Page 18 of Hidden Heir With His Housekeeper

‘Turns out they’re older than I thought. You’re the first woman I’ve brought here in...’ He shifted slightly, and if she knew him better she might have thought he seemed embarrassed. ‘Well, ever, actually. I guess I must have stashed them in the drawer four years ago when I moved in.’

She folded her arms across her chest, rather enjoying his discomfort. After all, didn’t they say turnaround was fair play?

‘Four years?’

She was the first woman he’d brought here? Why did that feel so significant, and flattering?

‘I should have checked the date on them, but I was too desperate to have you...’

She grinned. She couldn’t help it—this was getting better and better.

‘Okay, well, I guess if we’re going to do this again...’ She paused, realising she really,reallywanted to. With him.

They didn’t have a future together. They were far too different and she was about to leave the kind of social circles he moved in. Plus, his wealth would be a barrier to the new life she wanted to establish for herself—as an independent, self-sufficient woman. But having just discovered she had a libido, she didn’t want to bury it again yet.

‘You’ll have to buy some new ones,’ she finished. ‘Or I could?’

‘So, you’re not on any form of birth control?’ he asked, his expression becoming pained.

‘Not yet. No.’

‘Crap,’ he murmured. ‘Okay, then we do have a bigger problem. The condom we just used burst.’

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks and she lifted off his chest. Of course, that was what he’d been alluding to. Exactly how stupid was she that she hadn’t figured it out sooner?

‘It’s okay, Beatrice.’ He sat up abruptly and grasped her arm. ‘Don’t panic. Where are you in your cycle?’

She tried to focus on the question, not easy with the crippling embarrassment. ‘I had my last period about three weeks ago.’

‘That’s good,’ he said, trying to be reassuring, while all sorts of eventualities were charging into her head now... None of them good.

How could she not have protected herself? Good grief, she hadn’t even thought about contraception until he’d produced a condom—a faulty, out-of-date condom.

‘You’re not right in the middle of your cycle, at least,’ he added.

‘No, but I could still get pregnant. That’s a bit of a myth. Unless one of us is infertile.’ Although she could not imagine Mason Foxx firing blanks, and she suspected she was unlikely to be infertile either.

After all, hadn’t Katie fallen pregnant after her first encounter with Jack Wolfe? It was why her sister and Jack had had a shotgun wedding only a few months after Bea had broken off her engagement to him.

Of course, Jack and Katie were blissfully happy together now. But it had been really tough for them for a while. And Katie had the kind of guts and fortitude Bea could only dream of. Plus, she couldn’t imagine Mason Foxx being happy about becoming an accidental father after a one-night booty call.

But instead of looking worried, he smiled. Was this funny? Because it didn’t feel very funny.

‘Yeah, I guess it is a myth,’ he said. ‘But I’m a firm believer in not panicking until there’s actually something to panic about. I’ll make you an appointment with my doctor tomorrow and we can check out our options, just in case...’

‘But what if...?’

He placed his finger over her lips. ‘Don’t get spooked again, Princess,’ he said.

The return of the affectionate nickname soothed her anxiety, a bit.

‘We can’t figure out anything until morning,’ he added. ‘But then we can take whatever precautions we need to make sure this is not a problem.’

His calmness, and the way he saidwe—making it clear, however reckless they had been, they were in this together—helped her to relax more.

‘Come here,’ he said, propping himself against the pillows and dragging her back into his arms.

She allowed herself to be held, the rollercoaster of emotion she’d been on all night catching up with her in a rush.

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