Baby, I'm Yours (Life, Love and Babies) Read online

  Baby,

  I’m Yours

  By

  Samantha

  Chase

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by Samantha Chase. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.

  Prologue

  It wasn’t often that Nicole Taylor let her hair down or threw caution to the wind, but if ever there was a time to give it a try, it was now. She was twenty-three and had been working so hard to finish getting her master’s degree in education that a social life had seemingly passed her by. Standing on the opposite side of the bar where she’d come to grab a beer and maybe meet up with some friends, she spotted the perfect guy. Well, she didn’t especially know if he was a perfect guy, but for right here and right now, he certainly was.

  Picking up random guys in bars was so not her thing. She had been raised in a fairly straight-laced, conservative home where she was taught to not chase after men and the importance of getting an education and good job. Well, being that she had been going to school for what seemed like forever and had graduated at the top of her class in graduate school, she figured now was a good time to relax the remainder of those rules a little bit.

  He was tall; easily over six feet and had jade green eyes. Even from across the room Nicole could feel the intensity of his stare. Not used to anyone looking at her with such carnal interest, she glanced over her shoulder just to make sure that it was indeed her that he was looking at. Lowering her eyes, she blushed and busied herself with playing with her bottle of beer. Normally she never drank the stuff, but it seemed like the thing to do in a place like this.

  On the other side of the room, some of her classmates were either playing pool or dancing. She had no interest in either activity. A quick glance back to him, and she risked a smile. He returned it with one of his own, and Nicole actually felt her insides turn to goo. He had a hint of a dimple, and before she knew what she was going to do or say, her mystery man was headed her way.

  Uh-oh. It was foolish to put any real effort into meeting anyone, she reminded herself. After all, she had just graduated and was moving in two days. Tomorrow she had an interview with a school she wanted to teach at back home, and the day after that she was moving. The closer he got, the more her mind spun.

  People had one-night stands all the time, didn’t they? Why couldn’t she? In forty-eight hours, she’d be six hundred miles away and beginning her new life. What harm could one little reckless night cause? Of course, with her strict upbringing, Nicole knew that she wouldn’t be too reckless. She was a good-girl, after all. Well, at least for the most part.

  Maybe she was over-thinking it all. Maybe Mr. Hot-and-Sexy was just going to come over and say hello, buy her a drink, and maybe ask her to dance. In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of her, and all Nicole could think was he smells so good. Looking up into his lean and ruggedly handsome face, she smiled. “Hi.”

  He returned the greeting with a sexy grin of his own. “Hi.”

  Extending his hand to her, he took one of Nicole’s small hands in his and simply held it. In that instant, Nicole knew that she would be as reckless and wild as he wanted because someone who looked like that did not come around every day. For this one night, she would gladly walk on the wild side.

  As long as this incredible man was right there leading the way.

  Chapter One

  The cell phone sitting on the kitchen counter might as well have been a hand grenade. She certainly didn’t want to touch it and was frantically trying to come up with an alternative method to making the call that she didn’t want to make.

  Pacing back and forth next to it, Nikki couldn’t help but frown. There was no way that what she had to say was going to be well received. Tonight she was due to go out to a pre-wedding dinner for her best friend, Denise. As maid of honor, she had been wrangled into all sorts of wedding-related festivities, and tonight’s dinner was supposed to just be an intimate dinner with Denise, her fiancée, David, his best man and Nikki.

  Unable to find a replacement babysitter for her daughter, Nikki now had to call Denise and pull out of the evening. Sighing with resignation, she scooped the phone off the counter and scrolled through her favorite contacts until she got to Denise’s number. She hit it with all the enthusiasm of hitting a launch button that would start a war.

  “Please let it go to voicemail; please let it go to voicemail,” she chanted softly.

  “Oh, my god, Nik, I am so glad that you called. You are not going to believe what just happened…”

  So much for going to voicemail. Denise was rambling on about issues with linen colors for the wedding when Nikki interrupted. “Look, Dee, I know it’s last minute, but my sitter canceled, and I can’t find anyone to stay with Ellie on such short notice. I’m so sorry, but I can’t go tonight.”

  “But you have to!” Denise pleaded. “You’re my maid of honor, and David and I wanted you and Josh to meet before the wedding, and we had a heck of a time organizing this dinner. Josh’s schedule is crazy, and it’s the only time he was willing to take off to do this. There’s got to be somebody else that you can call.”

  “I’ve been through my entire list, and no one is available. I’m really sorry.”

  “You could bring Ellie with us!” she suggested, clearly pleased with herself for solving the evening’s problems.

  “Have you completely lost your mind? I am not bringing a toddler to a fancy French restaurant, Dee,” Nikki rolled her eyes in disbelief at her friend’s suggestion. “I’ll admit that my daughter is well-behaved, but bringing her into those surroundings past her bedtime is just asking for trouble.

  “But, Nik, you’ve got to be there!”

  At this point Nikki was ready to bang her own head against the wall in frustration. “I wish that I could, but it’s just not possible tonight. Maybe some other time…?”

  “Or,” Denise began dramatically, “maybe we can bring the dinner there to you!” she said excitedly.

  “What are you talking about? Please tell me that you’re not going to bring me a doggie-bag or something. Because seriously, I’ll survive without the French food.”

  “No, no; nothing like that. I was just thinking that maybe we can skip the French thing and grab some Chinese take-out or something and have a casual dinner at your place instead. This way you won’t have to worry about a sitter, and Ellie will be close to her own bed. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s doable, but won’t David be disappointed to miss out on going French tonight?” Nikki teased, knowing full-well that David was more of a beer and potato chip kind of man than a fancy-French-restaurant one.

  “Please, he may very well leave me for you for getting him out of this tonight,” Denise said flatly. “Excuse me for trying to introduce a little culture into our lives.”

  “You’re lucky that David loves you so much, you know,” Nikki sighed wistfully. What she wouldn’t give to have a man who was as devoted to her as David was to Denise.

  “Unfortunately,” Denise said, sighing dramatically, “I think he has feelings for another woman. A younger woman.”

  “Oh, no! Dee! How do you know? Are you okay? Why haven’t you said anything?” Nikki asked frantically, worried about the relationship of her dearest friend.

  “Well, I was worried at first, but then I realized that it would be a long time before Ellie is old enough to date,” Denise chuckled.

  �
�Ellie? My sweet baby girl? You nearly gave me a heart attack with that one!”

  “What can I say? David is a sucker for those big green eyes of hers and the way she laughs at all of his corny jokes.”

  “She’s a flirt, that’s for sure. She certainly doesn’t take after her mother; maybe if I knew how to flirt I would have had a date in the last year or so.”

  “I have to agree with you there. And it’s been more like three years. You really do need to get out there more. It’s not good for you to be alone. You’re too young to just be sitting at home all by yourself. You should let me fix you up with someone.”

  And that’s when it hit Nikki.

  “Oh. My. God. Is that what tonight is about? Are you trying to fix me up with David’s best man?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Denise choked. “Please; I love you and Ellie way too much to fix you up with Josh.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with Josh?” It was a reasonable question considering that Nikki was not only going to have this man in her home for dinner, but she was obligated to spend some time with him on the day of the wedding, as well.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Nik; I love Josh. He’s a great guy, and he’s David’s brother. But Josh is not a family kind of guy, you know? At all. I would never try and fix you up with someone who wouldn’t be good for Ellie; and unfortunately, that’s Josh.”

  “He hates kids, huh?”

  “It’s not so much that he hates them, but he has made it abundantly clear that he has no plans to settle down and have a family.”

  “Oh. So he’s what…like a player?”

  “Nik, no one says player anymore, but it’s nothing like that. He was engaged once, and as soon as his fiancé started making plans for their future, he bailed.” Denise paused as if trying to remember more. “Actually, he had come to visit David up at school right after graduation – he had missed the actual ceremony because of a work commitment – just to get away from all of Erin’s wedding plans. After that weekend, they called it quits.”

  “Wow. What did David say to him that made him decide to call off the wedding?”

  “Nothing! As a matter of fact, we never even got to see him. He showed up there, but if you remember, David and I went away for the weekend right before we all moved back here. We went to the Poconos. Remember I told you about the champagne glass bath tub?”

  Nikki had hoped to erase that story from her mind because Denise had given such graphic details of all of the things she and David had done in said bathtub. “Yes, yes. I remember.”

  “Well, Josh showed up at the school, we played phone tag with him for the better part of the weekend, and by the time we got back, he had gone home. David felt bad about missing him, especially after Josh admitted that he had come up there to get his head together.”

  “Clearly that didn’t happen.”

  “Or maybe it did. If he had really wanted to get married, then he would have. Personally, I think it’s great that he didn’t prolong the inevitable. He didn’t really love Erin, so she was better off without him. I’m kind of glad that we didn’t meet up with him. I would have felt partially responsible for whatever decision he made, and I don’t want that. I’m glad that I have the memories of the weekend in the Poconos. Ooh, we have got to go back there and make some new memories!”

  Nikki felt sick. While Denise’s reminder of the champagne tub story was enough to make her feel extremely uncomfortable, it was her own memories of that particular weekend that had her feeling sick. That weekend was the weekend that she had met Tyler. Closing her eyes, she could still see those green eyes and feel the touch of his hands on her skin. Their night together had been every fantasy that she’d ever had come to life. Nikki never told anyone the details of that night; she was ashamed to admit to having a one-nighter with a stranger. Of course, the fact that she got pregnant with Ellie that fateful night meant that plenty of people knew what she had done; Nikki just didn’t feel the need to share all of the details.

  After Tyler had walked over and introduced himself, they had talked for hours. The crowd at the bar and the noise level did nothing to hinder them. By the time midnight had rolled around, Nikki had realized that she really should be going, and Tyler offered to walk her out to her car.

  And that’s where he kissed her.

  Just the memory of that kiss still brought a tingle to her body. They had kissed up against her car for long minutes before he suggested that they go someplace more private. Saying no was never even an option. She had wanted him that badly. And then, in an act that she regretted to this day, she had woken up while it was still dark out and slipped out of his hotel room and gone back to her apartment to get ready for her job interview. And then moved away.

  They hadn’t even exchanged last names. Too ashamed to go back to the hotel and ask for his information, Nikki had figured it was all for the best. Until she found out that she was pregnant. Never in her life had she been so scared or felt so alone. There was no way to find Tyler; to let him know that he was going to be a father. It was a burden that she’d have to carry for the rest of her life. Someday Ellie was going to ask about her father, and Nikki had no idea how she was going to answer that question.

  “Anyway,” Denise said, interrupting Nikki’s wayward thoughts, “tonight is in no way, shape or form a set up. That baby girl of yours deserves a man who will love her and want to raise her as his own. You do, too, you know, but you’ll never find someone if you don’t get out there and date!”

  “I will eventually,” Nikki sighed, anxious to change the subject. “Anyway, back to the dinner plans.” In the background, Nikki heard David’s voice as well as another male voice. It must be his brother, she thought. Before she knew it, David was on the phone with her.

  “If things don’t work out between me and Denise, you are the first woman I am looking up,” he teased.

  “What are you talking about?” Nikki laughed.

  “You and your beautiful daughter have saved me from a night of phony French accents and food that I cannot pronounce! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he praised. “Whatever it is that you want, Nikki my love, that’s what we’ll bring to you.”

  “Well, you certainly have swept me off my feet! I’ll tell you what, you bring me some Chinese from Jade’s, and I’ll make sure that we get to catch at least the third period of the Ranger game. Deal?”

  “I love you, Nik,” he said with awe. Truth be known, David loved Nikki like a sister and was very protective of her and Ellie. The fact that she was Denise’s best friend and loved hockey was just a bonus.

  “I know, I know. Unfortunately, Denise found you first.” Nikki had never thought of David in a romantic kind of way, but she still wished that she could find someone just like him. “So, what time are you guys going to get here?”

  “Is seven too early? My girl will still be awake then, won’t she?”

  “I promise to let Ellie stay up until eight. You know that she’d be devastated if she didn’t get to spend time with her favorite man.”

  David smiled at the thought. He hated the fact that Nikki was raising Ellie alone, but at the same time, he was proud of her for making the sacrifice and deciding to have the baby on her own. It was a tough life for her to be leading as a single parent, but if anyone could do it and make it work, it was Nikki.

  “Then I guess we’ll see you at seven,” David said before hanging up.

  ****

  The fact that this was not a set-up made getting ready a breeze. Nikki hated the thought of having to fix herself up and pretend to be something that she wasn’t. Stepping from the shower, she looked down at the pile of blocks that Ellie was happily building with on the white tiled floor. Her daughter smiled up at her with her curly blonde head and saucer-sized green eyes. Every time Nikki looked at her, her heart filled with more love than she’d ever thought it possible to feel for another human being.

  “That is a fabulous tower, Ellie,” she beamed. “Maybe someday you’ll build real tow
ers like that.”

  “This is weal, mommy,” Ellie said as she began work on a fourth short tower. Nikki smiled and went about getting herself dried off and ready for their dinner guests.

  Choosing a pair of comfortable blue jeans and a teal green shirt, Nikki pulled the towel off of her head and began detangling her own mass of blonde waves. Cursing mentally during the entire process, she reminded herself of why it was time for a haircut. She could easily chop off a good six inches right now and not even miss it. Tears came to her eyes during one rigorous gut of war with a tangled knot.

  Once the battle with her hair was through and it was drying naturally, Nikki applied a minimal amount of makeup and considered herself done. Had they been going out someplace she would have put forth more of an effort, but being that this was a casual night in with friends, she didn’t feel the need to fuss.

  Scooping Ellie up, they headed back downstairs and looked around the main floor of their townhome. It was an open floor plan with hardwood floors and big, comfortable furniture; the space was small, but it was perfect for just the two of them. Nikki sang a silly song and made a game out of getting Ellie to put her toys away, and by the time the doorbell rang, the place was clean.

  Ellie squealed with delight at the sound of the bell because she knew who was coming over. David and Denise let themselves in and Ellie ran over to greet them, but came running straight back to Nikki and hid behind her legs.

  “Where’d my favorite girl go?” David called as he walked into the living room. Nikki was sure that Ellie was just being shy with David’s brother. Picking her daughter up, she headed toward David and nearly dropped the toddler as a man came into view behind him.

  It was Tyler.

  ****

  Nikki felt as if all of the air had left the room. She couldn’t breathe, and she reached out and braced one hand against the wall, and did her best to not let Ellie fall from her arms.

  David raked a hand through his brown hair and smiled brightly as he took Ellie from Nikki’s arms. “How’s my sweet girl doing tonight?” he asked in a cheery voice, his brown eyes twinkling. Ellie’s only response was to stick her tiny thumb into her mouth and hide her face against David’s neck.