SWNOVELS Chance: Chapter 3
“You okay, hon?”
Rory blinked and jerked her gaze to Emma Grace, who’d come over to the bar to talk while she waited for her food to be delivered to the table she shared with the One Shot Tactical guys. Rory nodded and pasted on a smile, though her heart beat a little faster tonight and her stomach had decided to get queasy. She didn’t know if that was the pregnancy hormones or her encounter with Ronnie Davis and his driver earlier.
She wished she’d been just a hair nicer to them. Then she’d know who the driver was too. But all she had was a face, some initials, and a hard look to remember him by. If she’d been a little more approachable, and a little less irritated, maybe the men would have gone away with smiles on their faces instead of carving two trenches in her driveway.
“I’m fine,” she said, taking a sip of the ice water she’d poured for herself tonight.
“Blood glucose levels okay?”
Rory gave her friend an exaggerated frown. “Emma Grace, I know you’re a doctor and all, but honestly, I’ve been living with this disease for more than twenty years at this point. I know how to keep an eye on myself.”
Emma Grace looked chastened, and that wasn’t what Rory intended. She reached for her friend’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I’m sorry for snapping. I’m a little bit stressed if I’m honest, and that’s spiking my blood sugars. I’ve adjusted for it on the pump.”
“Anything I can do to help? About the stress?”
“It’s just something I’m working through.”
Rory loved that Emma Grace accepted her apology and moved straight into support mode. She didn’t hover, didn’t insist on getting all doctor-y, though Rory would let her if she truly felt sick. She wasn’t stupid. She didn’t like to be coddled and she’d had a lifetime of people hovering over her, getting poked by doctors, and generally being treated like she was made of glass when she just wanted to be normal.
She fought for her normal, because she was normal. Living with diabetes added extra steps, but she wasn’t an invalid and she didn’t need twenty-four hour supervision. She’d had to fight Theo when their grandmother died and she wanted to keep living in the farmhouse. He’d wanted her to take the other apartment above the Dawg so they’d be close to each other, but she’d gotten pissed and called him a big lug and he’d gotten pissed and called her a little ant.
He finally saw things her way when she went ballistic on him, yelling about Mark dumping her before the wedding, about her bridesmaid running off with her fiancé and getting the life she’d been supposed to have, and a bunch of other stuff about how she was never getting married or having kids so why not just let her have a small slice of happiness, for fuck’s sake.
In the end, she’d promised to text him regularly and answer the phone anytime he called so he’d know she wasn’t in a coma, and that had been that. It’d worked for five years now and it was going to keep working for many more.
Because she wasn’t selling, no matter how much money Ronnie Davis came up with.
“Let me know if I can help you work through it,” Emma Grace said.
Rory thought of the pregnancy test she’d stuffed back into the foil before throwing it away. Emma Grace could refer her to an obstetrician, but this wasn’t the place to discuss it. Because her friend was going to want answers, and Rory wasn’t prepared to give them when Chance Hughes sat ten feet away, looking like a romance novel hero with his tight polo shirt and ripped muscles, his sparkling blue eyes and dazzling smile.
Really, he was too gorgeous and he knew it. She remembered him strutting around her bedroom stark ass naked, everything on display, not a single hint of modesty about him.
She’d loved looking at him. Touching him.
Feeling his body thrusting into hers.
Amber sashayed over to the table with the tray of drinks Rory had just finished pouring. When she set Chance’s down, she leaned in close and whispered in his ear.
Rory deliberately turned away. She didn’t want to see Chance flirt back.
Amber, bless her, had asked Rory if she and Chance were a thing or if he was open game. Rory had told her to go for it.
Her stomach chose that minute to roil and she pressed a hand to it, willing the queasiness to subside. Emma Grace was watching and Rory decided she had a choice to make. Tell her doctor friend about the pregnancy or tell her about Ronnie Davis and his pal.
“Got a visit from a property developer today,” she said, taking a sip of the club soda as Nikki strolled up to the bar with an order. “At the farm,” she clarified.
“Oh yeah? What did they want?”
Rory grabbed a couple of glasses and set them beneath the taps, pulling the handle to release yeasty beer into one of the glasses. “To buy the land. I told them to get lost.” She grabbed another glass and scooped ice into it, snagged the nozzle for Coke and splashed it into the glass. “I don’t think they took it well, though,” she said, setting the Coke on the tray along with one of the beers before pulling another one.
“What do you mean?” Emma Grace said, looking concerned. “What happened?”
Rory set the second beer on the tray and Nikki returned from where she’d been putting food orders into the system to pick it up and carry it to a waiting table.
“I mean a man named Ronnie Davis of D&B Properties offered me nearly two million bucks, then got mad when I said no. His driver peeled out and left gouges in my driveway. Scattered rock all over Granny’s flower beds too.”
“Oh damn, Rory. Why didn’t you call me?”
Rory gave her friend the arched eyebrow. “Seriously, what were you going to do about it? Go after them with a stethoscope and a hypodermic needle?”
Emma Grace laughed, then smoothed the laughter away as if she hadn’t meant to do it. She put on her serious face and gave Rory a look. “No, but I know some guys who specialize in dissuading people from doing stuff like that. Heck, they’d probably get Mr. Davis and his driver to pick up all the rocks and rake the driveway if you wanted them to. They’d also make sure that Davis and his people never bother you at the farm again.”
It was a nice idea but Rory didn’t need to be asking the One Shot Tactical guys for help every time she encountered a difficulty.
“I think I might have persuaded them myself,” she said, leaning against the bar with her arms crossed. “I took Liza Jane out to meet them.”
Emma Grace blinked in confusion.
Rory rolled her eyes. “Liza Jane? Gramps’s double-barreled Browning 20-gauge?”
“Oh, that’s right. I’d forgotten about the name. It’s been years since I’ve even seen that gun. Did they piss themselves?”
“Welp, they showered the front with rocks and carved those grooves in the gravel, so maybe?” Rory shook her head. “I expect they’ll be back, though they’ll probably come in here.”
Emma Grace smirked. “Guess they don’t know that Theo’s even ornerier than you are about some things.”
“They’ll find out, won’t they?”
Amber returned with an order and Rory filled it. Her stomach was settling, which was a relief. She opened a sleeve of saltines and nibbled on them. Emma Grace twisted her wine glass back and forth, a habit Rory knew meant her friend was thinking hard about something.
“Everything okay with Mr. Romance?” Rory asked.
Emma Grace’s focus snapped from the glass to Rory’s face. “Sorry, I was thinking. And yes, everything is fabulous.” Her face took on that dreamy expression that Rory might hate on anyone else. “He writes me notes every morning and leaves them in different places so I can find them.”
“Sickening,” Rory said with a grin. “Tell me more.”
Emma Grace laughed. “He scoops the cat box so I don’t have to.”
“Oooh, romantic.”
“Sure is. There’s other stuff, but I don’t feel right going on about my life when I’m worried about you.”
Uh-oh.
Rory shrugged. “Nothing to worry about, babe. I’m fine.”
Emma Grace leaned in. “I just… I want to know what happened with you and Chance. He was so protective of you, and you seemed happy about it. He was at your place all the time. Y’all were getting along so well, and now you’re back to avoiding each other when you aren’t sniping over stupid stuff.”
Rory felt the pinch of those words in her heart. “I’ll have you know that SEC football is not stupid stuff, madam.”
“I love the Tide as much as anyone, Ror. You know what I mean.”
Rory spread her arms wide. “It didn’t work out, okay? It was all sizzle and no spark. Nothing to keep burning when the new wears off, you know?”
Emma Grace studied her. “So you did get that Vitamin D.”
There was no point in denying it when the truth was going to come out very soon anyway. Rory glanced around to make sure nobody was listening as she popped her arms around her middle, feeling protective and somewhat uncertain of herself. “Yes, I got the D,” she said quietly. “It was really, really good, too. But D isn’t the same as HEA.”
“H-E—what? I don’t know what that stands for.”
Rory shook her head. “My poor, nerdy doctor friend. You didn’t read nearly enough romance novels in your life, did you?”
“I’ve read them,” Emma Grace muttered. “I even read that reverse harem book you loaned me. Blaze says thank you very much, by the way.”
Rory snorted. Nothing like a steamy romance to improve the sex life a bit. “Tell him he’s welcome. I’ve got more. Also, the HEA is the happily ever after. It’s where the heroine gets all the D she can handle along with the hero’s undying love. It’s when the romance is wrapped up in a nice, neat bow that never comes untied because the hero is devoted to the heroine beyond all measure.” Her throat was tight. She leaned toward her friend. “It’s what you have with Blaze. Devotion, love, great sex. A man who writes you little notes, looks at you with his heart in his eyes, and cleans up cat poop. For a kitten he gave to you, I might add.”
Emma Grace’s eyes were suspiciously moist. “I do have that, don’t I? Wow.” She sniffed and lifted her chin. “I want that for you, too. So bad, Rory.”
“I know, babe.” She smiled a little sadly. “I just don’t think I’m the kind of person who inspires that level of devotion.”
Emma Grace’s expression hardened. “What did he do? Or say? I’ll strangle him myself.”
Rory blinked at her friend’s ferocity. Then she laughed as she held up a hand. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. If you’re talking about Chance, he didn’t do anything. Honestly, he was great while it lasted. But it was just sex. We had our fun and now it’s over. Time to move on.”
Her gaze drifted over Emma Grace’s shoulder to where Amber stood next to Chance. She had her hand on his shoulder, laughing at something he’d said. He put his hand on hers and Rory looked away, her eyes stinging. Damn hormones.
“Okay,” Emma Grace said, sighing heavily. “If that’s the way you want it. But don’t tell me you aren’t the sort of person who inspires devotion. You just haven’t met the right guy yet, that’s all.”
“Maybe. You better get back to your table. Amber’s bringing plates out.”
Emma Grace slid off the stool. “I’ll be back after I eat.”
“I’ll be here.” Rory smiled as she watched her friend return to the table. Four sexy men looked up and smiled at her. Blaze got up to pull her chair out, his gaze lingering on her face as she sat. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and sat beside her.
Rory sighed. Emma Grace thought she just hadn’t met the right man yet, but Rory knew it wasn’t happening. Especially now. Single moms typically had a harder time finding a man willing to take on a baby that wasn’t his. Maybe later, when the kid was a little older.
It could happen. Or not. Probably not, with her luck.
She looked over at Chance again. Amber was gone, and he stared straight at her. Rory dropped her gaze away, her heart throbbing at that simple touch of their eyes.
She picked up a saltine and nibbled on it. How in the hell was she going to tell him she was pregnant but she didn’t expect anything from him? That he could keep on seeing whoever he pleased and she’d never ask him for a thing?
She didn’t know, but she was going to have to figure it out. Soon.