Page 128 of As The Shifter World Turns

“Fine. But call me if you need a ride home.”

“I will.” I wouldn’t. If I could make it through to the weekend, I could sleep for two days but the time until Friday night seemed like an eternity.

“And I don’t think it’s a stomach bug,” he added. “You’ve been looking like shit for a few days now.”

“Gee thanks, Dr. Daire. You sure do know how to make me feel better.”

“I detect sarcasm,” he shouted.

The hours at work crawled by and people commented on me looking pale. I should have borrowed some of Neil’s make up. But by lunch time, the nausea had disappeared and while I was tired, I wasn’t sick.

When I got back to Sunshine Manor, I heated up some soup and took a nap on the couch. Luckily, Daire wasn’t home or he might have been trying to feed me a three-course meal. Neil messaged saying he’d bought new dresses for work but thought he’d send two back and needed my opinion.

This was our thing. Him, me and Archer checking out his new makeup, dresses and wigs. If I refused, he’d know something was up ‘cause I didn’t have to do anything except lie on his bed and say yay or nay.

Sure, I texted. One flight of stairs won’t be a problem and while Neil wasn’t looking, I could put some of his blush on my cheeks to give me color.

The door was open when I reached 2B and I avoided glancing at 2A. It was getting easier seeing Ryder and even saying hello if we met on the porch or when we were all together on the roof. Really it was.

Nope, my wolf called me on my lie.

Luckily, Neil was in the kitchen when I arrived and I went straight to his bedroom and collapsed on his mattress, but not before plopping a brushful of blush on each cheek.Too much. And then I rubbed it off. Now I resembled a clown.

“I got you a treat,” Neil announced as he walked in with a huge plate of—oh Gods no! “Nachos. I know how much you love them.” The melted cheese shimmering under the light, the globs of guacamole, olives and?—

“No,” I yelled and raced into the bathroom.

Neil came in after me and wet a facecloth, wiping the sweat from my brow as I hurled the contents of my stomach into the toilet. And he helped me to his bed afterward and tucked me in. “Daire told me you weren’t well.”

“You’ve been talking about me.”

“Of course,” he grinned. “He’s worried about you. Says you’re working too hard and still not over Ryder.”

“Maybe you pair should work as counsellors though Daire doesn’t have much luck with love either,” I grumbled.

“I’m going to ask you something and I don’t want you to freak out.”

“Well, saying that is guaranteed to make me freak out.”

Neil sighed. “Do you remember when Archer was throwing up?”

I rubbed a hand over my eyes. “I can barely recall what happened this morning. Remind me.”

The expression on Neil’s face was one of “You won’t like this” as he nibbled his bottom lip. “Ummm it was a while ago. Months before he had Elune.”

My fuzzy memory was similar to brain fog and I didn’t remember him being sick. “What about it? Didhe have stomach flu too?”

“Nope.” He hesitated and it occurred to me maybe the conversation was about Archer and he was seriously ill. Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t turned up. “He was pregnant.”

“Oh, right. It’s coming back to me. He had morning sickness or maybe all day sickness.”

Neil nodded. “That’s because he was preg-nant.”

His words finally penetrated my brain. Morning sickness. Pregnant. Baby. Sex with Ryder. All the emotions that I’d tried to keep bundled up inside me erupted and I burst into tears. Neil climbed into bed and held me as I sobbed. “No, why me. Being a single father was not on my bucket list.”

“There, there. We don’t know for certain if you are.”

But I was. It fit. The timing of when Ryder and I had last had sex which seemed a lifetime ago. Not being able to keep food in my belly. The exhaustion which I put down to the new job. “A baby, Neil.”

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