His Best Man's Baby

  His Best Man’s Baby

  By

  Tressie Lockwood

  His Best Man’s Baby

  Copyright © December 2013, Tressie Lockwood

  Cover art designed by Fiona Jayde © December 2013

  Formatting by Bob Houston eBook Formatting

  ISBN 978-1-627620-37-6

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  Amira Press

  Charlotte, NC

  www.amirapress.com

  Chapter One

  Tae tucked her bare feet beneath her on the couch and answered her cell phone on the third ring, more than enough not to sound too eager. “Hello?”

  “Hey, beautiful, what’s up?”

  She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the grin spreading over her face. “Nothing much, stranger. What have you been up to?”

  “The usual.”

  She laughed and brought one foot out to study the polish on her toes. A pedicure was long overdue, but she tended to put them off in favor of getting more work done. Not like she dated anyone right now to care one way or another. “You mean eating executives for breakfast, right?” she teased her friend, Daniel—ex-boyfriend.

  “Who me? Never.” The deep rumble to his voice washed over her like a caress, one she remembered all too well.

  “Please, who are you kidding, Daniel? This is me. You forget I know you better than anyone. You didn’t make VP at your company by the time you were thirty playing tiddledywinks.”

  “Do you know me so well?”

  He paused, and she could have sworn he flirted, hoping she’d fall into his trap and admit she still had feelings for him. Tae licked her lips and pulled in a quiet breath. No matter how tempting, she would not give in. The ship they had been on together had sailed three years ago. They were good friends now and nothing more. Besides, the last she’d heard he dated some slinky blonde with big boobs and a body to kill for. Tae glanced down at her own figure, a healthy size fourteen, and figured the competition was too fierce to even get in the game.

  “What if I said you’re no longer the one who knows me best?”

  A twinge in her heart made her frown. He couldn’t know the impact of his words. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I’m—wow, I never imagined saying it to you of all people would be so rough, and weird.”

  Alarm bells went off in her head. “Dude, you’re scaring me. Just blurt it out.”

  “Octavia.” He always said her full name when he was being serious. Her throat dried. “I’m getting married.”

  “Oh wow! Are you kidding?” She infused her tone with bubbly happiness. “That’s so awesome. I’m glad for you. Is it the same woman you were dating when I ran into you at Cosmos?”

  “Thanks.” He chuckled. “No, that was a phase. This is Alise. She’s great, Tae, and I can’t believe she said yes. I want you to meet her and get to know her. You’ll love her. That’s why I’m calling. Say you’ll come to the wedding. I need one of my best friend’s there to celebrate with me.”

  He sounded happy, so she put aside her petty issues. Daniel hadn’t broken it off with her. She’d dumped him, and he had remained her friend. He never treated her badly after the breakup. That said a lot about the kind of man he was, and he deserved as many good things in his life as possible. In fact, she was a fool for letting him escape.

  “Of course I’ll be there. Nothing can keep me away. Jax your best man?”

  “None other.”

  “Oh goodness, you’re going to let that man near all the single women at your wedding? They’ll get ideas in their heads, and Jax will encourage them—right into his bed.”

  Daniel laughed.

  “Unless you’re telling me he’s changed?” She stood up from the living room couch and headed toward the kitchen.

  “No, he’s still a womanizer.”

  “A player,” Tae corrected, shaking her head. “Well, just be warned because you don’t want the drama on your special day.”

  “At least it will be memorable,” he teased.

  “I’ll give you that.”

  She spoke to him a little while longer, updating him on work, and he filled her in on a few details of his fiancée. Tae found herself looking forward to seeing this woman who had captured Daniel, but when the emotions bubbled too close to the surface, she made an excuse to get him off the phone and disconnected.

  The next call she made was to her best friend, Zerita.

  “Hey, girl,” Zerita chirped, always bubbly.

  “Hey,” Tae echoed.

  “Uh-oh, who pissed in your Cheerios?”

  Tae rolled her eyes and opened a cabinet door over the kitchen counter. “Must you be crass, nut? I’m just calling to tell you the news.”

  “What news?”

  Tae pulled down a box of cereal and opened it. Grabbing a bowl from the dish rack, which she hadn’t emptied after washing the dishes, she searched a drawer for a large spoon. “Daniel’s getting married.”

  Zerita gasped. “You mean your Danny?”

  “He’s not my Danny, but yes, my ex.”

  “The one you’ve been pretending to be friends with but in reality you still love him, Danny?”

  “For real, Zerita?” She filled her bowl with cereal and then considered getting a bigger one out of the cabinet. “I am not still in love with him.” She lied. If there was one thing about Tae, she did not lie to herself. She did love Daniel, but she had no intention of admitting the fact to Zerita.

  “Are you eating Frosted Flakes?”

  Tae froze with the box clutched in her hand. “For your information, I’m in the living room realizing I need a mani-pedi.”

  “Listen, woman,” her friend intoned, “unlike normal people who eat ice cream or doughnuts when they’re upset, Frosted Flakes is your comfort food, and I hear you crunching in my ear. So don’t try to play me talking about you don’t love Danny.”

  Tae moved the phone away from her mouth so she could munch the cereal in her mouth without Zerita hearing. When she’d swallowed, she brought the phone back to her face and then searched the refrigerator for something to wash down the dry cereal. A cola appealed, so she grabbed one and popped it open.

  “I’m the one who broke it off after he asked me to marry him, Zerita, or don’t you remember that?”

  “I remember.” The click of the keyboard sounded in Tae’s ear, and she knew even though it was Sunday, Zerita wrote her column for the magazine where they both worked. “You weren’t ready to get married.”

  Tae nodded despite the fact that her friend couldn’t see her. “Thank you. I’m glad you’ve got your facts straight. I am not pining over Daniel Elliott.”

  “Uhm.” Zerita sounded unconvinced. “So he called to tell you. Did he want you to beg him not to do it?”

  “Would you stop? No, he invited me.”

  “And you told him no, right?”

  “I told him I’d be there with bells on.”

  Silence.

  “Zerita, are you still there?”

  “Seriously, Tae, I’m not sure about this. I wasn’t sure about the two of you staying friends and hanging out. I mean there are unresolved feelings there. I know you like to pretend you don’t still love him…”

  “He’s in love, Zerita. He’s getting married.”

  “Everybody doesn’t get married for the right reasons.”

  “You act like I’m the only woman he’ll ever love. I’m not that vain, and you know I don’t believe in that soul-mate stuff.”

  Her friend sighed. Tae heard the tapping pause. “I’m not sayin
g I think he’s the one for you. I don’t know if he is, or he isn’t. Last time we all hung out uptown, I saw the way he looked at you, and that wasn’t so long ago. If he really is in love, it was either his longing to have a family that brought it about, or he’s just tired of waiting for you.”

  “Speak your mind, why don’t you.”

  “Girlfriend, you know I don’t mince words. It’s what makes me a damn good writer.”

  “Toot toot!”

  Zerita laughed. “Whatever. Anyway, please do me a favor and think about this. When is it?”

  “A month from now.”

  “Wow, they’re not wasting any time. A small event?”

  Tae glanced down at her thighs, encased in leggings. She hated how big they appeared, gathering most of the extra fat on her body, and she pushed the bowl of cereal away. “I had the impression he waited until almost the last minute to invite me. His fiancée has her family coming in from Baltimore, where she’s from. Everybody is staying at the Hilton out on J.M. Keyes.”

  “That’s a decent hotel.”

  “Yeah, I figured I’d get a room out there for the weekend too because Daniel said they were going to have a party the night before and of course the reception following. I don’t want to drive across the city half-drunk late at night.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Well look let me let you go, Zerita. I have to take care of a couple things, and then I’m going to go to the gym for an hour or two.”

  “Uh-huh. Gotta get in shape for that wedding.”

  Tae made a rude noise. “I’ve been meaning to go, and I have the membership going to waste.”

  “Whatever you say.” The tapping started up again, rapid fire. “Talk to you later. Keep me updated on if you change your mind.”

  “I won’t—change my mind that is. Talk to you tomorrow. Maybe we can do lunch on Monday.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Bye, girl.”

  * * * *

  One month later…

  Tae carried her garment bag over her arm, along with a small suitcase as she strode to the check-in counter at the Hilton. The diminutive woman behind the counter aimed a bright smile at Tae. “Welcome to the Hilton. How are you today, ma’am?”

  “Good, thanks,” Tae responded. “I’m Octavia Croft, and I have a reservation.”

  “Of course, Ms. Croft. One moment, please.”

  Tae set her suitcase down and rotated her shoulder. Tension locked the muscles across her upper back, and she debated taking the muscle relaxer Zerita had given her before she set out to come to the hotel. Then again, she preferred to enjoy the effects once she’d unwound in her room and kicked off her shoes with a drink in her hand.

  “Tae.”

  The deep, scratchy, but without question sexy, voice came from behind her, and she identified its owner before she spun to face him. Rather, she turned to face his chest. Jaxon Hart stood several inches taller, towering above her with a barrel chest, massive arms, and a handsome face. His voice paired with his devastating, dark good looks had women dropping their panties left and right, and he had encouraged it from the first day she met him.

  “Hey, Jax,” she said, a little breathless as she always was around him. “You’re here early. I thought everyone was coming in on Thursday.” Tae had elected to take a rare day off to arrive at the hotel on Wednesday. She’d thought to lounge around the hotel alone for her mini-vacation before she had to be social with people she didn’t know.

  Jax smiled, flashing the most perfect white teeth she’d ever seen. Then again, they could compare to Daniel’s. The best friends were perfect foils for each other—Jax dark, Daniel light.

  “Didn’t Daniel tell you the wedding party would be arriving on Wednesday for a last-minute rehearsal?”

  She bit off a groan. “No, I should have realized that. The last wedding I attended was my sister’s ten years ago.”

  “You’re looking beautiful as usual,” he commented, sweeping his gaze from her head to her feet. Tae found herself toying with her hair, which she’d crimped and dyed bronze. She’d thought the color a bit too stark, but it fit with her caramel skin tone, so she didn’t fret too much. Maybe she didn’t look as hippy as usual either. After all, her crazy exercise regimen over the last thirty days had whittled her waist down by a couple inches and lost her ten pounds.

  She blushed at his compliment. “Thanks. You’re not looking so bad yourself.”

  “From you that always sounds like an insult.”

  “I don’t know what you mean, sir.” No way would she tell him flat out how hot he was. The man’s head might explode. She squinted at him. “Is your head bigger than usual?”

  “You cut me, Tae.” He rested a hand dramatically to his chest. “I’m not what you think I am.”

  “So you brought a girlfriend with you?”

  She thought she’d cornered him, but he stepped closer and took her hand. A chill raced over her skin, bringing goose bumps up on her arms. “I’m all alone. Would you fill in?”

  “Not on your life, pal.” She tugged her hand free of his grasp and turned back to the counter. Once her business was done, she refused help with her bags and started toward the bank of elevators. Jax, strolling with the casual grace of a jungle cat, joined her. She peered over at him from the corner of her eye and took in the short-sleeved shirt that hugged powerful arms at the biceps and his slacks, which hugged narrow hips but gave room to the generous rise at the crotch.

  “Are you checking me out, Tae?”

  She jumped at hearing his low, sexy voice and frowned at him. “Of course not.”

  “Hm.” He winked at her and held the elevator door open while she passed by him. His fingertips grazed her lower back for just a second until she moved away on the pretext of pressing the button for her floor.

  “How is the private-investigations business going?” she asked. “Any interesting cases?”

  “Every now and then. Often it’s following cheating spouses and gathering evidence for divorce court.”

  She shook her head. “Great, more reason not to get married.”

  He gazed at her. “That why you turned our guy down three years ago?”

  She sighed. “Jeez, does everyone know my history?”

  “Everyone like who?”

  “Never mind.”

  He moved closer, and all of a sudden the elevator seemed no bigger than a small closet. The scent of his aftershave tickled her nose, or it could have been cologne. Either way, he smelled yummy. She took a deep breath, finding no reason not to enjoy it for the moment. The problem originated with his charm and how he used it at every opportunity, on every woman, including her. She knew he didn’t mean anything by it, that it was just his way, but Jax was a temptation for any hot-blooded woman who hadn’t had sex with anything other than her vibrator for too damn long.

  “Are you still in love with him?”

  The question caught her off guard and ripped her from her thoughts. Odd that at that moment she’d been thinking of touching Jax and not of Daniel. The question couldn’t have been more ill timed. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “It’s a question.”

  “I know, but—”

  “I’ve known you both for a long time,” he said, “and I watched the two of you together. You loved him, and he practically survived off every word that fell from those beautiful lips.”

  She put her hand on her hip. “Are you trying to guilt-trip me?”

  “Not at all.” When he touched a hand to her cheek, she gasped and stared up at him. “If you still love him, this will be hard for you, seeing him marry someone else.”

  The unexpected empathy blew her away. Never in a million years would she have thought Jax would say such a thing to her. He and she were friends, but they never did more than flirt and tease. They didn’t hang out except when he’d double date with whatever woman had caught his fancy at the time with her and Daniel. He had always seemed nice but shallow.

/>   She lowered her gaze and pulled out of his grasp. “I’m fine. Thanks. What Daniel and I had is in the past. I appreciate your concern.”

  The elevator dinged a floor before hers. Jax reached out to play with a lock of her hair. A tingle of awareness raced through her system. “I like how you keep changing it, black one week, red the next, blond after that.”

  She suppressed a grin. “You don’t see me often enough to know if that’s true.”

  “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  The elevator doors slid open just as she opened her mouth to turn him down. Words died on her lips when she came face-to-face with Daniel, an older woman, and a younger woman who could be her sister.

  Chapter Two

  “Tae, you’re here.”

  “Hey, Daniel.” Tae didn’t get to finish her greeting before he dragged her off the elevator and into a bear hug. If she’d been aware of Jax’s sexy presence a moment ago, Daniel’s overwhelmed her senses and weakened her knees. His big arms encircling her generated both a feeling of comfort and one of panic. She pasted a smile on her face and fought to get free of his hold, stepping back when she did to put space between them. Despite the distance, her nostrils were filled with her ex-boyfriend’s scent, and all it did was evoke memory after memory of their time together.

  “Let me introduce you to Alise,” he was saying, but Tae focused on the man himself. As usual, Daniel wore a suit. She’d teased him many times that he lived in them. Only when they dated had she convinced him to dress down. They’d had to shop for sandals for him the one time she had unbent enough to take him to a family reunion.

  Daniel’s blond hair had been cut recently, she assumed, by the way it lay in perfect order. She’d always preferred it a little longer and somewhat disheveled, what she’d called the fresh-from-bed look. Only a hot white guy could pull off the look, and Daniel could, but that wasn’t his style. His blue eyes shone with happiness, and she had a twinge of jealousy, which she stomped down to pay attention to his words.

  “This is my fiancée, Alise Harper and her mother Mrs. Juanita Harper. Alise and Juanita, this is a good friend of mine, Octavia Croft, but everyone calls her Tae.”