The Sweetheart Hoax Read online

  “My God,” he said. “Wow. That was...wow.”

  “Yeah. Definitely wow.”

  She pulled her courage together and snuck a glance at his face. His expression looked serious, too serious for the moment.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Okay? “Believe it or not, Phil, I’ve had sex before.”

  “I...I meant the floor. Your back.”

  “I’m fine.” Or at least she would be if he’d hold her, if he’d tell her how much being together meant to him other than scratching an itch.

  He pulled the quilt around her and cocooned them both. She wasn’t going to be a chicken and turn away, wondering what it all meant. She shifted to face him, her hand resting against his chest. She could feel his heart pounding beneath her fingertips.

  “I never meant for this to happen,” he said. “This wasn’t why I asked you here.”

  She brought her fingers to his lips and stopped the string of apologies before she ended up in tears. “I’m not sorry it happened. I wish you weren’t sorry, either.”

  He blew out a breath and rolled over onto his back. “I should be sorry, I know I should be sorry, but I’m not.”

  “Then no apologies.” She snuggled closer, tossing her leg over his and wrapping her arm around his chest. This would more than likely be the only time in her life she’d have the chance to be with him like this, and she wasn’t going to waste it wishing she’d done more to entice him. “The party was nice. I think your dad had a good time.”

  Phil chuckled. “Yeah, he likes to pretend he doesn’t like the attention, but he does.” He wrapped his hand around her and began making small circles on her shoulder.

  “You’re lucky, Phil. Your parents are happy. You have a great foundation here.”

  “I know. I don’t think I appreciate them enough.”

  “You should. Take it from me, flaws and all, there’s no substitute for family.”

  His hand stilled on her arm. “What happened to your mom?”

  “She died. I told you that.”

  “You didn’t tell me how.”

  “She was born with a heart condition. She didn’t realize she had it until I was born. She lived a lot longer than anyone expected her to.”

  “What about your dad?” he asked.

  She deliberately kept her voice even. “I never knew him.”

  “Is he dead?”

  Margot sighed. “I thought he was. For a long time, I was led to believe he was dead.” And oh, how she wished she still believed in that fairy tale.

  “So…do you know him?”

  She knew him all right, but that wasn’t what Phil had asked. “Nope. I never met the man who loved my mother.”

  He continued rubbing circles on her shoulder, making it hard for her to concentrate. “So what do you do on holidays? Thanksgiving and Christmas?”

  “I have an aunt who lives in Sumter. I usually go there, but my cousin is getting married in Barbados over Thanksgiving, so I’ll probably just work.”

  “Work on Thanksgiving?”

  “It’s just a meal, Phil. The double-time pay will go a long way toward paying back my loans.” She glanced up when his hand tightened on her shoulder. He studied her with an intense expression on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I don’t like the thought of you being along on Thanksgiving.”

  “I won’t be alone. I’ll be surrounded by hundreds of people in the hospital.”

  “That’s not the same.”

  “Maybe for you, but it seems like home to me.” She reached her hand down and cupped his very fine ass in her palm. “That’s why you’re lucky, Phil. No matter where you live, you can always come home and know your family loves you.” She pinched his butt in hopes of diverting his attention. “Even if you are gay.”

  He leaned up and pinned her hands above her head. “Gay, huh?” His lips brushed hers ever so lightly as he settled between her legs. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

  Chapter 18

  Judy tiptoed down the hallway, past the bath where either Phil or Margot or maybe even both of them showered in the pre-dawn morning. She hadn’t needed to set her alarm to get up and start the day. Bo’s tossing and turning had left them both unable to sleep.

  At least they weren’t the only ones.

  Coffee. She needed coffee and the monotonous task of making breakfast to steady her nerves after listening to her son and his girlfriend have sex all night long. She didn’t know whether to feel proud or sickened that he had the stamina to keep going for hours. He certainly hadn’t gotten that from his father.

  She heard the bathroom door open and quickened her pace, unable and unwilling to face either of them before she’d composed herself. She set the coffee machine on brew and was just pulling the eggs from the refrigerator when Bo entered the kitchen wearing his Sunday finest, his hair still wet from the shower and a scowl etched on his face.

  “You making that for me or the love birds?” he asked. “I’d imagine they worked up quite an appetite.”

  Judy sighed. “Get it out now, Bo, before they come down. I won’t have you embarrass me before they leave.”

  “My comments would embarrass you? Really? Not the hours our son spent fornicating with his girlfriend right under our nose?”

  “They’re adults, Bo. He’s not a child anymore.”

  “Lucky for him, or I’d have his butt in the field picking corn by hand for the next half century.” He retrieved the milk from the refrigerator in anticipation of his coffee. “This is all your fault, you know.”

  She sighed and bit her tongue. She knew this was coming and, although she agreed with her husband, admitting she was to blame for the fornicating didn’t sit well in her mind.

  “Setting everything up so they’d have to sleep together,” he mumbled. “Starting that stupid rumor. You may as well have ordered pornography on the television and suggested they watch a movie before bed.”

  “You finished yet?” she asked.

  “It would help ease the sting if you’d just admit, for once in your life, that you were wrong.”

  “Alright!” She tossed the eggshells into the trash and slammed the cabinet door closed. “I was wrong. Are you happy now?”

  “No. I’m not.”

  “I should have talked to him about his life, and if it makes you feel any better, he told me the same just yesterday. I don’t think I’ll have to resort to tricks anymore.”

  “Well, hallelujah,” Bo said. “After what happened last night, that boy better put a ring on her finger if he knows what’s good for him. At least when Devon nailed Sheryl, they were married.”

  “If you think Devon and Sheryl waited until they were married, you have a very selective memory.”

  “I didn’t say they waited to have sex until they were married, I said they waited to have sex in our house until they were married.”

  Poor Bo, Judy thought. He really didn’t have a clue.

  Bo got a mug from the counter when the machine let out a blast of steam indicating the end of the brewing cycle. His hand jerked, spilling coffee on the counter when he heard footsteps on the stairs. “You do the talking,” he told Judy. “I don’t think I can even look that little girl in the eye.”

  Phil entered the kitchen, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened the night before.

  “Morning,” Judy said with a quick smile over her shoulder. Bo didn’t turn around from the counter.

  “I hope you’re not making that for us, Mom. Margot and I have to get going in just a minute if we want to catch our flight.”

  She turned around and raised her hands in the air. “What about breakfast?”

  “Coffee’s fine. We’ll grab something quick along the way.”

  “Oh, Phil. I hate to send you off with an empty stomach.”

  He kissed her cheek and tried to squeeze next to his dad for a much-needed hit of caffeine. Bo edged away and made a beeline for the tab
le. “We’re fine, Mom. I promise. Do you have any to-go cups?”

  Judy pointed to a cabinet above the fridge. Phil retrieved two Styrofoam cups from a sleeve and began filling them with coffee.

  “Where’s Margot?”

  “She’s almost ready. We’ve really got to hustle.”

  “I didn’t realize how early you had to leave. I was hoping you could go to church and stay for lunch. I’m making your favorite roast.”

  “Ummm. I’ll have to take a rain check.” He took a sip of the piping hot coffee. “Do you still make it with the baby onions and carrots?”

  “Just the way you like it.” She turned the fire down on the stovetop and then reached up to cup his cheek in her palm. “I’ll have to make it when you come for Thanksgiving. You’re too skinny.”

  When he heard Margot struggling with her bag on the stairs, he turned on his heel and bolted from the room. Judy looked over at Bo, sitting at the table thumbing through the paper. “Aren’t you going to get up and help them?”

  “Why?” he asked. “Like you said, he’s not a kid anymore.”

  She slapped him on the side of the head and carried the coffee Phil had made to the foyer. Margot looked too young to have spent the night sexing up her boy in her jeans, clogs, and t-shirt. At least the girl had the decency to look embarrassed, unlike Phil. So typical of men.

  “Good morning, Margot.” She handed the girl her coffee. “I hope you slept okay.”

  When she heard Bo snort from behind her, she felt relieved he’d joined them instead of her having to make a scene if he’d refused to say goodbye.

  “Yes, ma’am. I can’t thank you both enough for your hospitality.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, it was our pleasure.”

  “I think it was all hers,” Bo whispered in her ear as Phil came back inside after carrying their suitcases to the car.

  “You ready?” he asked his sex slave, er…, girlfriend.

  She nodded and reached out to hug Judy. Thankfully she smelled like soap instead of Phil. Judy returned her embrace and watched nervously as she extended a hand to Bo. “Mr. Williams. Thank you, Sir.”

  He shook her hand and nodded, quickly looking away.

  “Mom,” Phil said with his arms outstretched for a hug. Her baby, her firstborn. She just couldn’t stay mad. “I love you,” he said.

  She hated the way she fought tears every time he left. He and Bo exchanged handshakes before Phil and Margot disappeared out the door and down the drive.

  “Oh, Bo. I wish he lived closer.”

  Bo shut the door in her face and gave her a mocking grin. “Don’t worry, Jud. You can relive the good times while you’re washing the sheets from their bedroom.”

  ***

  Phil entered the interstate toward St. Louis and glanced over to see Margot’s head bobbing, her half-eaten breakfast sandwich in her lap.

  He reached over and massaged her neck with his hand. “Go ahead and lean the seat back. Quit fighting sleep.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m fine. I’m not going to sleep while you drive.”

  “Margot, you are sleeping. You can either be comfortable doing it or risk permanent neck damage. The choice is yours.”

  “You didn’t get any more sleep than I did.” She balled up her breakfast and tossed it into the bag. “I’m going to stay awake.”

  “Look, I’ve had so much coffee, there isn’t a chance I’m going to nod off. Go ahead and lean back.”

  She shook her head.

  “I’m just going to nag you until you do, so you may as well cooperate.”

  “Phil…”

  “I’m fine. I’ll sleep on the plane.” He kept massaging her neck until her eyes drooped and, with a sigh, she let the seat back.

  “Wake me up if you get tired.”

  “I will,” he assured her.

  “I’m just going to rest my eyes.”

  “Um huh.” Thirty seconds later, she was gone. Her lips parted and every time he looked over, he could see a puddle of drool collecting in the corner of her mouth. The girl was exhausted.

  She certainly had reason. Phil couldn’t remember the last time he’d been up all night. Or most of the night. They’d collapse, doze, and then something would rouse him, a brush of her skin against his, the feel of her hair on his face, and he’d have to touch her, pull her closer, and as if on cue, their bodies would begin the dance again.

  He kept waiting to feel guilty for sleeping with Margot, but so far he felt nothing but intense satisfaction, if not a little exhaustion. Even for him, last night had been a record. Strangely, the only guilt he felt this morning was that he’d disappointed his parents by having sex in their house. His father’s behavior had certainly made it clear that he’d heard them. With Margot’s penchant for moaning, it’s not like he expected them to remain unaware. He couldn’t wait to let her fly without restraint, although to say they showed restraint would be a stretch. She’d been, without a doubt, the most exciting lover he’d ever had.

  She made a little noise in her sleep and he glanced over and smiled. How could she have been under his nose for three years and he knew so little about her? Her mother dead, her father completely out of the picture, and she planned to work on Thanksgiving to help pay back her loans. He’d dismissed her as a go-nowhere-in-life local with zero ambition. He’d never been so wrong about a person, except maybe Kelly Bristow.

  He’d invite her to Thanksgiving with his parents, he decided as he exited the interstate toward the airport. He wouldn’t let her spend the holiday alone.

  Chapter 19

  Margot pulled out her study guide and notes before the plane took off, but didn’t look at them until after the plane had leveled out in the sky. Phil had fallen asleep on her shoulder before the tires had even left the ground. She asked the flight attendant for a blanket and wedged it between her shoulder and his head to try and ease the stitch he’d surely have, but she wasn’t sure how much the blanket helped.

  He’s so beautiful, she thought as she smoothed a lock of hair off his forehead. And good Lord, the man could move that mile-long body. She’d never been so thoroughly loved, from head to toe and back again. How would any man compare after Phil?

  She sighed and tried to concentrate on her studies, but her mind was set on one thing alone: Phil. They hadn’t spoken about a future, about what their night together meant, or where it might lead. She didn’t want to spoil her memories with obsessive thoughts of what if when she could close her eyes and still feel him inside her. When she’d returned to the bedroom from showering, he’d pulled the towel away from her body and looked his fill with brown eyes as sweet and tempting as the caramel they reminded her of.

  “I wanted to do this yesterday,” he’d said with his clothes in his hand, ready to take his own shower. “And if we had more time…”

  When he woke up, when they returned to South Carolina, would the sexual haze they were both under evaporate and leave her alone and shattered? Would they go their separate ways with a fond memory of their night together and the knowledge that his mission had been accomplished? The thought of not seeing him again, not having him again, left her bereft.

  He muttered and twitched in his sleep, his knees jammed against the seat in front. The attendant knocked his elbow with the drink cart. He snuggled closer to Margot and flung his arm across her lap, atop her material. It was just as well, she thought with a sigh. She wasn’t getting anything done, anyway. She leaned her head against his and tried to find some peace in sleep.

  The landing woke her as she was jarred forward and her book slipped from out of her grip and fell to the floor. She reached down to gather the papers that had fallen with her book.

  Phil jolted and blinked several times. “Wow,” he said. “I don’t even remember taking off.”

  Margot blew her hair out of her eyes. “You were out like a light.”

  “Boy, you’re not kidding.” He stretched and fidgeted in the seat while the plane taxied to the gate at Charlesto
n’s airport. “I feel better now, although I could eat a horse. Are you hungry?”

  Her stomach growled at the mention of food.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Phil said as he retrieved his cell phone from his bag and adjusted the settings. Margot watched his brow furrow. “I got a text from Danny. Kate’s been admitted to the hospital. Pre-term labor.”

  Margot gasped. “Oh no.” Her back pain. She should have known. “Does he say anything about what they’re doing to stop it?”

  “No. Just that she’s at Charleston General.”

  “Call him, Phil. Find out the details if you can.”

  Margot stuffed her work into her carryon bag and listened as Phil spoke to Danny. She got frustratingly few details as Phil nodded his head and gave a few grunts of approval. He told Danny he’d call him later and not to worry about anything at the office. He clicked off his phone just as the seatbelt sign turned off and people began standing to collect their belongings.

  “What’d he say?” Margot asked. “How is she?”

  “She’s resting now. They gave her some sort of drug to stop the labor.”

  “Probably terbutaline. That’s the first line of defense.” Margot nervously chewed her thumbnail. “I’m sure they started her on corticosteroids for the baby’s lungs and some antibiotics.”

  “I think he said something like that. Margot?” He reached his hand out to still her nervous chomping. “Danny sounds scared.”

  “She’s only…I don’t know, thirty, thirty-one weeks. He has every right to be scared. I’ll bet Kate’s a mess.”

  “Is the baby going to make it?”

  Margot shook her head. It was time to get a grip and not fill Phil’s head with visions of the worst. “A lot of babies are born premature and are perfectly fine. Charleston General’s got a great neo-natal wing. She couldn’t be in better hands.”

  They gathered their things, exited the plane, and made their way silently to baggage claim. Margot couldn’t stop thinking of everything that could go wrong for the baby. She needed to get to the hospital and check on her friend. Phil pulled her suitcase off the luggage carousel and retrieved his own.