Page 4 of Suddenly Pregnant

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“So… how are you settling in?” Poppy asked on the other side of the screen. She yawned, and Billie could have reached across their Facetime chat and hugged her. Of course her cousin was just waking up while nighttime cast over Sydney.

Billie glanced at the beautiful view overlooking the famous Opera house and the harbor bridge. She’d been here for two days, and never got tired of contemplating the speed and cruise boats on the magnificent harbor, the sensual breeze that caressed her skin, and the notes of sunshine in the air she smelled.

She’d been so landlocked first in Hope Springs because of, well, geographically she’d have to drive for hours to have access to a semi-decent beach—then in Manhattan, where she also had to travel to put her feet in the sand, but had no car to drive and not enough money to rent a car and just take off.

And now she’d been here for two days, and she’d been trying hard to move past the jetlag, and get with the program.

Amy had called her, instructing her on what was needed of her, and she felt strange with someone else other than her new boss telling her what to do. But she supposed Jack was being nice and giving her some space because of the weekend. She’d arrived on a Friday, and today was Sunday.

So, yes, space had been all he’d given her. Being that her room was on the first floor and his on the second floor of the impressive duplex, they didn’t have to run into each other much. He’d offered coffee both mornings, and ordered lunch and dinner.

After drinking coffee he’d retreat to his home office. He’d mentioned an important meeting to take place in a few days. Since the next day was Monday, she was finally going to go to the big office downtown and he told her he’d have a robust to-do list for her. Both for personal things, like hiring a housekeeper since he’d apparently just moved back to Sydney, and also work stuff, like scheduling meetings, trips and organizing events.

“Billie?” Poppy called her, yanking her attention from the view and her musings. “Tell me more. I appreciate your texts, but talking to you is better. Do you still have all your body parts?” Poppy asked, her voice just a tad playful. Her cousins had been a bit worried about this international work opportunity, regardless of how many times Billie had assured them it wasn’t a big deal.

“Yes. All here,” Billie said. “Sydney is so pretty, but besides a couple times when I walked around the neighborhood I haven’t really gone sightseeing yet. I’m getting used to the time change and feel jet lagged at weird times.”

“That makes sense. Well, how about that Amy lady? Is she nice?”

“She’s very nice. I haven’t met her in person yet. I’ll be working closely with her brother.”

“Oh. What’s his name?”

Billie sucked in a breath. “Jack something. He’s very nice. I’ll be his assistant.”

“Tell me more about Jack Something.”

God, what to tell? If she told her cousin that she’d be staying in his duplex, Poppy would get the wrong idea. She was meant to stay in her employer’s place, but that was when she thought Amy was it. Poppy would make a big deal about the whole thing, and she’d tell Kira, who would maybe get onto the next plane and try to rescue her. A hot wave of worry crossed her chest. No. She had to be firm about this.

“He’s nice, very respectful. Since it’s the weekend, I haven’t seen much of him. I’m not on the clock yet.”

“What does he look like?”

Her stomach sank. If she described Jack accurately, Poppy would be onto her too. “He’s like… hmmm… very slim, almost sickly so, yet he has a pot belly. He has a receding hairline, and is on the shorter side. There’s a huge mole in his neck, and he asked me to schedule some appointments for him to get that looked at.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Poppy said, a concerned expression crossing her face.

“Oh, me too. Such a sweet old man,” she drawled, internally high fiving herself for her impromptu acting.

“Well, it’s good to know you’re in good hands. I’m going to go back to bed before the kids wake up.”

“Of course. Say hi to them for me,” she said. She always enjoyed Poppy’s step kids.

“Love you. You take care okay?”

Billie finished the call and tossed her phone to the side. She stretched out of the bed, hyping herself up to not fall asleep yet. It was about seven o’clock, and she didn’t want to go to sleep then wake up at four am, full of energy. Tonight, especially, she needed a good night’s rest.

She strolled out of her room, and walked into the living area. The view from the French doors arrested her again, and she nearly stopped in her tracks. Would she ever get used to this? Not that she’d be here long enough to find out. One year and she’d go back to New York. Hopefully a much more rounded woman, with a beefed-up resume and the wits to take on the world.

“Hungry?” said a sexy Aussie voice behind her.

She circled to face her boss, wearing a pair of denim jeans and a black shirt. God, he was handsome. She’d tried not to stare at him too much, and every time her gaze swung to his arm’s tattoo sleeve, she made a conscious effort not to try to make out each one of them. It was a long colorful swirl, and somehow it all blended nicely. She slapped herself mentally, wishing she’d done soon a second or two sooner, and shook her head, blinking herself from that foggy cloud of sexual awareness.

“I grabbed some sandwiches earlier,” he said. “While you were asleep.”

A wave of embarrassment surged through her. “Shouldn’t that be my job? Running errands and making life smooth for you?”

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