Crush: An Everyday Heroes Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Read online

  Crush

  An everyday heroes novel

  Kelsie Rae

  Contents

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  2. Marcy

  3. Marcy

  4. Marcy

  5. Marcy

  6. Ben

  7. Marcy

  8. Ben

  9. Marcy

  10. Marcy

  11. Ben

  12. Ben

  13. Marcy

  14. Marcy

  15. Ben

  16. Marcy

  17. Marcy

  18. Marcy

  19. Marcy

  20. Marcy

  21. Ben

  22. Marcy

  23. Marcy

  24. Marcy

  25. Marcy

  26. Marcy

  27. Marcy

  28. Marcy

  29. Ben

  30. Marcy

  31. Marcy

  Epilogue

  Want to keep up in the Everyday Heroes World?

  Interested in more Kelsie Rae?

  Dear Reader

  About the Author

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  © 2020 KB WORLDS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people.

  Published by KB Worlds, LLC.

  Cover Design by: Cover My Wagon Dragon Design

  Editing by: Wickedcoolflight Editing Services

  Formatting by: Cover My Wagon Dragon Design

  Published in the United States of America

  Marcy

  I signed up to be a surrogate because the dating pool is that shallow. Besides, my uterus might as well get used before it starts to grow cobwebs, right? Go figure that fate would screw with me as soon as I check in at my first doctor's appointment.

  It's official. I've hit a new rock bottom.

  Now I'm stuck drooling over my obstetrician, Dr. Benjamin Bennett. The wounded widower knows how to play my heartstrings like a seasoned violinist.

  I thought I'd be stuck lusting from afar, but it seems luck is on my side when I find him on a dating app.

  Dr. Bennett is looking for a friend with benefits, and I'm more than ready to jump his bones.

  What I don't expect however, is the man beneath the good looks. The longer I'm around him, the more I start to wonder if he'd ever be interested in pursuing something real, or if I'd always be lost in his wife's shadow.

  Introduction

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to the Everyday Heroes World!

  I’m so excited you’ve picked up this book! Crush is a book based on the world I created in my USA Today bestselling Everyday Heroes Series. While I may be finished writing this series (for now), various authors have signed on to keep them going. They will be bringing you all-new stories in the world you know while allowing you to revisit the characters you love.

  This book is entirely the work of the author who wrote it. While I allowed them to use the world I created and may have assisted in some of the plotting, I took no part in the writing or editing of the story. All praise can be directed their way.

  I truly hope you enjoy Crush. If you’re interested in finding more authors who have written in the KB Worlds, you can visit www.kbworlds.com.

  Thank you for supporting the writers in this project and me.

  Happy Reading,

  K. Bromberg

  Prologue

  Ben

  My head is pounding as the sirens echo in the distance. They’re getting closer.

  What the hell just happened?

  Closing my eyes, I attempt to recount the last few minutes before the memory hits me like a truck.

  Or a car for that matter.

  I was driving. We were going to dinner when––

  “Kate?” I croak. My desperation starts to surface as I piece together the severity of the situation.

  The puff of smoke from the airbag swirls through the cabin and makes it almost impossible to see, but I have to get to her. Squinting, I open my mouth wide to pop the ringing in my ears, but it does nothing to silence the deafening sound.

  “Kate?” I repeat, my panic rising as the silence begins to suffocate me. “Kate, talk to me.” As the smoke starts to dissipate, I find my wife slumped in the passenger seat, unconscious.

  Coughing, I reach for her, but the seatbelt keeps me pinned in my seat. “Kate, baby, you okay?” My fingers tug at the strap against my chest, but it comes away coated with blood.

  My blood.

  I’m drenched in it.

  The sirens grow louder before the screech of brakes grabs my attention.

  “Kate, wake up, baby. You gotta wake up,” I plead. There’s so much blood.

  Footsteps crunch outside the car before a bright light blinds me through the broken window.

  “Ben?” the familiar voice murmurs.

  Cocking my head toward the owner, I blink a few times before recognizing the stranger. “Grant?”

  “Where’s the ambulance?” he yells to someone behind him. His voice is laced with an urgency that feels foreign. Grant is never scared. He’s calm and collected. Always has been for as long as I’ve known him. His head snaps back to me, and he starts to inspect the damage. But he doesn’t understand. The only thing that matters is my wife who’s unconscious in the passenger seat.

  “Kate,” I cough as my head rolls forward. The darkness threatens to pull me under. Pressing my bloodstained hand to my face, I force my eyelids to stay open. “You gotta help Kate.”

  His brows tug down in the middle of his forehead as he glances over to the passenger seat before the color drains from his face.

  No. No, no, no!

  Clearing his throat, Grant states, “We’re going to get you out of there, okay? But I’m going to need you to stay calm.”

  “Fuck calm, Grant! Get her out of the car!” I struggle to break free from the restraints, but it’s no use.

  “Malone!” a voice calls.

  “Just a second!” Grant barks to his partner before dropping his voice low like he was trained to do in situations like this. Hell, I’m a doctor. I was trained to do the same thing. Which only terrifies me more.

  “Look, Ben. You have a nasty laceration on your head. The more you move, the more you’re going to bleed, and you’ve already lost enough for one day. We can’t get to Kate right now because her door is blocked by a tree. You were T-boned. Just stay calm. The ambulance is right behind us. She’s going to be okay.”

  But as the ambulance lights bounce off the crumpled metal, the truth hits me harder than the car ever could.

  He’s lying.

  Nothing will ever be okay again.

  1

  Marcy

  “Aaand, that’s a wrap,” I announce with my DSLR camera in hand.

  “Really?” The surprise is clear in Dylan’s voice as I filter through a few images from our photo shoot.

  “Yup. See? I told you it wouldn’t be too bad.”

  Rolling her eyes, Dylan grabs the skirt of her lilac-colored maternity dress and waddles over to me
. “I haven’t seen the pictures yet, so I’m going to say the jury’s still out.”

  “Whatever. You know I’m a magician behind the lens. Besides, you look gorgeous. I could use a Polaroid, and these would still turn out great.”

  Her arms are crossed over her chest, resting on her beachball of a belly as she challenges, “I look like a whale.”

  “You feel like a whale,” I correct her. “You look like a beautiful mother-to-be. There’s a difference.”

  “Doesn’t feel like there’s a difference,” she grumbles, rubbing her hand along her swollen stomach. The picture on the back of my camera is a close-up taken at an angle above Dylan’s head. She’s looking down at her adorable baby bump with a secret smile that captures the audience. It perfectly showcases the love and anticipation for her new addition to the family and is exactly what I need to prove my point. With a triumphant look, I show it to Dylan.

  “Wanna bet?”

  Her expression softens as she admits, “Actually, that one’s pretty perfect.”

  “I told ya.”

  “Still doesn’t change the fact that I feel like a whale, though,” she counters.

  “Aww, come on. Enjoy it. Soak it up. Savor every moment because there are some people out there who would kill to have a baby.”

  She cocks her head to the side. “Give it six months. Then you can talk.”

  “Har har. Very funny.”

  “Speaking of which…I still cannot believe you actually went through with it.”

  “Dyl––”

  “I know, I know.” She waves me off. “You don’t need to defend your decision to me. I’ve heard it all before, remember? Let’s do a quick recap, shall we? You want to use your uterus before it grows cobwebs, there are a lot of amazing people out there who would make great parents but aren’t able to get pregnant, and you get a big, fat paycheck by the end of it. I’m just saying that pregnancy isn’t a walk in the park, but….” Her voice trails off as she watches my shoulders hunch.

  I’ve prepared myself for this conversation, but I didn’t really expect I’d have to defend myself to Dylan. She’s one of the most accepting people I know. “I know it’s unconventional––”

  “You didn’t let me finish.”

  Biting my tongue, I sigh. “Go on.”

  “But…if Grady and I couldn’t have kids of our own, I’d want someone like you to partner up with. Someone responsible. Someone I could trust. Someone who would treat the child like their own until I could hold that little baby in my arms.” Losing the battle against her emotions, a tear slips down her cheek and ruins the expert eye makeup she’d been wearing for the photo shoot. With a dry laugh, she wipes it away. “Gah. I’m a mess. The hormones are no joke.”

  “I can only imagine,” I offer with a smile before pulling her into a hug. “Thanks for not telling me I’m crazy for doing this.”

  “You are crazy,” she corrects me with a watery laugh. “And you’re thoughtful. And selfless. And totally naive about how hard it is to be pregnant,” she adds with another laugh. “But I think you're perfect for the job.”

  “I kinda think so too.”

  “How is the family doing? What were their names again?”

  “Anthony and Sway Wright. And they’re doing great. Super excited. Super sweet about everything. Seriously, they treat me like a queen. I think we’re a great team.”

  “Well, yeah. You’re pretty much their own walking miracle. Of course, they’re going to treat you like gold. Have you had any morning sickness yet?”

  “Not yet. I called that doctor you recommended, though.”

  Her face lights up like the fourth of July. “You won’t regret it. My doctor is amazing. One”––she raises her forefinger––“he’s absolutely gorgeous, and I’ve heard he’s single. And two”––she raises her middle finger to join her first––“he has the best bedside manner, and always makes me and Grady feel super comfortable at the appointments. He’s awesome, and I guarantee you won’t regret using him.”

  “You may have mentioned that a time or two,” I reply dryly. “Thank you for giving me his contact info. I was a little nervous that I’d have to fly to New Hampshire for every appointment when I found out I’d go through the whole fertilization process at a facility near the parents. But thankfully, I get to pick my own obstetrician close to home. He’s going to take care of the whole pregnancy and delivery while Anthony and Sway will fly down for all of the major appointments and the official birth. However, you do remember the one condition I had when you first recommended him, right?”

  Feigning ignorance, she bats her lashes and picks at her cuticles. “And what’s that?”

  “Nice try, Dyl. But I’ll tell you one more time, just to be clear. You aren’t allowed to try to set me up with him.”

  Outraged, her jaw drops as she completely forgets her original facade. “Come on, Marce. Why the hell not?”

  “Because I’m pregnant with someone else’s kid. It’s not like I’m looking for a relationship or a commitment until this baby is out of my uterus, ya know? Maybe a solid screw, but that’s about it.”

  “Are you even able to have sex when you have someone else’s kid inside of you? And is it weird when you hear someone say, ‘Someone else’s kid is inside of you’?” Her face scrunches up as it rolls off her tongue a second time.

  My laugh is light and airy before I pull her into another hug. “It’s definitely weird. But as soon as I met Anthony and Sway, I knew they deserved to have a child of their own, and nine months feels like a pretty small sacrifice to give it to them.”

  “You’re a saint.”

  “No, I’m just ready for my life to mean a little more than a single woman who takes pictures for a living. And since I’m not sure I’ll ever meet Mr. Right and have kids of my own, I might as well make my prime uterus useful to someone else.”

  “Prime uterus?”

  “That’s what they tell me.”

  She laughs. “You should put that on your resume next time.”

  “Already planning on it,” I quip.

  2

  Marcy

  My knee bounces like a jackrabbit as I pretend to read the parenting magazine in front of me. The words blur together, creating a swirl of black and white while framing a brand new baby’s face with the chubbiest cheeks I’ve ever seen in the center of the page. The bow on her head looks like it’s almost as big as she is. And that toothy grin? My heart stalls.

  “You nervous?” Sway teases, dropping her chin toward my bouncing knee. Her soft pink hair is tucked behind her ear as she sits beside me with her hand intertwined with her husband’s. They flew in yesterday and spent the night taking me out to dinner while treating me like––you guessed it––gold.

  Releasing a shaky breath, I close the magazine and put it back on the oak coffee table in front of us. “Can you blame me?”

  “Not really, but I thought I was supposed to be the one that’s nervous.” Her kind smile is almost enough to calm my nerves.

  “Don’t let her fool you,” Anthony interjects next to her. “She’s nervous as hell, but it’s going to be fine. We’ve already had the positive pregnancy test. Your hormone levels are where they’re supposed to be. Now, we just need to hear our baby’s heartbeat. It’s going to be fine.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” I mutter under my breath.

  What if I did something wrong? What if I have a bum uterus despite all the testing and exams I’ve already been through? What if I won’t be able to give these two amazing people a baby? What if––

  A gentle hand rubs against my back before Sway’s soft voice coos, “Breathe, Marcy. You look like you’re going to be sick. Do you need some water or something? What can I do to help?”

  Rummaging through Sway’s small purse, Anthony retrieves a stick of gum. “Here. I’ve heard peppermint helps with nausea.”

  I take it with a forced smile then remind myself to breathe, sucking in a deep breath before releasing it ju
st as slowly. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Marcy Holden,” a high-pitched voice calls from the front of the room. All three of our heads pop up. A cute nurse with blonde hair is holding a clipboard in her arms while scanning the waiting room. I guess it’s showtime. Clearing my dry throat, I stand up and wipe my sweaty palms against my dark blue jeans then walk the short distance to the nurse. Anthony and Sway follow behind me, trying to give me space even though they’re just as anxious as I am.

  We’re all in this together. I just hope I can deliver my end of the deal.

  “Hi, I’m Marcy Holden.”

  The nurse’s gaze veers around me before returning to me with a silent question.

  “They’re with me,” I answer.

  With a brisk nod, she turns on her heel and beckons for me to follow. “Right this way. I’m Tracey. I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of each other over the next few months. If you ever have any questions or need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re going to get your weight and blood pressure, then Dr. Bennett will be right in.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I don’t bother to look at the numbers on the scale because they’ll only be going up for the next eight months, and Tracey is experienced enough not to voice the numbers out loud. Satisfied with the result, she simply scratches down a few numbers before guiding us to the closest room. There’s an exam table, two chairs, a small sink, and a big piece of equipment that I assume is an ultrasound machine. But who knows? Maybe it’s an alien detector or a pizza maker. I’m not the one with the medical degree.