Page 114 of Illicit Heir

"What do ya mean?"

"We have lots of clothes around here. I'll grab something for ya, and ya can look at all the options later. I assume you'll want a nice hot shower? What are ya, a medium?" She glances at my body. "Large?"

My face heats. Does she know I'm pregnant? "Um, it depends. Probably either."

"Alrighty, then. So if these living quarters are okay for ya—"

"It's perfect," I affirm.

"And you're okay with the workload?"

"Yea. Thank you so much."

"Okay, the bathroom's over here." She steps out, and I follow her. She points to another door. "There are all sorts of toiletries in there. Help yourself. We'll have dinner in an hour."

"Thank ya," I say, then blink hard, feeling emotional again.

She steps toward me and hugs me. It's a grandmotherly embrace, and it makes me cry harder.

I blurt out, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be crying."

"Shh, it's okay, lass. It's all good. We're happy to have ya. We've needed someone we can trust here."

"How do ya trust me? Ya don't know me," I point out, hating how my voice shakes but unable to control it.

She continues patting my head and shushing me. "We can tell. We know good people when we see them, and ya, Lauren, are a good person."

It's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. I've felt so alone lately. I sniffle and straighten up. "Thank ya."

"No, thank ya. See ya in the kitchen after your shower." She turns and disappears.

I go into the room and sit on the bed, tapping my fingers on my thigh, wondering how I got into this situation. Then I promise myself I'll do a great job for Annie and Dominick, so they're happy they hired me.

I go into the bathroom and take a long shower. It's the first decent one I've had since leaving Coolock. I dry off and wrap the towel around me, and when I go into the bedroom, there are clothes on the bed.

I slide the yoga pants and the T-shirt on and then put the cardigan over me. I put on the socks and then make my way through the house.

My stomach growls as I step into the kitchen and the smell of roasted lamb hits me.

Annie looks up. "There ya are. I'm just putting the final touches on everything."

I state, "I can eat in here. I don't want to interrupt Dominick's and your anniversary dinner."

"Oh, nonsense," she says, waving her hand before her. "Don't be silly. We're excited to have company."

"Don't ya always have company since this is a bed-and-breakfast?"

"Yea, but not company we're excited about like ya."

I laugh. "Okay, well, thank ya."

"Come on, dear," she says, carrying a bread basket.

I follow her and go into the other room.

Dominick's already sitting at the table. There's a rack of lamb, potatoes, and cooked vegetables.

I declare, "Everything smells so good."

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