“Now? Are you crazy? Now is most definitely not the time.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?”I motion to the bed. “Because of this.”
“This?”
“You and me. Sleeping together. I was going to tell Maddie and Ava weeks ago, but then this happened.” I sit up, pulling a blanket around me. “Explaining having a kid and co-parenting with a friend is one thing.” I wave my hand around. “If theyfound out about this, I’d be the laughingstock. The desperate hormonal single pregnant lady.”
“No you wouldn’t.”
I shoot him a hard, challenging stare.
“Okay, so maybe there would be some gossip about how fucked up this situation is.”
“Some? Lucas, the whole town will salivate over this. No, we need to wait.”
“Until?”
“Until this passes. Until I’m not so flippin’ horny all the time and sneaking over here for bootie calls.” I glance at the soiled mattress between us. “Untilthisends.”
He sighs. He sighs big time. I can practically see disappointment ooze from him.
I’m just trying to figure out if he’s upset that I’ll eventually cut off the gravy train, or if he’s frustrated about my hesitancy to tell people.
“Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to be further along. Just in case.”
He sits up, a sheet around his lower half, and scoots next to me. “You’re still worried about miscarriage?”
“No.” I shrug. “Yes.” I sigh. “I don’t know.”
But what I don’t tell him is that’s not my only worry. I don’t tell him that over the last few minutes I’ve now added to the list of things I have to worry about.
And when I look up and into his chocolate brown eyes, the twinge in my gut becomes a knot. Because I now know that what sits at the top of the list—my number one concern—is this unfamiliar feeling in my heart.
Chapter Thirty-three
Lucas
I swipe my phone back from Dallas when the waitress at the pub comes to take our order.
Both my brothers snicker loudly after she’s gone.
“You really expect to keep this under wraps forhowlong?” Blake asks.
My eyes are glued to my phone as I stare at one of the pictures from the anatomy scan done earlier today. My kid. My son. All the parts of him are there. Everything measured exactly how it should have. We even saw him moving, which was all kinds of relief for Regan considering she hasn’t felt him kick yet.
“I told you,” I whisper. “She doesn’t want it coming out while we’re sleeping together.”
“And that’s going to end when?” Dallas asks, amused.
I look away. “Whenever she says it does.”
“Damn.” Blake whistles softly. “You’ve really got it bad, brother. And she doesn’t even suspect?”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to ruin what we have because of my one-sided feelings.”
Dallas’s brow lifts. “You mean you don’t want her taking away the milk.”