Page 18 of Somebody To Love

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

Her lips pinched together before parting to speak. “I’m only trying to be fair. If you made a deposit at a sperm bank, you get paid like any anonymous donor.”

“But I’m not anonymous. I’m your best friend.” He took a step closer until they were less than a foot apart. “We’ve known each other for seventeen years. You helped me pass Trig after I missed two weeks of school because of the flu and almost failed. I held your hair as you puked in the bushes after senior skip day when you had too much tequila.”

Her face paled when he brought up the memory, nose scrunching up in disgust. Poor Penny. To this day, even the smell of tequila made her gag. Happily, they didn’t produce any at Jacks.

“You were there for me after my dad died.”

Her expression softened, sadness entering her eyes.

“You let me cry on your shoulder and didn’t say a word.”

“I wish I would have said something comforting, but I didn’t know what to say.”

Reaching out, he cupped her cheek in his hand, rubbing his thumb against the softness of her skin. “You didn’t have to say anything. You were there for me. Let me grieve. That helped more than you could ever know.”

A gentle smile tilted her lips as her head pressed into his hold. “I’m glad.”

“Me too, and that’s why I’m glad to do this for you. Not for any type of compensation, but because you’re my friend and I want you to be happy.”

A sniffle sounded from her, eyes glossing over. Most men would say they hated a woman’s tears, and BJ would agree. But these tears weren’t born of sadness or pain. They were a result of happiness. Her bright smile showed as much.

“You really are the best.”

“I know. But I think you need to say that more often around Ace. The guy needs his ego taken down a notch or two.”

She laughed, stepping into his arms when he opened them for another hug.

He tightened his arms around her, leaning his head down to kiss the top of her head as he always did. But this time, when his lips touched her hair, something felt…different. The softness of those silky strands seemed to caress his lips. Her scent—which he’d never given much thought to before—overpowered his senses. Cinnamon. Penny smelled like cinnamon. Spicy and so potent he could taste it on his tongue. What the hell was going on?

Pulling away, he headed into the kitchen. He needed a drink. “Tell me more about how all this works.”

Opening her fridge, he let the cool air wash over him. His body felt heated, flushed…aroused. No. He didn’t get aroused around Penny. She was a beautiful woman. Smart and funny in her own dorky kind of way, but she was also his best friend. He didn’t think of her that way.

Then why was he suddenly sporting wood from an innocent hug?

He needed to get it together. Whatever the hell was going on with his body was simply physics. He’d gone too long without sex. That was it. His body and mind were mixing things up because he hadn’t had sex in too damn long and they were talking about sperm and babies. Usually, that meant intercourse. His head was confused. The little one.

“After the doctor gives your sample the all clear,” Penny spoke from behind him, following him into the kitchen. “I’ll go in and…well you don’t really need the details, but hopefully everything will take, and I’ll have a beautiful baby in nine months.”

He turned, beer in hand. “Hopefully?”

She reached around him to grab a soda out of the fridge, nudging him aside and closing it once she got her beverage. “Yes, well, it doesn’t always work the first time.”

“How many times does it take?”

She shrugged, popping open the top on her drink and taking a small sip. “Depends. Every woman is different, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to keep trying until I succeed.”

Like she did with everything in life. Penny truly was amazing in going after her goals. Still…“Won’t that get expensive?”

He didn’t know how much artificial insemination cost, but he’d bet it wasn’t cheap.

She waved a hand in the air. “I’ve got the savings for it.”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t you be saving as much as you can for the baby? I mean, I hear kids cost like a million dollars to raise or something.”

“$237,482 actually.”

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