Page 69 of Daddy By Design

Shelby came through with a tired smile. “So sorry I’m late. My stomach was a little off and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t sick. Wouldn’t want to get anyone infected with something.” She held her hand over her middle.

I stood. “We can handle this if you’re not feeling up to it. Do you want some coffee?”

Her skin actually paled to gray. “No, definitely not on the coffee. I’m pretty sure that’s what started this. But thanks. Maybe I should just go into my office, in case it’s something worse.”

“Sure.” I glanced at Nolan. “That all right with you?”

“I would imagine we’ll be working together the most, Miss McKenna.”

Again, with that full name. What the hell was going on there? Were we really going to go full-on strangers?

“I would be lead on the project. Shelby is heading a large project, but she’d be my second.”

Shelby smiled at Nolan. “I’d shake your hand, but...well, let’s just stay on the safe side.” Suddenly, she went from gray to downright pale as she darted to the back of the studio where our bathroom was.

TJ popped up, pressing her lips together with worry.

“I’ll go check on her.”

TJ’s face smoothed in relief. She didn’t do well with stomach issues. Sympathy spewer, as she called it.

“Go on, Hellcat. We’ll be fine.”

TJ’s attention swung to Nolan then to me. I gave her a don’t you start look then headed to the bathrooms to check on Shelby.

“Okay, Mr. Devereaux, what kind of down payment were you looking for to retain our services?”

“Nolan is fine,” he murmured as I closed the door.

Sure, it was fine for TJ to call him Nolan now. What the hell?

But right then, I couldn’t think about Nolan and our weird dynamic. I knocked lightly on the stall door. “Shel?”

“Oh, God. I’m not sure there’s anything left in my body to expel.”

I winced. “Oh, honey. Want me to get you a water? Call Dex?”

“No!” She groaned. “Don’t call Dex. He’ll just hover and worry, and then I’ll end up with my butt in a chair at the clinic.”

“Do you need to go to the clinic?”

“No. It’s just a stomach bug,” she said weakly. She flushed and opened the door. “Could you go get my travel case? I have my toothbrush in there.”

“Sure.”

Shelby leaned over the sink and turned on the taps to rinse her mouth.

I paused at the door. “Not to be indelicate, but...”Shelby met my gaze in the mirror. “Might you need to go to the drugstore?”

She frowned. “For what? Tums? I think I have some Pepto. I picked some up yesterday.”

I gave her a long stare. I wasn’t sure she and Dex were doing the kid thing so quickly. Our business was ramping up these days, but sometimes things happened off-schedule. Even for the very organized Shelby Wilde.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, God.”

“Yeah. Could that be a reason?”

She bowed her head over the sink. “Oh, God. I don’t know. I need to look at my calendar. Oh, God.”

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