My eyes sprung open and sitting in front of me was the shiny SUV we had test driven days ago. “What?” I gasped.
“It’s yours, Del.”
My jaw dropped, and my knees felt weak. I grabbed onto Jay’s arm. “What did you just say?”
“She’s all yours, Delaney. Your car isn’t safe for you to be driving it back and forth to Hilltop almost every day. You need a more reliable car.”
“So you bought me one?” What universe had I fallen into?
Jay had bought me a car.
And not just any car.
A real nice, really pretty, new car.
“Jay…” I didn’t know what to say. This was absolutely insane. “You bought me a car.” That was about the only thought that was going through my mind.
“I want you and the baby to be safe. Driving around in that death trap worried the hell out of me anytime you went anywhere.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the SUV. “Get in the driver’s seat.” He opened the door and motioned for me to get in.
I hopped into the car and rested my hands on the steering wheel.
“Del, you look like you’re about to throw up.”
“You bought me a car!”
Jay took a step back and smiled.
“Why do you look so happy?”
“You’re funny, Del,” he chuckled.
“Jay.” I pointed to the steering wheel. “You bought me a car.”
“I’m the one who bought it, Del. You don’t need to keep telling me.”
I dropped my head to the steering wheel and closed my eyes.
The man had bought me a car because he was worried about me and the baby being in my old car.
So sweet and so unexpected. I had planned on getting a newer car before the baby came, but Jay had beat me to the punch with a beautiful, roomy, SUV.
“You bought me a car,” I whispered.
“I’m a little worried you’re about to flip out on me.”
I turned my head but kept it resting on the steering wheel. “I’m in shock.”
“I can tell that, Del.”
“It’s so pretty,” I whispered. “It has heated seats and a camera that shows me where I’m going when I’m backing up.”
“It does,” he laughed.
“I shouldn’t accept this, Jay. I should tell you to take it back.” I shouldn’t even be sitting it right now.
“Says who?” he asked.
“I have no idea, but I know there are people somewhere who wouldn’t ever dream of taking a car as a present.”
“It’s not a present,” he insisted. “I want you and the baby to be safe. Think of it as giving me peace of mind when I’m not with you.”
“Is that how you’re going to play this?” I laughed.
He nodded and stepped closer. He rested his hand on my thigh. “Del, you and I are the only ones who matter when it comes to making decisions.”
“And the baby,” I added.
“And definitely the baby. I don’t give a rat’s ass if Susan Can'tMindHerOwnBusiness in Timbuktu thinks you shouldn’t have this car. I want you to have it, and that should be all that matters to you.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled. “It even smells amazing,” I whined.
Jay shut the door, and I lifted my head off the steering wheel. “What are you doing?” I called.
“We’re going to get pizza.” He rounded the front of the SUV and got in the passenger seat. “If after we go get pizza, you tell me you don’t want the car, I’ll take it back with no questions asked.”
“You can do that?” I asked. I had never bought a car from a dealership before. My last car I bought from a guy who had it for sale in front of his house.
“Yes, Del, but don’t worry about that.” He set the keys in the cupholder. “Hit the button and let’s go.”
“Button?” I looked where one would normally stick the car key and saw there was just a button that said start/stop. “This thing is like a spaceship,” I muttered. I pressed the button, and the beautiful car came to life.
I loved it already, and I hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway.
*
Chapter Eighteen
Jay
“We can take Millie to the party.”
I grabbed the pan of fruit pizza and looked at Delaney. “Who?”
“Millie, the pretty Cadillac you bought me.” Delaney grabbed the keys from the hook by the door and remote started the car.
“You do know it’s like seventy degrees out right now. You don’t need to warm up the car, Del,” I laughed.
She grabbed the pan from me. “It’s like a new toy. You can’t blame me for playing with it.”
“I got a toy you can play with after this party tonight,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes and marched out the front door. “Grab the taco dip and let’s go, boy toy.”
I grabbed the pan from the counter and closed the front door behind me. “Does that mean we get to play when we get home?”
She laughed and pressed the button on the key fob to open the back hatch. “We’ll see.”
I set the pan next to the taco dip and pulled her into my arms. “That sounds promising.”
“Well, I do need to continue to thank you properly for Millie, don’t I?”
I nuzzled her cheek. “Pretty sure you thanked me properly three times last night.” One of those times was with a blowjob that was out of this world. Delaney’s mouth was like a little piece of heaven.
“I just want you to fully understand just how much I love this car.” She wound her arms around my neck and sighed. “Plus, I wasn’t sure if we would have time for each other the next couple of days with your family in town.”
Yesterday, Leelee and Kurt hadn’t gotten to Leeds Square ‘til after nine, and I had told her we would see them at the party instead of driving to the hotel to see them then. Leelee wasn’t exactly excited about that, but she said she got it.
“Leelee is not going to keep you from me,” I insisted.
She patted my chest. “Keep telling yourself that, boy toy.”
“Is that my new nickname?” I laughed.
“If the shoe fits,” she laughed. She reached up to press the button to shut the hatch and took a step back. “Get in, I’m driving.”
She gleefully walked to the driver’s side and slipped inside.
Delaney loved the car and, thankfully, didn’t tell me I needed to take it back. Though I sure as hell wouldn’t have done that.
She honked the horn and must have rolled down the window. “Get in, loser, we’re going to the party!”
Delaney was happy as hell, and I had been the one to put that smile on her lips.
Now all I had to do was make sure it stayed there.
*
Delaney
“I’m pretty sure I just OD’d on taco dip.”
Jay grabbed my plate and swiped his chip through my leftover dip. “Pretty sure you ate three pounds of it,” he laughed.
“I was nervous,” I whispered. “Leelee was watching me too closely.”