Page 49 of Office Affairs

“Does Keith like the zoo?” Garrett kept his voice pitched too low for Keith to hear.

I loved that he did that. It gave me a chance to make a decision as a parent without Keith’s pleading. We’d never made it the last time he asked. After all the drama, we’d driven out for ice cream then returned home too exhausted to bother. A knot of emotion clogged my throat, and I took my time answering, waiting until I could speak without tears. “He’d love that.”

“What about you?” Russell slid a hand down my spine, leaving an ache in his wake.

I wished I had the right to hug him, all of them. This thing between us would be over soon, I felt it in the constant tension riding my shoulders and trailing my every step. They’d find out I was Leon’s daughter. Or that I was pregnant, and they’d abandon me when they found out.

“Sabrina?” Russell tipped my chin up, concern tight in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I love the zoo.” My smile struggled but I found a way to keep it in place and pulled away from him before I did something utterly foolish and asked him to hold me. We enjoyed sex together. Nothing more. Nothing less. They wanted nothing to do with my tumultuous emotions.

Chase’s smile appeared with the slow decadence of a caress. “Great. We all need a break from work. Maybe a distraction is what we need. Clear our minds.”

Oh. That’s why he came. I almost said no, just so I could spend the day with Keith and try to find a way to take a pregnancy test. One look at Keith and I knew I couldn’t do that to him. I’d never hurt him to save myself.

“We’re going to the zoo?” Keith stopped eating long enough to lift soulful brown eyes to mine. “Really?”

“Yes.” I swallowed my misgivings and focused on Keith. He needed this. Maybe we all did. Chase had a habit of being right. Much as I hated to admit it, the man had a point. We’d spent so much time obsessing about catching the thief that maybe we were overlooking something crucial. We were too close to the situation. A little distance never hurt.

Speaking of distance … I edged away from Russell on the pretense of washing the donut sugar from my fingers. “I need to get dressed. Make yourselves at home.”

Leaving them standing in the tiny kitchen was like leaving three bears in Goldilocks’s house. They took up all the space in the room, but instead of sucking out the energy, they filled it with a sparkling zap that I wanted to reach out and touch.

Dad called it playing with fire. He wasn’t wrong. I’d always had a particular proclivity toward pyrotechnics. I hoped and prayed that Keith wasn’t the one who ended up burned when this all went south.

Safe in my bedroom, I stopped at the foot of the bed and held on tight to my sanity. It would require effort to keep going forward when I knew that every second could be my last with them. “Enjoy the moment.” I closed my eyes and sank onto the edge of the bed. One hand drifted over my flat stomach.

Did I dare tell them that I might be pregnant?

26

SABRINA

Laughter crinkled Keith’s eyes as he threw his head back and howled at the monkeys. Garrett joined him, with me, Chase, and Russell watching and chuckling along.

“I always knew you were in the wrong line of work.” Chase slapped Garrett on the shoulder, his eyes shining with a mix of laughter and sunshine.

My stomach ached from laughing so hard and my cheeks pinched. When was the last time I’d laughed and smiled this much? Ever? A breeze rustled the trees where the monkeys continued to hoot and leap from branch to branch. They approached the edge of the enclosure and peered down at Keith, who talked to the monkeys like they were his best friends. We’d already seen the lions, giraffes, and zebras. Up next was the reptile house and aquarium.

Russell passed me a bottle of water and cracked open an identical one for himself.

The cold water eased the dryness in my throat and I smiled my thanks.

“Are you having fun?” Russell eased onto the bench seat beside me and took another long gulp.

I nodded emphatically. “Definitely. It’s been a while since we took a day off and enjoyed time together.” Tenting a hand over my eyes, I angled a look at Keith. “He needed this.”

“I think you did too.” Russell’s hand slid over my knee in a reassuring squeeze. “Motherhood is tough. You’re doing a great job.”

An inexplicable rush of affection flooded my senses. No one had ever told me that before. To hear it from a man like Russell, who I respected, made the words that much sweeter.

Garrett and Keith walked backward toward us, their attention still on the monkeys until they all scampered out of view.

“That was so cool.” Keith sighed and looked up at Garrett with a wide smile. “This is fun.”

“Totally.” Garrett ruffled Keith’s hair. For all his flash-fire temper, Garrett made a wonderful father figure.

My stomach clenched and rolled. I wanted to wait until I knew for sure about my pregnancy before I said anything. No sense in ruining what we had with what-ifs and maybes. Chase sat on my other side, Garrett and Keith in front of us tossing a beanbag monkey from the gift shop.

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