BABY BUMPS AND BABY DADDY

I have it on good authority that Harper Bailey, along with her baby daddy in tow, visited Anchorage to do a little maternity clothes shopping. But from what I’m hearing, they walked away with more than just some new outfits. Things got pretty hot and heavy in the dressing room from what I’m told. Does this mean these two are an actual couple now? Has Finn gone from baby daddy to boyfriend? Time will tell. Either way, good for you, Harper! Pregnant women deserve to have some fun.

I groan and pass my phone to Finn, feeling the tension in his body ratcheting higher as he reads.

When he’s done, he sets my phone on the counter. “There really is no such thing as privacy around here, is there?”

“We were in Anchorage. We should have been fine,” I grumble.

“This is my fault. I should have never…”

“It’s not like I was an unwilling participant, Finn. Maybe I wasn’t as quiet as I thought.” I glance at him to see his nostrils flare, his jaw set. He hasn’t been quiet about his feelings for Buzz Wheel. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this. That this kind of thing goes with the territory around here.”

He frowns. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“You’re angry. I should know better.”

Finn cocks his head. “I’m not angry.”

“Then why do you look so intense right now?”

His shoulders relax a little, and he chuckles. “Because you brought up how loud you might have been, and that made me remember you coming in that mirror and how hot it was. I’m not angry, Harper, I’m horny and trying to tamp it down.”

All the air rushes from my lungs. I don’t know what to say. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” He has an amused grin. “Anyway, how do you want to handle this? Like what do I say if someone brings it up?”

“Just deny, deny, deny. That’s all you can do. No one will believe you but deny it anyway.”

He gives me a sharp nod. “Okay.”

I pick my phone back up to type out a message to Palmer.

I’ll fill you in later.

I set my phone down, and it buzzes again almost immediately, but I ignore it. She’ll have to wait for the juicy details.

The two of us eat in silence for a few minutes, both in our heads.

“Are you going to the gym tonight?” I ask once the silence feels too awkward.

He shakes his head. “No, actually I have to work.”

I frown. “Shouldn’t you have a few days off?”

“Remember how I told you I was going to talk to the captain about flying down to Vermont to pack up the rest of my things and drive my truck back here?”

I nod and pop the last piece of my donut into my mouth.

“He said I could take the time to do so. I’ll leave in a couple of days.”

“Oh, that’s good.” I ignore the way my chest pinches at the thought that he’ll be gone for a bit. “So, you have to pick up some extra shifts before you go?”

“Sort of? He said that if I go do the annual safety and first aid presentation at the Northern Lights Retirement Home, then I can take the time I need to drive back.”

I try and fail to keep a burst of laughter inside me.

Finn’s forehead wrinkles. “What’s so funny?”