Page 7 of The Little Black Rose

“Well, you’re never going to have to find out,” Zoey says. “We’re going to want so much baby time, you’re going to be kicking us out every day so you can have him or her all to yourself for a minute.”

I swallow thickly and nod. Will they still feel the same when they find out I’ve lied to them? And not just a lie by omission like before. I just straight-out lied about this baby’s father, and I feel like total garbage about it.

But I can’t tell them, yet. I need some time to wrap my head around this and figure out how to handle telling Zeke, first. Once I come up with a plan, I’ll tell them the truth and fall at their feet to beg for forgiveness.

I just pray they’ll be understanding enough to give it.

Especially Zoey.

Chapter3

I Panicked

Zeke

GlaZZedis my happy place. Zoey and I opened the donut shop right after she graduated from college with a business degree and I finished my classes at a local pastry school. It was our dream, going into business together like this, and I’ve never regretted it. Neither of us has.

I especially love it in the early mornings like this, when I’m here alone before the sun comes up with the smell of fried dough and sugar wafting up my nose. I always enjoyed cooking and baking, and I’ve turned that passion into a business. A career I love. And I get to work with my twin, which is awesome…most days.

I smirk at the thought just before I hear the bells over the front door jingle, announcing Zoey’s arrival. I pick up the tray of donuts I’ve just glazed and head out of the kitchen to slide them into the glass case where customers will be able to see them and make their picks.

I immediately catch a vibe emanating from Zoey, and I close the slider door on the case before straightening and turning to face her.

“Hey, you okay?” I ask.

The frown on her face confirms the tingling, twin-tuition feeling I had before looking at her. She shakes her head and forces a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says.

“You don’t seem fine. Everything okay with Sam?”

“Everything is perfect with my fiancé,” she says, a genuine smile curving her lips before it drops. “It’s just something going on with Ava.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end at the mention of that one’s name. My skin heats and my back teeth grind together in an attempt not to ask a million questions.

Is Ava okay? Did she tell Zoey we had sex? Is Zoey mad at me for not telling her?

I shake my head to clear it. Zoey would’ve come in guns a-blazing if that were the case. Besides, why would Ava break down and tell her all these months later when she hasn’t mentioned it before now? She wouldn’t.

She told me she wouldn’t, and Ava is a woman of her word.

“Anything I can help with?” I ask casually while simultaneously praying she’ll say no.

I don’t want to get mixed up in Ava’s business. Getting closer to her would be a definite strain on my restraint. It’s been hard enough, staying away from her since that night.

“No, Sophie and I are on top of it,” Zoey says, so I just nod and head back into the kitchen.

Zoey has the same twin-tuition I have, and if I allow a conversation about Ava to go on, she’s going to realize I’m hiding something where her best friend is concerned. I’ve dodged that bullet successfully for three months, and I’m not going to blow it now.

As I knead a fresh batch of dough, memories from that night roll through my mind. It had been amazing, having her in my arms, tasting her, hearing her moans and gasps. And when she fell apart with my cock buried deep inside her? Spectacular.

My body craves that feeling again, but I’ve managed to hold firm in my decision to stay away from her. Hell, we haven’t even spoken a word to each other since that night. I sure as fuck don’t know how no one has noticed. But I guess with Jared proposing to Sophie, then Sam proposing to Zoey at their engagement party, they’ve all been too busy to pay attention to the distance between Ava and me.

It’s all my fault. I know it is. As soon as we both finished, I got dressed and hauled ass out of there, but not before asking Ava to keep our little tryst a secret. I know it was a dick move all the way around, but I still stand by my decision.

Because I felt something, and I don’t mean the cataclysmic orgasm. I felt something in my chest. A missing piece seemed to click into place, and that scared the shit out of me. I’m not supposed to feel anything. Ever.

Not since…her.

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