Friends and Lovers Read online

  The robe was just another of the many indications she was at ease with him, here, in his home. And it was sexy, damn it. She never wore anything underneath it and he loved, absolutely loved, how it gapped open when she moved. It was incredibly titillating to get an unexpected flash of leg, breast, or nipple.

  * * * *

  After breakfast Wes offered to do the dishes so Lauren could get dressed to go out. He was tying his tennis shoes when she found him in the living room.

  “All set?” he asked, looking up.

  “How should I know? You won’t tell me where we’re going. Is this okay?” She threw out her arms for a vote on her simple outfit.

  “You look perfect.” Wes stood and grabbed his keys then urged her out the front door with his hand on the small of her back.

  Much to her annoyance, he said nothing in the car. When he ignored her questions, she turned on the radio and sat back, her arms crossed in front of her, out of patience and exasperated by his secrecy. Finally, fifteen minutes later, he flipped on his turn signal and pulled into an exit lane.

  “We’re going to the mall? That’s what this was all about?” Lauren stared in disbelief at the sprawling complex through her window as Wes searched for a parking space.

  “Well, we haven’t been back since we bought the rocker for Sherry so I figured why not? Maybe you’ll find something you like in there.”

  Still not entirely trusting his motives, Lauren was quiet on the way in but once the stores distracted her, she forgot her reservations and got into the spirit of shopping.

  They strolled casually past one store after another. If Lauren showed an interest in something in a window Wes would stop and wait, but he didn’t seem very open to actually venturing into any of the stores. Turning away from yet another shop with a sigh, Lauren caught Wes looking down the wide corridor and checking his watch.

  “Are you late for something?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Not yet.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Come on.”

  Wes threw his arm around her shoulders and hustled her along. Her wariness returned but it turned into blatant alarm when she saw the glittering displays cut into the walls up ahead. When he herded her toward the wide doorway of the jewelry store she felt her heart drop into her stomach.

  “Wes…what are you doing?”

  Chapter 24

  “Relax,” Wes said calmly, easing her inside.

  Oh God, what had she done to him? Lauren felt awful. She should have expected Wes to feel this compulsion to do the honorable thing, but it was only once—they had unprotected sex once! It wasn’t like she was carrying his baby already. Crap, the last thing she wanted was a guilty mop up afterward. She was thirty-one. It hardly seemed likely he’d knock her up the first time out of the gate. She couldn’t let him do this.

  A woman walked over and warmed to Wes right away. “Can I help you find something?” she asked him with a friendly smile.

  “Sam Streeter is expecting us,” Wes told her.

  The woman looked Wes up and down slowly and nodded. Lauren’s eyes burned into the clerk like lasers.

  That got the woman’s attention. “I’ll get him for you.” She went behind the counter and through the swinging door.

  Okay, Lauren was back to feeling a little foolish again. What was her problem? Wes obviously knew this person. She needed to take his advice and relax.

  A minute later a middle-aged man came through the swinging door and smiled at Wes. They pumped hands like old friends.

  “You’re right on time,” said Streeter. Then he turned a warm smile on her. “You must be Lauren.”

  “Yes,” she admitted with surprise.

  Wes gave her an affectionate squeeze and smiled at Streeter.

  “Well, you’ve got yourself a good man here, Lauren. When we were robbed a few months back it was Wes and his partner Chuck who came through for me.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Lauren said.

  “We were just doing our jobs,” said Wes.

  “He’s being modest,” Streeter said. “Those punks had already hit a few of the stores here in the mall. We were the third. Wes and his partner recovered nearly everything we lost before it was fenced. I couldn’t believe it. I told them, you come see me if you’re ever looking for something nice. I’ll take care of you.”

  Lauren smiled, tamping down her rush of anxiety…again.

  “Come, sit,” Mr. Streeter said, waving them over to a couple of chairs.

  Lauren sank slowly into one and set her purse on the floor beside her. Wes took the other chair and Streeter walked behind the counter and flipped through a mass of keys to unlock the back of the case right in front of them. Lauren’s alarm was back with a vengeance only now she felt queasy too.

  Wes took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. That helped, a little. Until Streeter set a tray of engagement rings right in front of her. He slid it forward and looked at Lauren expectantly. Wes glanced covertly at Lauren from the corner of his eye.

  Streeter leaned in. “Now, Wes didn’t know what sort of diamond cut or setting you preferred so he gave me a few suggestions to start with. Of course we’re assuming you prefer a diamond.”

  Lauren was going to puke. Oh God, she felt like she was going to puke. She tried to calm herself even as her body began to tremble. Then Streeter’s comment finally sank in. She turned to Wes in confusion. “You’ve already been here?”

  He looked at her sheepishly. “A couple of times.”

  “So this has nothing to do with this morning?”

  Wes laughed. “Hardly. This was premeditated, I’m afraid.”

  Lauren was speechless.

  “Do you like any of them?” Wes asked hopefully.

  Streeter broke in. “If you don’t, I have plenty more. We’ll find something to suit you.”

  Lauren looked them over carefully and eventually reached out to pick up a half-carat round cut with smaller brilliants running down the platinum band on either side.

  Wes smiled. “Yeah, I liked that one too. May I?” He held out his hand and she set the ring in his palm.

  He turned it over, looked at it for a moment, plucked it up between his index finger and thumb, and offered it right back to her. “Lauren, will you marry me?”

  Streeter stared, his mouth agape. “You mean to tell me you haven’t even asked her yet?”

  Wes ignored him, his focus centered exclusively on Lauren.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You already know my answer.”

  Wes took her hand and slid the ring over her finger. It was too big but it looked beautiful on her. He brushed away her tears with the back of his hand, his eyes filled with love, a warm ‘welcome home’ in his smile.

  Streeter shook his head, chuckling. “You’ve got nerve, kid, I’ll give you that.” He looked at Lauren. “I suppose you want to show it off right away?”

  Lauren nodded, embarrassed to be so predictable.

  “No worries. Just bring it back to be sized. In the meantime, I have something to make it fit.”

  Lauren slipped the ring off her finger and handed it to Streeter. She and Wes both tried on sizing rings and Streeter marked down their measurements. He gave Lauren back her engagement ring with a temporary flexible adjustment inside the band.

  “And these are the wedding bands,” Streeter said, sliding the other two rings their way. “I assume you want those too.”

  “Yes,” said Wes.

  “I’m buying your band,” insisted Lauren.

  Wes smiled and drew her to her feet. “Let’s just make this one transaction and we can work it out later.” He kissed Lauren on the forehead and prodded her along.

  As Wes took care of the payment, Lauren’s eyes drifted over all the other jewelry in the cases. Everything paled in comparison to what she wore on her finger. She couldn’t take her eyes off the sparkling proof of Wes’s love.

  He met up with her outside the store, carrying the velvet box. His
smile was the only thing she’d seen that was brilliant enough to rival her ring.

  “Would you put this in your purse? I don’t have a pocket big enough.” He held the box out to her.

  Lauren laughed. “Like I’m in a position to deny you anything now.”

  Wes chuckled and pulled her close, giving her a long, slow kiss.

  When he released her Lauren was all aflutter. “Are we really getting married or am I just dreaming this?”

  “Have you ever dreamed this before?”

  “Not this exactly.”

  “Then I guess it’s real.” He gave her another light kiss. “Thank you for saying yes.”

  “Yeah, shocker. But thank you for asking.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Maybe you should tell me your middle name. If I’m going to share it I suppose I ought to know it.”

  Wes laughed. “It’s James. I’m Wesley James Dunlop.”

  “I like it.”

  He offered his hand and they walked back through the mall the way they came in. “Good. So who should we tell first?”

  “Sherry and Ken, of course, then my parents and your parents, and Jackie, and I suppose you’ll want to tell Chuck.”

  “Forget I asked. Let’s send cards.”

  Lauren laughed and he brought their clasped hands to his lips and kissed her finger just below the sparkling engagement ring. “Now you’re mine,” he said with a promising growl.

  Lauren’s feet didn’t touch the floor after that.

  * * * *

  As it turned out, Wes’s parents were at the hospital when they stopped there next.

  Sherry was surprisingly chipper considering the hellish twenty-four hours she’d had. In fact, it was difficult to imagine her looking lovelier.

  “Look, Robin, it’s Uncle Wes and Auntie Lauren. Come on in and pull up a bedpan,” said Sherry with a happy laugh. She pulled in her feet, clearing space at the bottom of her bed for them.

  Lauren set her purse on the counter and went to hug Sherry. Her friend leaned in and whispered, “You just missed my second attempt at nursing.”

  “How’s it going?”

  Sherry threw up her hand. “I don’t know. Robin doesn’t seem very interested yet. It would help if he was a boob man like his daddy.” When she realized what she’d said, she turned to her parents with a look of horror. “Pretend I didn’t just say that.”

  Mrs. Dunlop laughed. “That’s okay. Nature answers all. Just wait. Once your milk comes in you won’t be able to put Robin down. He’ll be like a vacuum cleaner attached to your chest.”

  Sherry grimaced. “Great. That sounds pleasant.”

  Grandma’s eyes softened on the newborn. “Actually it is. You really fall in love with your babies when you share those quiet moments.”

  “So where’s Ken?” Wes asked, looking around uncomfortably.

  “He had to take a couple of calls from work so I kicked him out. He’ll be back. I think he went to the lounge.” Sherry turned to Lauren with a frown. “What happened to your cheek?”

  “That’s right,” said Mrs. Dunlop. “You promised you’d tell us what happened. No time like the present.”

  Wes nudged his dad in the arm. “Feel like a cup of coffee? My treat.”

  “No, thanks. If I have caffeine after noon your mother will kill me.” He turned to Lauren. “And I’m a little curious myself.”

  That’s when Ken walked in. “Curious about what?”

  “Lauren’s cheek,” said Wes with a sigh.

  “Oh, right.” Ken sat on the edge of the bed next to his wife and crossed his loafers.

  Wes looked at Lauren and shrugged. “You might as well tell them. They’re not going to let it rest now.”

  She looked from one concerned face to the next and realized she loved them, all of them, every single member of this very special family. Even before she got romantically entangled with Wes they were there for her, open, accepting, caring, and she couldn’t be more grateful. Lauren smiled at Mrs. Dunlop first, though her eyes didn’t remain there. “I’m afraid we had an incident at the shelter yesterday.”

  Four separate voices asked the same question simultaneously. “What kind of incident?”

  Lauren looked to Wes for help, and he gave her a nod of encouragement. She swallowed and went on. “The husband of one of our residents managed to track her down and took a few of us hostage.”

  Everyone fell silent, digesting the unexpected news. Their incredulous stares made Lauren fidget uncomfortably.

  Sherry was the first to break the weighted silence. She seemed more upset than the others because she knew better than anyone how much Lauren had suffered after losing her sister and nephew to a violent man.

  “He took you hostage? Did he hurt anyone else? Did she get away from him?” she asked rapidly.

  “His wife wasn’t there at the time,” Lauren assured her. She turned and found Wes watching her, a tender look in his eyes. It made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world. He gave her a subtle nod of encouragement and she went on. “Fortunately, Wes figured out what was going on and brought the SWAT team.”

  “Lauren tipped me off,” he interjected, sharing the credit. “We wouldn’t have known if she didn’t get the message through.”

  Lauren smiled back at him. “Anyway, we all escaped safely. Well, except for the gunman.”

  “Wait a second. He was holding you at gunpoint?” Mr. Dunlop blustered, his anxious eyes darting back and forth between Wes and Lauren.

  “Oh my,” said Mrs. Dunlop. She sank onto the rocker with her hand at her throat.

  “Well, what happened to the gunman?” Ken asked impatiently.

  Lauren felt the weight of his question. She shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know. He was shot. I’m not sure if it was Wes or his partner Chuck but—”

  “It was me,” said Wes softly.

  Mrs. Dunlop jumped to her feet, the abandoned chair rocking wildly behind her. “Oh, honey.” The concern in her eyes was heartbreaking.

  Only then did Lauren realize how thoughtless she’d been. Here Wes was comforting her, making sure she was okay, and she never even considered how pulling the trigger might have affected him.

  “I’m fine, Mom,” Wes said, giving her a reassuring hug. He looked over his mother’s shoulder and shook his head at Lauren. “Don’t worry,” he told her softly.

  He could read her like a book.

  Mrs. Dunlop moved to Wes’s side and he went on.

  “Lauren handled the crisis beautifully. She was amazing, incredibly cool under pressure. I’m so proud of her.”

  Lauren blushed. She hadn’t felt calm at the time. In fact, she’d felt powerless in the middle of that volatile storm.

  She brushed at her eyes, impatient with the tears that threatened to flow. “I couldn’t have done it without knowing Wes would come through for us. It’s what kept me going.”

  He smiled and raised his eyebrows at her. “We’ve come this far. Think they can handle another shock?”

  Lauren bit her lip and smiled back. “I say we let them have it. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  “We’re in a hospital, so the odds they survive this are pretty good,” said Wes.

  Sherry’s eyes narrowed on the both of them. “Cut the drama and spill it already.”

  Wes laughed and walked around to stand beside Lauren. He took her hand and raised it out over the top of the blanket so everyone could get a good look at it.

  “Oh my word!” his mother gasped with her hand back at her throat again.

  Sherry stared in wide-eyed shock at the two of them. “Are you kidding?”

  “Pretty big investment for a joke, don’t you think?” asked Wes.

  “You’re getting married?” she said, double checking.

  “That’s the idea,” said Wes.

  “Let me see it again!” Sherry grabbed Lauren’s arm and pulled her over. Her whole body seemed to melt as she examined it closer. “Oh God, this is so b
eautiful.”

  “I picked it out myself,” Lauren told her.

  “Oh.” Sherry sighed and let Lauren have her hand back. Then Sherry’s eyes bulged. “Do you realize what this means? We’re finally going to be sisters!”

  Lauren laughed. “I know.”

  “Oh my God!”

  “Honey,” Ken broke in. “Let me take Robin before you shake him apart.”

  Sherry handed the sleeping baby to his father and pulled Lauren in for a big hug. “Ouch, I have to remember my boobs are sore.”

  Lauren laughed and stepped back. “You should see the matching bands.”

  “Do you have them with you?”

  “No. They’re getting sized, but I had to have the engagement ring.”

  “Of course you did.” Sherry made space on her bed. She waved excitedly. “Mom, get over here.”

  Ken moved away from the hubbub and Wes leaned in and said dryly, “Sherry was always the bossy one.”

  “I heard that,” Sherry said, glancing at her brother.

  “I wanted you to.”

  As silly as it seemed, Lauren had to show off the jeweler’s box too. “Not that this ring is ever going to leave my finger,” she said. “Well, once it gets sized anyway.”

  “Wow.” Sherry held Lauren’s hand up to her face and took a closer look. She did a mom impression, her hand fluttering at her throat. “I’m stunned, speechless.”

  “If only you were,” said Wes, but he was smiling.

  “Oh, I’m going to get you.” She looked at Lauren. “I’m sorry he’s all I have for you. Are you sure you want to be my sister that bad?”

  Lauren laughed. “I’m positive.”

  Sherry sighed. “Well, I tried to warn you. So when are you going to cuff him?”

  Lauren looked to Wes and shrugged. “Your turn.”

  He took the heat off of her. “Sherry, give us a little time. I just proposed so that’s a discussion for another day.”

  “Just? What do you mean just? When did you ask her?” said his mother.

  Wes checked his watch. “Thirty minutes ago?”

  “Oh boy.” Ken laughed and shook his head.

  “Well, don’t make it a long engagement because Robin’s going to need a little playmate close to his own age.”