Page 11 of Callahan

“Ah, that explains it. I’ll get whatever you’re in the mood for.”

“I haven’t had pizza in forever. It made me sick when I was pregnant.”

“So, does that mean you want pizza or don’t want pizza?”

“Oh, want—definitely.”

“Pizza it is—what do you like on it?”

“Is pepperoni okay?”

I laughed. “For the last ten months, I’ve subsisted mostly on MREs or hospital food. A pepperoni pizza sounds fantastic.”

She let out a little giggle that once again made my dick take notice.

I was glad to know it still worked—it’d been a while since I’d had any interest in giving it attention and had worried maybe I needed to talk to my doctor. But I was dismayed at what was making it come alive.

It should not be my best friend’s girl.

Oh, not to mention, his baby mama.

“Awesome. Will seven o’clock work for you?”

“Seven works great.” I pulled out my phone. “Can you tell me the name of the pizza place? I’ll stop by and pick it up before coming back.”

“Pizza and More.” Lainey wrinkled her nose. “I know, not very original, but the food is good.”

“That’s all that matters.”

While I had my phone out...

“Can I get your number, too?” I quickly added, “In case I have questions, or get lost.”

She didn’t hesitate to rattle off her digits, and I plugged them into my phone, then called her. When I heard it ringing, I hung up and smiled.

“And now you have mine.”

Her smile was shy when she parroted, “And now I have yours.”

I glanced at my watch. I had enough time to check into a hotel and maybe grab a quick nap before ordering the pizza.

“Is there a hotel nearby that you’d recommend?”

Her brows furrowed. “In Haven Springs?”

That didn’t sound good.

Fuck.

In Lancastle, we had The Inn for lodging, but that was it. Haven Springs was about the same size as my hometown.

I grimaced. “I didn’t think about there not being a hotel here. I should’ve looked to see what was available or at least tried to find a VRBO or something.”

I didn’t even have a car to sleep in.

Not wanting her to think that I was angling for an invitation to stay at her place, I continued, “I’m sure the O’Briens will let me stay in Shawn’s room for the night, or maybe Brian will take pity on me and let me crash on his couch.”

“You’re welcome to sleep on my couch. I can’t promise how comfortable it will be, or that Conor won’t wake you up multipletimes in the middle of the night, but you’ll at least have a bathroom to use, and pillow and a blanket.”

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