what happened with your parents?” she asked, reaching onto his plate and stealing a fry.

“Lisa is my sister but we aren’t biological siblings. She and I grew up in the same home…the Fillions. Did I tell you about them?”

“No. What happened to your folks?” she asked. “If I’m being too nosey just tell me to mind my own business. I think it’s a side effect of hanging out with Iona all the time.”

He rubbed his hand over his chest. His real parents. People always wanted to know about them. And frankly, he wanted to as well. “I have no idea. Near as anyone can figure, my mom was a teenager who gave birth…” he shrugged, “somewhere…and then dropped me off at the hospital and kept on trucking. Never gave me a name or anything.”

She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. She laced their fingers together and she squeezed gently. “I’m sorry. I never knew my dad either, so I can sort of understand not knowing.”

“It’s more than that,” he admitted. But they were on a date and he didn’t want to get into how he’d felt unworthy for so many years. He was better now; he knew that the problem was hers and not anything to do with him. But there were times when he wished he could meet her and show her what she’d walked away from.

“I can’t even begin to imagine,” she said. “How did you get your name?”

“The center she dropped me off at was on Hooper Street,” he said. “And one of the nurses thought I looked like a Jason. They had to fill in the paperwork. When I was a cop I went to investigate and found out about all the legalities involved. It’s how I decided to switch to being a lawyer.”

He took another sip of his sweet tea but it tasted too cloying now and he set it aside. Talking about his past always left him feeling…well, odd. That was the only word for it.

“I’ve reached out to one of my coworkers about your case and if you have time next week, I’d love for you to stop by the office and meet with her. Then you can get the paperwork started to send them to your…I don’t know what to call him.”

Cici blushed. “Baby daddy? Sperm donor?”

“No. That’s not it,” he said. “Mr. Maguire.”

“Once he signs the papers then you’ll be protected and to be honest, he will be too. That way you can’t go back to him and demand anything from him.”

“I would never do that,” Cici said.

“I know. But it will give him peace of mind and make him more amenable to signing the papers,” Hoop said. He’d handled a lot of cases like hers and knew that having a binding contract wasn’t always enough but it gave each party some peace of mind. He wanted to make sure that Cici was protected.

“Good. I just want that done,” she said. “I think once this is settled, well I can really start to figure out things for the baby.”

“Like what?” he asked. He didn’t know what a child would need or what a single mom would. Seeing Cici on her own made him wonder if his own mother had been like this. Did she have a friend to talk to? He’d never know. He knew that but it stirred questions all the same.

“Like the nursery colors and theme…and then I have to find a preschool and get on the waiting list,” she said.

“You haven’t even given birth yet,” he said, but he knew from one of his co-workers who was struggling to get their kids into the right school how hard it was.

“You have no idea about all the things that I have to decide,” she said.

“On your own?” he asked softly.

“I haven’t told my mom and stepdad yet. I mean Hayley and Iona have been great but this kind of thing is definitely something I have to figure out.”

“I can ask around at my office and get a list of the best schools,” he said. “Maybe see if someone can write a letter of recommendation for you.”

“You’d do that?” she asked.

“Yes. We’re friends. You’re going to need lots of them,” he said.

She took another sip of her water, finally getting full. She leaned back against the seat and watched Hoop. The kiss…she’d been ignoring it since they’d left the ballpark because she wanted to focus on friendship but he’d stirred something deep inside of her. Something she thought would be dormant now that she was expecting. And that her life was up in the air.

But it wasn’t.

“You okay?”

“Yes,” she said, wishing he hadn’t caught her staring at him. “I was just thinking how I need to build up a network of other parents. I remember when I was young, before my mom met Steven, my stepdad, how alone we were.”

“That’s not going to happen to you,” he said.

“No, it’s not. I always thought when I had a kid I’d be more sensible about the planning. My dad was in special forces and so his job was dangerous…I mean I know they couldn’t have guessed he’d be killed but I just thought, if I was smart about it, then I could do it right.”

“Right?” he asked. “I’m not sure I’m following.”

“Just that I’d find a guy and have kids with him and we’d both raise them. No divorce or risky jobs. That way the kids could grow up in a house where they knew they were loved.”

Cici realized how that sounded. That maybe she’d said too much. “Sorry about that. I think all the food is going to my head. This place is great.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, arching one eyebrow over at her. “It is great. Was that your way of saying you’d had enough of the conversation?”

“Yes,” she said. She didn’t want to think about the fact that her child was going to want to know who their father was at some point. And she’d have to tell them about Rich not wanting to be a part of their life. God, that was going to be hard. When she met with Hoop’s lawyer friend maybe she’d ask if there was a provision they could put in just in case the child wanted to meet him.

“Fair enough,” he said. “What do you want to do now?”

“I think I’m ready to head home,” she said. She had a lot to think about. And she wanted to try to forget the kiss they’d shared. It had been incredible. “The game was a lot of fun. I wish I hadn’t gotten sick.”

“Me too. But that’s to be expected. You seem better now,” he said. “I’m glad. Do you know how long morning sickness lasts? I think with my sister she had it for four months.”

“The book said each expectant mother is different,” Cici said. She’d gone to a few websites as well and her doctor had told her once she relaxed and learned to listen to the changes in her body it would help. “I really hope it ends soon.”

“I bet,” he said. He signaled the waiter for the bill.

She reached for her wallet and he cleared his throat.

“What?”

“I know you are not going to try to pay for lunch,” he said.

“What if I was?” she asked. She always paid her own way. She had already calculated the cost of her portion and the tip.

“It’s a date, Cici. That means lunch is on me.”

“It’s the twenty-first century, Hoop, a woman can pay,” she said, though she knew she was needling him. She thought it was nice when a guy paid after asking her out.

“Well I’m old fashioned that way,” he said.

“What other ways are you old fashioned?” she asked. “You wanted to pick me up at my place. That sort of thing?”

“I guess. Just seems polite to pick you up from your place. You know how I told you I was in trouble a lot as a teenager?”

“Yes.”

“Well I spent a lot of time reading books and I picked up some things that…I don’t know, I guess resonated with the kind of man I wanted to be. You know Mr. Fillion, my pops, influenced me when I got to their house but before that I had to find my own male role model.”

She wanted to find the little boy inside of him and give him a hug. He’d struggled growing up and she reminded herself that she didn’t want her child to have to go through that. “Is that why you volunteer with Big Brother?”

“Partially. We all need to know we have someone to reach out to,” he said, handing his credit card to the waiter.

She waited until the waiter had gone because not everything that was said between them needed a witness. And she liked letting him stew for a few minutes.

“But we can talk more about that on our next date,” he said.

“What makes you think we’ll have a second date?”

“This one went pretty well,” he said, “And you like me.”

He held his hand out to help her from the bench and she shook her head as she followed him out the door. She did like him.