A Love So Strong Page 5

  But as Jase watched Molly, her smile turned into a small gasp and her beautiful porcelain skin paled. She closed her eyes. And crumpled to the floor.

  oOo

  Molly Kimball opened her eyes to find her sister bending over her, her brother-in-law with his hand on Jill’s shoulder and Logan, her best friend, behind them. They were all in a stuffy little room that carried the faint scent of incense, and Molly was lying on a lumpy couch. Her head throbbed. "I’m sorry," she said, squeezing Jill’s fingers. "I ruined your ceremony."

  "Oh, honey, it was over anyway, except for the kiss." She smiled, but her face was tense. "You’re sick. You need a doctor, so we—"

  "No doctor." Her gaze sought Logan’s. They hadn’t planned on this coming out so soon. Damn. "I just didn’t eat."

  "I know you feel strongly about your vegetarian diet, but maybe you need more iron." Unlike Jase, Logan respected her preference to avoid red meat.

  Worriedly, Jill glanced over her shoulder. Molly tracked her gaze. Ian Chandler, an OB-GYN and friend of Riley’s who’d been at the ceremony, stood in the doorway. He shifted uncomfortably. Why wouldn’t he? After all, he knew what was going on.

  Jill said, "We asked Ian to come in before he and Paige went to the restaurant. To see if you were all right."

  Molly drew in a breath, struggling to quell the nausea that came when she was upset. Ian cocked his head and didn’t say anything.

  Logan circled around Jill to stand by the couch and picked up Molly’s hand. A big man, with street-smart eyes, he said, "She’s okay, Jill. She just needs some rest."

  As always, Jill’s lawyer instincts went on red alert. From the skeptical look on Riley’s face, so did his. "What’s going on, Molly? Why don’t you want Ian to check you out?" Jill asked.

  Logan squeezed her fingers. He gave her an It’s time, I guess look. Oh, hell, he was probably right. She couldn’t keep this a secret much longer anyway since she was at the beginning of her second trimester and was having trouble concealing her expanding waistline.

  Ian approached the couch. "Molly? What do you want me to do?"

  Poor Ian. "Nothing. It’s okay. I haven’t told them."

  "I gathered." He stepped back. "I’ll wait outside."

  After Ian left, she looked up at Jill. Her sister’s face was pale with worry. It wasn’t good for the baby. None of this was. For either baby.

  "Sit, Jill."

  Instead she leaned against her husband and went from pale to ashen. "Nothing’s wrong with you, is it?"

  Molly’s smile was bittersweet. "Nothing’s wrong with me any more than with you, sis."

  Jill frowned. She didn’t understand.

  But Riley did. "Holy hell, Molly. You’re pregnant, too?"

  "Yep."

  Jill’s gaze narrowed. "I don’t…" She raised her hands, palms to the ceiling. "You aren’t seeing anybody that I know of."

  And that, Molly thought, protectively placing her hand on her stomach, was part of the problem.

  Jase’s secrecy had killed her.

  I want to keep this thing between us quiet, Mol. Just for a while.

  Why?

  Because of Tommy. He already likes you too much. If it doesn’t work out between us, I don’t want to get his hopes up.

  You want to sneak around?

  No, just be discreet. And you can still see my son. Just not too much.

  She’d suspected then that Jase was ashamed of being with her. But she hadn’t objected, hadn’t called him on it, because she’d already fallen in love with him and she didn’t want to lose him. And, she thought, foolishly, as he got to know her, he’d love her too, really love who she was and what kind of person she’d become. It had never happened. In fact, things had only worsened.

  You’re kidding, right? You only eat, like, tofu and bean sprouts.

  Don’t you ever tell Tommy something like that is all right again.

  Come on, Molly, I’ll buy you some normal clothes.

  To be fair, he’d tried to soften the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. More so, she’d been just as critical of him.

  Do you know what red meat does to your arteries?

  Hey, come on, Jase, live a little. Deep six the tie.

  Let Tommy be a kid.

  Logan sat down on the couch beside Molly. "It’s my child, Jill."

  "Yours?" Jill shook her head. "You two said you were only friends."

  Using his often well-concealed charm—people said he looked like a younger Pierce Brosnan when the actor played James Bond—Logan gave her a boyish grin. "Things changed."

  "When?"

  Molly shrugged. "We got together when you were in Paris."

  "Like hell," she heard from the doorway.

  Everybody turned. And there he stood, Jase McKay, the love of her life, filling the doorway with those wide shoulders she used to nestle into, with his perfectly styled dark hair that she loved to mess up.

  And with his beautiful blue eyes, which now were flaming.

  oOo

  In the small anteroom of the chapel where the Sullivans had just renewed their vows, Molly’s brother-in-law, Riley, stepped forward at the appearance of his best friend in the doorway. "Jase, what are you doing back here?

  Jill joined him. “And what do you mean, like hell Molly got together with Logan while we were in Paris?"

  Bells chimed overhead as Jase’s gaze fixed on Molly and never wavered. His piercing stare made her shiver. "I’d like to speak to you alone."

  Panic clogged her throat, threatening to choke her. She and Logan had discussed this. She couldn’t face Jase alone the first time. The hurt he’d caused her was still too fresh. Her gaze met Logan’s.

  Subtly, he shook his head and stood up, like the natural-born protector he was. It was why, after all, he’d suggested this little ruse. "You won’t be alone with Molly again, McKay."

  Jase drew in a breath. Squaring his shoulders, he strode into the room as close to the couch as he could manage, given Molly’s watchdogs keeping guard. Immediately, his expensive cologne enveloped her. She remembered inhaling it on various parts of his body. "Do you want this to come out in front of everybody?" he asked her. His tone was low and intimate, betraying a closeness that even time apart hadn’t dulled.

  Because it hurt to be reminded of what he’d so cavalierly given up, Molly let her temper spark. "The secrecy was your idea, Jay."

  He paled, but recovered quickly. He had an inner core, one she knew was honed from being the son of a minister and working himself to the bone to go to Harvard and become a successful and respected lawyer. Too bad his need to keep overachieving drove an unbridgeable wedge between them.

  "Your choice then." He faced Logan. "There’s no way you were sleeping with Molly when Jill and Riley were in Paris. She was in a relationship with me. And she sure as hell wasn’t spending time in anybody else’s bed. I know that in my gut." He stared down at her. "Why would you lie about something like this?" His voice caught on the last word.

  Because I’m afraid of you, Jase McKay. Afraid of you hurting me again. Afraid of you taking this baby away from me. Afraid of myself, that I’ll change just to keep you.

  But instead of being honest with him, she sat up and then stood. Linking her arm with Logan’s, she drew in a breath. "This isn’t your baby, Jase. After you left, Logan was there for me." She leaned into her friend as she uttered the bald lie. "He comforted me. This is definitely his baby and not yours."

  Jill and Riley were openmouthed, literally. They’d known nothing about her relationship with Jase. Nobody had.

  Logan’s hands fisted. He knew too much.

  Jase’s jaw went taut. Most people would think the reaction was anger, but this was how Jase controlled his hurt, too. "I don’t believe you would have slept with somebody so soon after…"

  He didn’t finish.

  So she did. "So soon after what, Jase? After you dumped me because I wasn’t good enough for you and your standing in the community?
After you hurt me so badly I wanted to die?" She tried to keep her voice even, but it trembled with remembered pain. "Of course I’d turn to another man. A decent man, who wasn’t ashamed of me."

  That zinged him. All his life he’d struggled to be decent. She saw pain darken his eyes to the color of midnight.

  Molly straightened. "Now, I think we all have a party to go to." She started to brush by him.

  Before anybody could react, he drew her close and put his cheek next to hers. It was a bit scratchy and so familiar it made her ache. So only she could hear, he whispered achingly, "Please, love, don’t do this. I need to talk to you."

  Because she wanted to sink into him, because she wanted to be part of him, to let him in her body and in her soul, she murmured, "Don’t, Jay," and stepped away.

  When he went to grab for her arm again, she shook him off and Logan stepped between them. "Do it again, pal, and I’ll take you down. I’d like nothing better."

  As tall and muscular as Logan, Jase nonetheless stepped back. "Fine," he said, his gaze skimming the other man, then transferring to Jill and Riley. "I won’t ruin your celebration." He zeroed in on Molly. "But it’s not over, Molly. Not by a long shot."

  oOo

  Kane’s Table was Hyde Point’s most chic restaurant. Painted a forest green—Molly joked the color matched its owner’s eyes—with burgundy accents, the snazzy establishment was frequented by the town’s elite. Many of them were here now. They were Riley’s crowd. And Jase’s.

  Logan approached their table and sat down. She smiled at him. "The party’s lovely. The food was delicious." His chef had outdone himself with prime rib, crab legs and a Caesar salad to die for.

  "You didn’t eat much." He gave her a knowing look. "And you can’t wait to crawl into bed."

  "God, I’m so tired." She placed her hand on her waist. "I can’t believe I’m only a couple of months along."

  Her friend’s smile was wistful. "Pregnancy takes over your life."

  She grabbed his hand. "How do you know that, Logan? Have you had experience with other pregnant women?" After two years, he was still an enigma to her. He’d told her once her acceptance of him without any disclosure on his part meant a lot to him. A little voice inside her nagged, But you couldn’t do the same for Jase.

  It made her remember something.

  Molly, please, this is so not me. I’m not comfortable with it.

  Come on, grouch. Loosen up. You’re in grave danger of completely becoming the Robert Redford character in that movie.

  "Yeah, I’ve had experience with pregnant women." Logan kissed her hand. "Want me to take you up to your apartment?"

  "No, actually. Jill’s coming with me." She rolled her eyes. "Little sister wants answers."

  "What are you going to tell her?"

  "The story we agreed on. If I tell her the truth, it’ll cause problems with Riley."

  "I—" Logan’s cell phone rang. "Sorry." He clicked on. "Kane." Though he was stoic, Molly could tell by the way his jaw tightened he wasn’t happy. "Can’t somebody else do it?" A pause. "Okay. I’ll be there." He ended the call.

  "Problems?"

  "I’ve got to go out of town for a while." His gaze flicked across the room where Jase was sitting with his in-laws, the Stevens, and his date, a sophisticated young woman dressed in a classic suit. She was perfect for him. "I hate to leave you now, but it can’t be helped."

  "I’ll be fine." She nodded to the phone. "You can share that with me, you know."

  He shook his head, his face darkening. "You’re safer not knowing."

  Molly saw Jill coming toward them. "If you ever change your mind, I’m here." She stood up and kissed his cheek.

  "Ready to go?" Jill asked.

  "As ready as I’ll ever be." She nodded to the back entrance. "Let’s go that way. I don’t want to say a lot of goodbyes."

  And she didn’t want to risk facing Jase. Though she knew in her heart that would come soon enough.

  oOo

  "What the hell is going on?" Riley had cornered Jase in a private room off the main dining area where he’d gone to clear his head.

  Turning from the window, Jase stared over at his best friend. "You heard most of the story."

  "What I heard was not consistent with the man I know like a brother."

  Jase looked back out as the September rain patted against the window. "Relationships are hard, Riley. You of all people should know that."

  "But you and Molly are so different. What could have brought you together?"

  He pictured her chestnut eyes sparking with humor and heard her sultry laugh that was more potent than a shot of good bourbon. "I was drawn to her vibrancy. She’s so full of life. She liked my solidness. Opposites attract, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "And then, apparently, can’t coexist."

  "Did you hurt her as badly as she said?"

  The memory ambushed him. He’d gone to her apartment to break it off. She’d rushed toward him, full of her usual energy and gusto for life. Sometimes it had exhausted him…

  Oh, Jase, I’m so glad you’re here. Her hair, secured in a ropelike braid, had bobbed with her excitement. I’ve got to tell you something. Something wonderful.

  I have to tell you something, too.

  She’d floated into the kitchen, fixing peppermint tea. Mine’s better.

  I bet it is.

  At his grave tone, she faced him. What is it, Jay?

  I can’t do this anymore. It’s not working for me.

  It? You mean us?

  Yes.

  Her hand had gone to her waist and she looked as though she might be ill…

  It hit him, now, in the dim room of the restaurant. "Oh, God."

  "What?"

  "The night I broke it off. She was bubbling around like she’d won the lottery." A vise gripped his chest. "She was going to tell me she was pregnant."

  "Jase, if you broke it off that long ago, how do you know the baby isn’t Kane’s?"

  The thought of the guy touching her cut him to ribbons. He remembered how she was in bed with him.

  It’s never been like this with anybody else, Jay.

  For him, either. But he couldn’t betray Mary’s memory and tell Molly that. Instead, he tried to meld himself with her, steep himself in her, show her with his body what he couldn’t say in words.

  "What are you going to do?" Riley asked him.

  "I don’t know."

  "Maybe you should just stay away from her."

  Jase straightened. "Remember how you couldn’t leave Jill alone? Even when you thought your differences were too great?"

  "Yeah."

  "It’s the same for me." He pushed away from the wall and headed out of the room to go to Molly’s apartment.

  oOo

  Once they were inside her apartment and Jill had fixed Molly some tea, they sat down on the couch, the slipcover of which was hand-painted.

  I’m afraid to sit on it. It looks like a drop cloth you used when you painted the walls.

  Molly had been hurt by Jase’s comment. She’d spent hours on the coverlet.

  But she’d said the same kind of thing on one of the rare occasions she went to his house.

  Jay, really, this looks like it came over from England on the Mayflower. She’d scanned the living room. This whole place lacks flare.

  It’s my taste, sweetheart. His tone had said she’d hurt him, too.

  "All right," Jill told her. "Give me the lowdown."

  Molly sipped the lemony Earl Grey and watched her sister for a minute. They, too, were different as night and day. Jill had chosen to compete for her rigid and demanding parents’ approval by doing everything right, whereas Molly had totally rebelled. Maybe if she’d been more like Jill, Jase would have loved her. "You know most of it."

  "What I know is that you and Jase shot sparks off each other every time you were together during my and Riley’s divorce proceedings."

  "We hooked up at your going-away party." When Jill and Riley ha
d reconciled, Jill still had two months on her leave of absence from their law firm. Surprising everybody, Riley had asked for a personal leave for the summer so he and Jill could go back to Paris where they’d honeymooned. The party had been a wonderful, celebratory send-off. She and Jase had been the last two left.

  Think we can make a truce now? he’d said, his baby blues twinkling.

  I guess. She grinned.

  He grinned back. Reaching out, he skimmed a hand down her cheek causing her stomach to somersault.

  This would be a mistake, Jase.

  I know.

  Still they’d gone home together, and the lovemaking had been cataclysmic. Molly never would forget the shattering union, the almost mystical intimacy, as their bodies came together. Right from the first time, that bond had made them think they could gloss over their differences.

  Jill’s sisterly instincts surfaced. "What happened?"

  She knew Riley and Jase were the best of friends and didn’t want to affect that friendship. So she purposely diluted the nightmare of what had happened. "We’re polar opposites. He admitted the futility of the relationship before I was ready to end things."

  What an understatement. The pain had been bone deep. Sometimes, it still was.

  Oh, God, Logan. What am I going to do? I love him so much. Why couldn’t I have compromised more?

  Her sister intruded on her thoughts. "I’m so sorry, Mol. I wish I’d been here."

  "Jill, I don’t want you in the middle of all this."

  She reached out and took Molly’s hand. Hers was cold. "Honey? Is the baby Jase’s?"

  Here was the touchy part. Nobody else could ever know the truth. Though she hated lying to her sister, if Jase knew the baby was his, he’d want to be part of its life. Maybe even take the baby from her. Their views on child-rearing were worlds apart.

  I don’t think Tommy’s ready for kindergarten. He won’t be five until October.

  The Stevens think he should go.

  So little Tommy had started school.

  Come here, sweetie. Want to read this book about a boy having two mommies?