Page 64 of The Temporary Roomie: Extended Edition

“A jerk who saved you from a naked snakebite.”

She stops a few feet away from me and groans into her hands. “Oh my gosh, please don’t say that word!”

I hop up and go to stand in front of her. “Snake?”

She drops her hands, a humiliated, pleading look on her face. “Naked!”

I chuckle and put my hands on the sides of her arms. “It’s really not a big deal.”

Her eyes widen. “Not a big deal?!Drew! I’m eight months pregnant, and you . . . you saw me . . .” She shakes her head. She can’t bring herself to say the wordnakedagain. This is ridiculous. I can’t believe she’s even giving this a second thought.

“Jessie, you know what I do for a living, right? I have seen one or two naked pregnant ladies in my day.”

Her face is serious as a heart attack. “First of all, that doesn’t help even a bit. And second, this is different, and you know it.”

It is different, but I’m just trying to make her feel better. I’m honestly not sure what to say here. It feels sort of dangerous, like my only options are to say too much or too little.

I try to duck down and catch her eyes, but she’s not having it. “Jessie, what can I say that will make you feel better?”

“I want you to say you didn’t see anything and you will completely forget this ever happened!”

I’m a good liar—but I’m not that good. “I saw everything.” She drops her head and makes sounds of lamenting. I smile and lift her chin up so her pretty green gaze is forced to look into mine and see the truth for herself. Her watery eyes blink at me. “I saw everything—and I loved everything I saw. You aregorgeous.Every inch. And I have seriously never seen a more beautiful woman in all my life.”

The corners of her mouth turn down in a sort of sad smile, and her eyebrows knit together. “Really?” she asks in an insecure voice that’s brimming with hope.Don’t lie to me,her tone says.

“Really.” I wrap my arms around her and let Jessie bury her face in my chest.

“Thank you,” she says, the words muffled by the fabric of my shirt, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been so thankful for theexistence of snakes as I am right now. “But I think you have to go skinny-dipping now so I can see you naked and even the score.”

“I would, but I think Henry is watching us from the window, and I don’t want to set the bar too high for Richard.”

CHAPTER 32

Jessie

“You know,” says Henry, coming back to the table to set a cup of hot tea in front of me after the snake fiasco. Drew is outside loading up the car before we head to my grandaddy’s house, and given the look on Henry’s face right now, I hope Drew comes back any second because it seems like I have a feelings speech on the horizon. I’ve seen this look before in the salon when my clients want to share with me their tricks to catch a man, or how they’ve kept a happy husband for thirty-plus years. (It’s actually not as dirty as you might think—all you have to do is feed him a pot roast and mashed potatoes, apparently.)

“I couldn’t help but hear you yelling for Drew not to look at you while you were . . . uh . . . in the shower this morning.”

Oh shoot.Of course he heard me and thought that was strange. Before I can open my mouth with an excuse, Henry leans over and squeezes my hand.

“No need to get embarrassed. I completely understand. Although I’ve never been in exactly your situation, I have been the listening ear to many,manyof my pregnant friends over the years, and I know it must be hard to let your man see you in the nude when your body has changed so much.”

My worried expression clears. He’s not suspicious that Drew and I have been faking our relationship and today was literallythe first time he’s ever seen me without my clothes—he just thinks I’m shy about my baby body. Okay, I can work with this. Also, I choose not to wonder why I care so much if Henry knows Drew and I are not really together. It’s not like anything bad would come of it or he’d out Drew to all his colleagues. Drew is going to have to tell everyone eventually anyway—that was the whole point of this prank, to force Drew into a humiliating situation. And yet . . . I want to protect him.

“Itishard,” I say, mustering up pretend emotion to really sell it. “I don’t even feel like myself anymore.” And that part isn’t even a lie. It’s hard to look in the mirror with this belly and these hips and boobs and find the woman I once was. I’m sure she’ll be back one day, but for now I feel totally different.

My mind wanders back to Drew telling me he saweverythingand thought I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. My cheeks heat just thinking of it. I won’t lie, that was a concern for me—Drew and me developing feelings for each other and taking things to the next level. How do you even begin to date someone at this phase of life? I’m about to have a child. Drew has never known me not pregnant. And then I can only imagine what things will be like down south after the baby comes out. It would be so weird to start datingnow.Wouldn’t it? But then again . . . he saw me naked and thought I was beautiful as is, and with his profession, it’s not like anything would be a shock to him. He knows what he would be getting into. So how am I supposed to feel about that?

“I know you don’t, but believe me, you’ll bounce right back after the baby comes, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. And letting your fiancé see you like this is one of the greatest joys you can give your man.” I can feel my face turning into lava. This feels like a very personal conversation to be having with my fake boyfriend’s mentor’s husband. “The way Drew looks at you . . .it’s like you hung the moon. And I’m sure he loves nothing more than seeing the woman carrying his baby in all her glory.”

Henry is beaming, but I am slowly deflating. His words have kicked me in the stomach.

This isn’t Drew’s baby. No, this child belongs to a man who had no interest in seeing mein all my glory.

Henry misinterprets my sudden emotions. “Oh, sweet thing, don’t cry. Drew loves you just as you are.” Henry chuckles happily, but I can’t handle it anymore. I pull my hand from his and wipe my tears with the back of my hand.

At that same moment, Drew comes back in the front door. “You ready to roll, Jessie? The car is all—” He stops talking when I quickly push the chair out and stand.

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