Page 104 of By the Letter

“We have nothing in common except the baby,” I argued.

Kit shrugged. “And Elliot used to be so intolerable as a boss, I wrote snarky little notes about him and stuck them in my tampon box. I’ve found the most wonderful things in life are theones you don’t see coming. I let myself fall in love with Elliot, and now I have my Josephine, Theo, and Brookie. We built a whole little world.”

“I’m happy for you—”

“Just don’t close yourself off, Shir. I saw how Roman looked at you, and I recognized it very well.”

A tiny cry sounded outside my door, and a moment later, Elliot appeared, holding Brooke with her little pink fists raised.

“I held her off as long as I could, but you know I can’t take it when she cries.”

Kit slipped out of her chair and took her fussing baby from her husband. “Are you hungry?” she cooed as her daughter slammed her head into her chest and rooted around. “I think you are. Let’s feed you then go home to tame your sister’s hair.”

Elliot wound his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side, guiding her toward the luxe pumping room he’d designed for her when she’d had her first baby. At the last moment, Kit glanced back at me and waggled her eyebrows.

I imagined she was saying,“See? You could have something just like this.”

And they were so beautiful together I let myself daydream what it would be like if Roman and I were like Elliot and Kit.

Only for a minute or two.

Roman:Just got in. Come over when you’re done with work.

I wasn’t giddy. That wasn’t what this buzzing beneath my skin was. Nor the fluttering of my heart. Those were probably alarming pregnancy symptoms I should have reported to my doctor—not a side-effect of being on my way to see Roman for the first time in eight days.

I forced myself to go to my house before I went to his. Mary yowled at me the second I walked in the door, and I wondered if Roman had already been by to see her.

“Did you have a visitor, my love?”

My girl was sensitive to change. Lately, when I came home, she leaped onto the arm of the couch so I didn’t have to bend down to pick her up. With Mary in my arms, I wandered into the kitchen, pouring a drink to kill some time.

“I’ll just wait a few more minutes before I go over there. He just got off a plane. He probably needs to decompress.Ineed to decompress.”

Mary pressed her paws into my chest and started making biscuits while purring. On top of the perch she now had to sit on, she seemed to love all the new padding my body had grown, and I didn’t mind all the extra snuggles she’d been giving me lately.

“Maybe I should go change. Then again, all he sees me in is lounge clothes, and I like this dress.”

“Reooowww,” Mary replied.

“Exactly.”

I lasted until Mary was finished making biscuits and squirmed out of my arms. Once she was off bathing in the last sliver of sunlight, I had no more reasons to stall.

With my heart jammed in my throat, I locked my door behind me and started down the sidewalk to Roman’s house. I made it to his front gate when his door opened and a lithe brunette stepped out. Roman was right behind her, laughing at something she said.

When she wrapped her arms around his neck and he reciprocated, I had to grab hold of the gate so I didn’t fall over. I must have made some kind of noise since they both swung around to face me.

“Shira,” Roman called. “You’re here.”

I nodded, too flustered to say anything. Now that I saw her face, I recognized the woman from the auction. Had he been seeing her this whole time?

“Oh, wow, this is Shira.” The brunette was down the porch steps and in front of me before I could react. She grinned at my belly, stopping just short of reaching for it. “I was just dropping off a baby present. I can’t wait to see the little guy in person. I’m so excited.”

“Oh.” I swallowed hard. Roman was approaching us, but I couldn’t look at him.

He stopped beside me, gently touching my shoulder. “Shira, this is Rosalie. I think you two might’ve met at the auction.”

“We didn’t formally meet,” Rosalie supplied.

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