Page 25 of Exposed

“No,” she shakes her head.

Damn, I wish she’d stop resisting.

“You cried when I cooked you bacon and eggs because no one has ever cooked for you. You can’t lie worth shit. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Simon, would you?”

“I can’t.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I would never hurt Simon, but I can’t stay here.”

When I look at her hair, I notice her light roots disappeared tonight. “Your hair is darker,” I comment, leaning my butt against the marble countertop.

She tucks a strand behind her ear and breaks eye contact with me.

“Who are you hiding from? Tell me, and I can help you.” I grip the edges of the counter to keep from wrapping my arms around her. She acts like a deer in the headlights, and I don’t want her to feel cornered and run.

“I, um, I…” Her voice trails off. She wants to tell me.

“You can tell me, Pepper,” I encourage.

She averts her gaze. After a couple minutes of silence, I realize she’s not going to tell me tonight.

“Fine,” I surrender for now. “Tell me this: does whoever you’re hiding from know you’re in Miami?”

She shakes her head no. “I don’t think so. I have a fake ID. I bought my car off of the classified ads in the newspaper and didn’t register it. If they knew I was in Miami, they would’ve taken me.”

Keeping the shock I feel from showing on my face, I nod and grab a Clorox wipe to clean the countertop. She must be terrified of whoever she’s running from. I’ll do what I can to make sure she stays safe.

“You’re safe here then, since no one knows your whereabouts.” I don’t like that she won’t tell me, but I can’t force her. If I give her space, maybe she’ll open up.

“My parents will be here tomorrow evening and the next day to watch Simon. I told them you’re a friend staying with me, so they won’t be surprised by your presence,” I share.

“What did they say about you having a baby?” She asks with a grin.

“You enjoy seeing me off my game, don’t you?” I grin back.

“Seems like you have it all together. Doesn’t hurt to see you out of your element,” she shrugs.

“With a newborn, I’m definitely out of my element. My parents seemed excited. Shocked, but happy they’re grandparents. I think they’d given up on me getting with someone and having kids.”

“You’re only 27,” she laughs.

“Yeah, but we’re from a small town where a lot of people get together and have kids young.”

“Hmm,” she nods thoughtfully and crosses her arms over her chest.

I struggle to keep my focus on her face, because my eyes want to dip down and check out her tits being pushed up by her forearms.

Simon picks that moment to wake up and wail.

“Poor baby. This new place is scary for him,” she says.

“Daddy’s here, Simon,” I call out as I hurry to my room. Damn. That feels oddly good to say. I think I’m going to like having a son.

9

PAY IT FORWARD

MATT

Nine hours later, the sun is above the horizon, and I’m relatively sure I got zero sleep.

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