Page 64 of Last Minute Fiancé

Because he was my best friend. Just like Devney was, just like Paisley was. We weren’t in elementary school where the person you shared your glue stick was your only best friend. You were allowed to have more than one. Which had surprised me as an adult, but I was grateful for it.

“Okay, baby socks are all folded, and I know that as soon as we pull one out, the whole drawer’s going to fall on the ground and we’re just going to have to deal with it at two in the morning,” Luca grumbled, and I smiled at him.

“I see my bad mood has moved to you.”

Luca sighed and ran his hand through his messy hair, and I bit my lip.

I had been so horny these past few weeks. Hell, I’d been horny this entire pregnancy, and I hadn’t been able to do anything about it.

Could you blame me?

Luca was gorgeous. He was only wearing gray sweatpants, and I had no idea where his shirt had gone and I did not mind. The man somehow had an eight-pack, and I knew it probably had to do with the fact that when he wasn’t helping me around the house or working, he was working out.

Somehow he’d even gotten more muscular, even sexier, and I wanted to run my tongue all up against those abs.

“Stop staring at me like that,” he grumbled.

“I can’t help it. Go put on a shirt.” My gaze went down to those gray sweatpants and the VPL there. “And maybe some underwear.”

“I’m doing laundry, and I’m not in the mood to dirty more clothes. And if you like the look of my dick, keep looking. But you don’t get to touch it. Apparently only me and my calloused palm get to touch it.”

I snorted. “Oh, jerking off in the shower isn’t to your liking anymore?”

“I’m so glad that I’m renting out my apartment on a short-term lease right now, because if I wasn’t, we wouldn’t be able to afford the water bill.”

“I told you you’re welcome to jerk off right next to me. I wouldn’t mind watching.” I fluttered my eyelashes at him, and he flipped me off.

“Nope. It makes it worse. Because then you get all horny, and then you get sad, and then we have to just deal with it. Plus, I don’t know, I just don’t really want to jerk off sitting next to you while you can’t do anything about it. Seems mean.”

“It’s very cruel. Will you help me up?” I asked, holding out my hands. “Uppies.”

“Do not say that,” he said with a laugh, as he helped me to my feet.

I was allowed to stand for a few minutes a day, and Luca timed those minutes when he was home.

And if he wasn’t here, Paisley or Devney or my mother was. Heath had even shown up during the day because he worked afternoons and evenings, and August had shown up a few times, growled at me over the weekends, and I just learned to accept it.

He was going to be an uncle, he was part of this family. I was part of this family, even though Luca and I hadn’t actually talked about what that meant.

We had talked about everything else. Bank accounts and breastfeeding and Lamaze classes and birth plans and house repairs and colors for the nursery. We had talked about so many things, but not actually about what would happen to us once the baby was born.

It was as if we were both afraid once we did talk about it, everything would change.

And that was the truth, but maybe it wouldn’t change for the worse.

Or maybe I was just hoping for the best.

I didn’t have a great track record knowing what I wanted, but I was learning.

At least I was pretending to learn.

“I really want some bubble water.”

“Are you allowed to have bubble water?”

“Do not take away my bubble water, you’ve taken away everything else,” I snapped. Then I cringed and gripped his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m just really excited for this baby to get out.”

I wore a half sweatshirt that I had cut up into pieces over a tank top that showed most of my belly because I hadn’t felt like changing, as well as a pair of his sweatpants.

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