Page 106 of Challenged by the Single Dad

He shook his head, still holding the sides of her face. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“So now we … what?”

Shifting his gaze across her face, a mix of uncertainty and fear in his eyes, she felt his warring emotions as if they were her own. Because they were her own. She wasn’t sure what to do either. “You’re fired,” he said, releasing her face.

“What?” That was not what she was expecting.

“You’ll move out of the cabin. Quit Hawke’s, and come up the hill and live with me. If you’re not my employee anymore then there are no complications. And if I fire you, you can collect severance. Maybe we should ask Hawke to fire you as well.”

She stood up off the bed, plunked her hands on her hips and stared at him in disbelief. “Are you insane?”

He mirrored her disbelief. “No. This makes sense. If I fire you then there’s no conflict of interest anymore. We can be together.”

“And I will do what, exactly? Just be barefoot and pregnant up in your castle on the hill, milord?” She gave a dramatic bow while still glaring at him. “I don’t think so.”

“But we can’t stress you out. It’s bad for the baby.”

She rolled her eyes. “Notworking will stress me out. I will go crazy and kill all your houseplants—on purpose—out of sheer boredom, if I’m not allowed to work. I will just take it easy. Maybe I should quit Hawke’s, but not until he finds a replacement.”

“Is he even looking?”

Of that, she wasn’t sure. It didn’t seem like Hawke was. But then again, maybe he just hadn’t found any suitable applicants … or nobody was applying.

“Regardless. I made a commitment and I’m not going to abandon him. I also happen tolikebartending. I’m not giving that up.”

He got up from the bed, located his boxers, and pulled them on. “Then what do we do? Your whole reason why we couldn’t be together was because I am your boss. But we blurred those lines and made a baby. Now what?”

“I don’t know,” she blurted out, beginning to pace the bedroom. “I’ve only known I was pregnant for a few hours.”

“More time than I’ve known.”

Her glare made him rear back a little bit.

Good.

“Not helping,” she grumbled. “You’re not firing me. I’m not quitting—either place. But we do need to figure out what we’re going to do.”

He didn’t look pleased with her going up against him, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to forfeit something she enjoyed—which was working—because amantold her to. She would work as long as she could. Then, they’d figure it out from there.

Still looking like he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown, Dom threaded his fingers through his damp hair and exhaled loudly out of his mouth. Then he did something unexpected, he reached for her hands and tugged her to sit back down on the bed with him. “Fine. So long as you know that it’s ‘we.’ Not just ‘you.’ That’s my baby too. And if you’re going to keep it and go through with the pregnancy, then we’re in this together.”

A burgeoning sense of hope filled what was once an empty spot her heart occupied, because

until he said those words, she hadn’t been aware, or actively acknowledged, how much the idea of doing this all alone terrified her. The stress and unknown of it all was stacked on her shoulders like baby elephants, but hearing him say the words, that she wasn’t going to do this alone, gently nudged those tiny pachyderms to the floor. A tear slid down her cheek and he was quick to reach up and swipe it away.

Her breath escaped on a stutter and her chin trembled. This was going to be a long eight months of whirlwind emotions. Her first trimester with Elliott had been a breeze. No nausea, no cramping.

Something told her this pregnancy wasn’t going to be like that. She already couldn’t stand the smell of anything fried, which didn’t bode well for her working at a restaurant with a commercial deep fryer.

“Move in with me,” he said, cupping her jaw on the left. She shook her head to dismiss him, but he tightened his grip on her other hand. “Come on. You won’t let me fire you. But at least, up at the house you’d have more people there to help you. If somethingdoesgo wrong with the pregnancy, we’re all right there. Justine is right there. Besides,” he shrugged, his smile lopsided, “I want to be part of this.”

“Won’t Silas think it’s weird that you’ve moved in this woman he’s only met once?”

That made him chuckle a mirthless laugh. “Not really. Three of his uncles did it. He probably thinks it’s the new norm for our family. And besides, I have a spare room. We don’thaveto sleep in the same room or bed.”

The idea of not getting to do more of what they just did sat like an uncomfortable spike in her gut. Another sign that she was pregnant: sex was on her brainallthe time. Not just when she saw Dom. But ALL. THE. TIME. She was already raring to go for round two, and hoped he had enough energy to go for rounds three and four.

Squeezing her fingers, he encouraged her to meet his gaze. “Come on. We can try it and see. If it doesn’t work, then …”

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