Bittersweet Catastrophe (Second Chances #2.5) Read online

  Unbelievable. I shook my head. “Well, if this gift of yours could tell me if I’m having boys, girls or one of each, it might be of more use to me.”

  “Shut the front door!” He snaked his arm around my neck and planted a big, wet, lip-smacking kiss on my cheek. “Congrats, daddio! You must’ve waved your magic wand just right to make that shit happen.” He made a thrusting motion against my hip, and I ducked out from under his arm. Jesus, did he ever let up on the sexual innuendos? I guess I shouldn’t complain too much though. At least he showed up wearing clothes this time. My bachelor party on the other hand… Now that was an image I could do without.

  “And that’s my cue to leave…”

  “Trying to steal him right out from under my nose, huh? Wouldn’t have expected that from you, Shayne.” Lance came up beside Robbie and slinked his arms around his waist.

  “Looks like our secret is out.” I joked, winking at Robbie, and slapped Lance on the back. Never had I met two men more perfect for one another, and being a guy, that wasn’t always easy for me to admit. Seeing them together was proof that love knew no boundaries, and who was I to judge them. Hell, I loved them like brothers!

  Gazing across the yard, I found Liberty trailing behind Iris as her chubby one-year-old legs flew across the grass. I could see the exhaustion painted on her face, and together we steered the little bundle of energy back toward her grandparents, who were visiting from Hunter’s home state of Texas.

  A few moments later, Maddie announced that dinner was ready, and we took our seats at a picnic table across from Robbie and Lance. Liberty surpassed me by eating nearly two of everything, which put my appetite to shame, but with my babies growing inside of her, it didn’t surprise me one bit. They had hearty appetites like their daddy.

  We all watched as Iris opened her presents while seated in Hunter’s lap. The smile that lit up her face, even before getting a peek at the presents hidden beneath the wrapping paper, was contagious, but seeing her dive face first into her first piece of cake had everyone doubled over from laughing so hard. That kid was too fucking much. I could see why Maddie enjoyed motherhood so much, and it warmed my heart knowing that I could give that to Liberty. She was going to be such a wonderful mother to our kids.

  Just as we were finishing up with dessert, Liberty cleared her throat, grabbing everyone’s attention, and soon all eyes were on her. She looked over to me, and I smiled, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Um…Shayne and I were going to wait a while to share this, but since you’re all here, we thought it would be a nice surprise for everyone.” I rubbed her hand and brought it to my lips. “As you all know, we’ve been trying to get pregnant for some time now, and I’m happy to announce that we’re expecting. Twins!”

  I splayed my hand over her stomach, feeling the slight swell that our babies had given her, and pulled her in close. She looked so damn beautiful staring back at me, her rosy cheeks pushed high from smiling so wide, and I couldn’t stop myself from capturing her lips. I kissed her fully and shamelessly, not caring that there was a backyard full of guests staring wide-eyed at us. The moment my lips touched hers, everyone else faded away. It was just the two of us – or rather, the four of us – and I couldn’t have been happier.

  Before I pulled my lips away from her, I heard Brett huff out a sardonic laugh. He kicked his chair back, scraping it against the cement patio, and stormed off toward his car.

  “Shit, I better go talk to him.” Liberty raced after him, and I sat there shaking my head as I slowly got to my feet. What in the actual fuck just happened?

  Maddie reached for my hand, hoping to give Liberty and her brother a moment to themselves before I got caught in the crossfire. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll get over it. He always does.” She smiled warmly.

  “Yeah. Well, he should’ve gotten over it the day I slipped my mother’s ring on her finger. This shit needs to end now.” I shot her a weak smile and headed off in the direction of Liberty and Brett’s raised voices. I got there just in time to find him firmly grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her into his chest. Friends or not, seeing that shit had me seething and mentally breaking each and every one of his goddamn fingers.

  “You mind taking your hands off of my wife?” I chewed out and folded my arms over my chest, making the tattoos branded against my skin pull tight over my forearms.

  Brett looked over her shoulder at me with bitter hatred burning in his eyes. His gaze flickered back down to Liberty, and he loosened his hold on her, only to bring his hands up to her cheeks as he cradled her face. Leaning his forehead against hers, it was then I saw her shoulders shake as a sob tore through her. My blood was boiling, literally on the verge of erupting. Motherfucker. If he was the reason for those tears streaming down her face, I swore on my mother’s grave I would make him pay for every last one of them, starting with his fucking hands because he had yet to remove them.

  I took a step forward, hoping he’d take a hint, and he pressed his lips to her forehead before releasing her. Without a second glance, he turned with his hands shoved in his pockets and trudged off toward his truck.

  “She’s all yours.” He muttered under his breath before slamming the door shut and peeling out the driveway.

  Liberty remained facing him as his truck sped down the road, and her entire body succumbed to the emotions threatening to pour out of her. I managed to wrap my arms around her waist from behind before she collapsed to the ground. Jesus, what the fuck did he say to her?

  “Shhh, baby, I got you.” I spun her in my arms and cautiously lifted her chin. Tears flooded down her flushed cheeks, and her puffy red eyes screamed of the pain he had caused her. “C’mere,” I whispered against her salty, tear-stained lips and steered her over to the front steps of Maddie’s house. “Catch your breath and tell me what he said that got you so worked up.”

  She bowed her head, sniffing back more tears, and rubbed the heel of her palm against her chest as though it literally ached. “H-he told me it hurts too much to be around me, that he feels like he’s finally lost me.” I watched her slowly shake her head from side to side. “I’ve never seen him like this, Shayne. Never. I-I don’t know what to do.”

  “Sweetheart, he never lost you because you were never his to begin with. You’re mine. Always have been, always will be. He’s just never been able to get that through his thick skull.”

  She lifted her head, wiping the moisture away from her face with the back of her hand. “He asked me to quit,” she said softly.

  “He asked you to…” Why that little fucking prick! Liberty had been waitressing at AJ’s Oceanside Restaurant since she’d arrived in Savannah two years ago, and she was damn good at her job. As much as I hated the idea of her being anywhere near him right now, I wouldn’t let him coerce her into leaving just because he couldn’t handle being in the same breathing space as her. “He can’t force you to quit, Liberty. I get that he owns the place now, but unless he fires you, you still have a job there.”

  “I don’t know, Shayne. He seems really upset over all of this.” She picked at a thread hanging from the hem of her black shorts.

  “Let him be! Dammit, Liberty, you don’t owe him a fucking thing. He’s supposed to be your friend, and right now, he’s doing a pretty shitty job at that. Instead of pissing and moaning, he should be happy for you. ” I cupped my hands around her neck and brushed my thumbs along her jaw, keeping her eyes on me. “Look, if you want to quit, then by all means quit, but only if that’s what you truly want. I know how much you love working there with him and Maddie, and I have no doubt she’d miss you like crazy. If Brett would pull his head out of his fucking ass, I’m sure he’d realize how much he’d miss you, too.”

  I must’ve been crazy for admitting what I was about to say, but I loved this woman sitting beside me wholeheartedly, and I would do everything in my power to ensure that she was happy. “I might not be his biggest fan, but I’m not blind either. You mean just as much to him as he does to you, and
I’m sure this will all blow over once he lets that settle in. Don’t let him talk you into making a hasty decision just because he can’t handle you being happy with someone other than him.”

  “You’re right. I…,” she paused, letting out a deep breath. “I don’t know. I guess I wish that he could find someone who makes him happy, too. I hate seeing him so miserable whenever we’re together. ”

  “Trust me, he will.” I kissed the top of her head. “Somewhere out there is a woman willing to put up with his stupid, stubborn ass, and the day he finds her, he’ll be wondering why he wasted all of his time chasing after you when he could have been spending it with her.”

  “Well, I think he’ll be looking for quite a long time. She’s probably hiding under a rock as we speak.” Liberty covered her mouth, letting out a quiet, muffled laugh. “Maybe we should all chip in and get him one of those dogs trained to detect drugs. Might come in handy.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Now why the hell would we do that?”

  “Because,” she bit back a smile. “Any woman would have to be on drugs to deal with his constant mood swings.”

  Ain’t that the fucking truth. “I know. It’s called chloroform.”

  She smacked my chest playfully, and her body shook with laughter. I brushed the pad of my thumb across her cheek and smiled. “There’s my girl,” I whispered as I kissed her lips. “What do ya say we head on home? I think the party is pretty much over now anyway, and you look dead on your feet.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let me just say goodbye to everyone before we leave.” She bit her lip and looked up at me through hooded lashed. “Do you think we could stop by the grocery store on the way home? Thing One and Thing Two have a wicked hankering for some Ben and Jerry’s.”

  Why am I not surprised?

  Then I remembered the pint of Cherry Garcia I caught her eating in bed and knew she’d want to get beef jerky to go along with the ice cream. On second thought… Nope. Not happening. I had a better idea. One that was much safer on my stomach. “How about this? We stop at DQ and get you the biggest fucking milkshake they have–”

  “Chocolate?” She quickly chimed in.

  I nodded slowly, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, and lowered my voice. “Whatever you want.”

  She eyed me suspiciously. “Are you trying to butter me up? Because if I didn’t know better, I’d say there’s definitely some major buttering up going on right now.”

  “That depends. Is it working?”

  “A little.” She slipped her arms over my shoulders and around my neck. “Throw in a warm bubble bath and you have yourself a deal.”

  “Done.” That was easy.

  “Will you be joining me?”

  “Babe, c’mon.” I licked my lips and closed my eyes, imagining her body pressed up against mine with water lapping around us. My dick was growing hard as the image invaded my mind, and my mouth pulled up into a half grin. “Like you need to ask.”

  I kept my promise to Liberty, keeping my worrisome thoughts to myself, not only for the remainder of that day but the following few days as well. It wasn’t easy by any means, and I often found myself leaving the house to clear my head. With my ass planted in the sand, staring out at the waves rippling up the beach, I allowed myself to worry in peace.

  How can she possibly ask me not to worry about her, when all I can think about is the possibility of losing her?

  I heard her quiet footsteps approach me from behind, as if she had picked up on my unspoken thoughts. Kneeling down beside me, she picked up a small shell and began drawing abstract patterns in the sand. She did this for a good fifteen minutes before uttering a single word, but the words she did speak were not the ones I wanted to hear.

  “My biopsy results are in.” She placed the shell down in the center of the heart she’d just drawn before letting her gaze calmly reach mine. “The doctor said we could come in this afternoon to go over them.”

  I nodded, focusing my attention back toward the waves. There wasn’t much more to be said. I’d been dreading this call for the last four days, and now that her results were in, I suddenly was in no hurry to find out. I now understood why she asked me to stop worrying. It was easier that way. Safer. Sometimes not knowing, being forever kept in the dark, was the better option. It sure as fuck didn’t hurt as much.

  “Or we can go tomorrow,” she continued. “I can wait. It’s not like an extra day is going to change anything. The results will still be the same.”

  She was right. An extra day wouldn’t change anything. If it turned out that it was cancer, an extra day…week…month...wasn’t going to make a difference. It’d still be there, slowly stealing away my only reason for breathing.

  But an extra day could save her life.

  I looked over at her hand resting in the sand, and her ring sparkled as the sun’s rays hit the diamond at just the right angle. I gently brushed it off and turned it palm-side up, lifting her hand to my mouth. “I love you,” I whispered, brushing my lips along her slender fingers. My eyes locked on hers, and they sparkled just as brightly as the ring nestled on her finger. “I love you so fucking much. Nothing will ever change that.”

  She nodded, giving me a weak smile.

  “Do you believe me?”

  Her eyes fluttered back up to mine, and I could see that whatever words were about to come out of her mouth were sincere. “Yes. I believe you, Shayne.”

  “Good.” I slipped my hand behind her neck and pulled her to me, needing to feel the softness of her lips. “Because whatever happens, I want you to know that my love for you…for them,” I said, placing my hand over her stomach, “is constant. Whatever obstacles life throws our way, we’ll get through them together. I’m not going anywhere, not without you by my side.”

  “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you. You’ve been so patient with me, dealing with my crazy hormones and then throwing this into the mix…” She shook her head, eyes glistening with fresh tears. “I just hate to be such a burden–”

  “Now I don’t want to hear any of that. You are NOT a burden. Do you hear me?” I cupped her cheeks and tilted her head back. “You could never be a burden. Your crazy hormones come with the territory, babe. You’ve got my kids stirring up trouble inside of you, and that alone would drive anyone crazy.” That brought a tiny smile out of her, and funny enough, she knew it was true. “Now it’s my turn to tell you to stop worrying. The rest we’ll just take in stride. One day at a time. Okay?”

  Brushing my thumb along the contours of her cheek, she leaned into my touch and nodded in agreement.

  I drifted forward, ghosting my lips against the shell of her ear, and whispered, “Sweetheart, I think we should go today.”

  Her big brown eyes shot up, flittering back and forth between my own, and I could see her nerves were getting the best of her. This wasn’t easy for me either, but sooner or later, the truth had to come out, and putting it off was only going to make this harder for both of us. Her fingers dug into my arms as I pulled her up and walked her up the beach to our house.

  “Why don’t you call the doctor back and let him know we’ll be in today. Is there anything you need to bring with you?”

  She started to shake her head no, but stopped short and turned back to face me. “Just my lucky rabbit’s foot.”

  Of course…that mangy old rabbit’s foot. It unexpectedly brought us luck the day we found out we were pregnant with twins, and I prayed our luck hadn’t run out yet.

  God, please. If you’re listening, tell me it hasn’t run out yet.

  Two hours later, we were sitting in the waiting room and anxiously watching the minutes tick by. It felt like an eternity before Liberty’s name was called, and I was about ready to pull my hair out when a nurse finally came out for us. Yeah, that Rogaine I mentioned a few days ago…I was thinking about throwing that on their tab. It was the least they could do for the hell we’d been put through these last few days, not to mention the patches of hai
r I’m sure were missing from my head.

  The nurse led us back to a room plastered with medical degrees and faces of smiling children, and while I’m sure their photographs were meant to brighten up the mood of the room, I couldn’t help but think that they were mocking us as we awaited her results. As if they were each saying “sorry” with a big teasing grin. Liberty still had the rabbit’s foot clutched in her hand, and as her eyes scanned the room, her hand tightened around the furry appendage. Yeah…those little smiling shits were mocking us. She saw it, too.

  “Everything’s going to be fine.” I carefully pried away her death grip and brought her hand up to my lips. “Try to relax. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

  She pasted on a smile, only giving me a slight nod in response. I hated this. Hated seeing her so distant and devoid of emotion, when deep down, I knew she was ready to break down at any moment. I’d do anything just to see a genuine smile light up her face again, and to be honest, I thought we both could’ve used a distraction; one a little less melancholy.

  I looked over to her seated beside me, a sly grin slowly pulling at the corners of my mouth. “Would it help calm your nerves if I did a little strip tease for you while we wait?” I waggled my eyebrows. Hey, it’s worth a shot.

  “Shayne, we’re sitting in the middle of a doctor’s office…”

  “Don’t worry, babe. I’ve come prepared just for the occasion.”

  She eyed me warily and let out a snort, realizing what I was referring to. “Oh God, you didn’t…”

  Oh I did. I stood, leaning against the large mahogany desk, and dragged her chair closer so that I could stand between her legs. The look on her face as I began to pull my fly down, exposing a pair of neon pink boxer briefs with the words “Yes, I am happy to see you” and a smiley face printed across my dick, was totally worth it. Next to my lime green boxer briefs, those were her favorite, and they hadn’t failed to put a smile on her face yet.