“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I mutter when Heather takes a seat at the end of the bar, and I stalk to her. “I told you not to come here again.”
“I’m a paying customer,” Heather fires back with a smirk.
I dip my head down and lower my voice. “Go be a paying customer somewhere else.”
She snarls, “What if I’m here to deliver good news?”
“I don’t care.”
The only good news she can deliver to me is that she’s leaving town again and never coming back.
She settles her elbow on the bar. “Did Jamie tell you she’s having a baby?”
My heart nearly stops. “Excuse me?”
A hint of a smile plays at her lips. She knows she’s caught me off guard, and she’s loving it. “Did my sister tell you she’s knocked up?”
I grind my teeth, refusing to answer.
She snorts. “She didn’t.”
“Leave.”
Heather flips her finger back and forth. “The question is, is she having your baby or another guy’s baby?”
“Don’t come in here, trying to start shit,” I hiss. “It won’t work.”
She settles her duffel-sized purse onto the bar, pulls out a baggie, and pushes it toward me. “Don’t believe me?”
“What the fuck?” I say around a gag before sliding it back to her. “What is wrong with you? Who walks around with a bag of pregnancy tests?”
“I found these tests in Jamie’s bathroom.”
“And?”
I won’t grant her the satisfaction of reacting to her games. She knew she’d have me on the bag of pregnancy tests surprise.
“They’re not my tests, and we don’t have another roommate, so they have to be hers.”
I stay quiet, clenching my jaw, and wait for her to get the hell out.
“Since you two were … or are banging each other, I thought it might be something you’d like to know.”
She needs to get out before my heart jumps out of my chest and lands in front of her.
“Appreciate the concern, but you can leave.”
“Do you think the baby is yours?”
“Leave, Heather.”
She stares at me, unblinking and unmoving.
Fuck it.
Jamie.
I need to talk to Jamie.
I turn, walk away from the bar, and charge toward my office. I slam the door shut behind me, tug my phone from the charger on my desk, and find a text from Jamie.
Perfect fucking timing.
Jamie: Is the offer to get some space at one of your places still open?
Do I ask her?
No way Jamie is sleeping around, and we’ve had sex a few times without protection.
That can mean only one thing: the baby is mine.
If those tests are even hers.
My hands shaking, I nearly drop my phone when I reply.
Me: Sure is.
Are you pregnant with my baby?
Is that why you’re coming here?
Jamie: Are you at the bar?
Me: Yes. You want to have drinks?
If she’s pregnant, she can’t drink. She’ll decline. I flinch, remembering her not ordering wine at dinner. Jamie has made it clear that, in stressful situations, a glass of wine and Cheetos settle her nerves.
Jamie: No. Maybe just some company, someone to talk to, vent to.
Me: I’ll be here.
Here waiting for you to break the news.
To ease the crazy-ass thoughts spiraling through my head.
I slump down in my chair and cover my face with my hands.
A baby?
So many mixed emotions pour through me, and the memory of when I found out Heather was pregnant with Noah surges through me. I was shocked but ecstatic, and damn it, my stomach flutters at the thought of having a baby with Jamie.
Fuck. It’d be awesome.
She’d be the best fucking mom in the world.
I fidget with my phone, then a pen on my desk, and then a fucking paper clip while waiting for her. No way can I wait out in the bar. People will think I’m on speed, considering how pumped I am. I freeze, the paper clip falling through my fingers when there’s a knock on the door.
I stand straight, expecting Jamie, but Archer walks in with the bag of pregnancy tests in his hand.
“Uh … whoever that chick was, she left a present for you.” He cringes, flicks the bag onto my desk, and grabs the hand sanitizer next to my computer. “I didn’t want to throw them out, and it’d look pretty damn gross if I left them on the bar. I’m pissed I had to pick up those things that most likely have piss on them.”
I silently stare at the bag of tests.
“Did you get someone pregnant? That chick? What about Jamie?”
“That chick is Jamie’s sister.”
His jaw drops. “What the fuck? You’re banging her sister now too? Dude, from what you’ve told me about her, that’s dumb as hell.”
I recoil at the thought of being with Heather again. “No, Heather has been trying to get back with me, but I told her to piss off. She’s living with Jamie, and she claims she found the tests in Jamie’s bathroom.”
“Have you asked Jamie about it?”
I shake my head. “When I got back to the office to call her, with perfect timing, she texted, asking if she could stop by the bar.”
“That sounds like a pregnancy announcement to me.”
I groan and rub my eyes. “Heather is known to be a liar, so I can’t take her word on shit.”
“If Heather wanted you back, why would she tell you Jamie was pregnant with your baby? Wouldn’t you want Jamie?”
“She insinuated that Jamie is pregnant with someone else’s baby. Heather knows something happened between Jamie and me, but I’m not sure how much she knows.”
“Gotcha.” He taps a loose fist to his chest. “Thank fuck I don’t do relationships. Sounds like a major pain in the ass.”
“If Jamie doesn’t give me a heads-up she’s here and comes into the bar, will you send her back here?”
“I got you.”
When he leaves, I shove the bag of tests into a drawer. I pace in front of my desk, gripping my phone, and wait for her.
What if she doesn’t tell me?
Do I bring it up?
Confront her?
I tense when there’s another knock on the door, and Jamie walks in, a shy smile on her face.
“Hey, babe,” I say, dropping my phone onto my desk.
“Hi.” She glances around the room, running her hands up and down her arms. “Are you busy? I didn’t mean to bombard you. I just needed to clear my head. Heather has been driving me nuts, and there are only so many hours I can work before they tell me I have to go home.”
I sit on the edge of my desk to keep from falling flat on my face. “I’m never too busy for you.” I stand, rush across the room to grab a chair, and pull it toward her. “Sit down.”
Don’t shake.
Stay cool.
Calm.
Collected.
She raises a brow and straightens out her dress before sitting. “Are you okay, Cohen? I can go—”
“No,” I interrupt. “Stay.”
She nods, hugging herself.
I lean against the desk and cross my ankles. “You look well.”
Are you pregnant?
“I’m glad you think I look … well.” She laughs. “Even though you only saw me two days ago, and not much has changed.”
“Do you feel well?”
“Do I feel well? Yes …”
“Anything big happen in those two days?”
“I mean, stuff has happened, yes. I’ve been working and—”
“Are you pregnant?” I blurt out.
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“Are you pregnant?”
“How did—” Her gaze moves from one side of the room to the other. “What the …?”
“Is it true?”
She nods. “I was planning on telling you, just working up the nerve, but apparently, you’re the baby whisperer.”
I scrub my hand over my face.
“Are you mad?” she whispers.
“Is the baby mine?”
She winces. “Are you kidding me?”
I hold up my arms. “I’m a dick for asking, and never would I doubt you, but Heather was spitting out some bullshit about it being someone else’s.”
“Heather?” Her brows scrunch together. “When did you talk to Heather?”
“She came to the bar about an hour ago.”
“She came to the bar,” she slowly repeats.
I circle my desk, pull out the bag of tests, and hold it up. “She dropped these off and said she found them in your bathroom.”
Her face turns bright red. “I don’t know what’s more mortifying. My sister going through my trash and packing up something so personal to me or that she brought them here or that you’re holding them in front of me.” She blows out a forceful breath. “Now, I’m really done with her.”
I toss the bag on my desk, lock the door, and fall to my knees in front of her. “Come stay with me then. If you don’t want to be near her and she won’t leave, come to me.”
She peers down at me, biting into her lip. “You’d be okay with me staying with you?”
“Absolutely.”
I groan when she pinches my shoulder.
“And by the way, of course the baby is yours. Before you, I hadn’t had sex in a year. You’re lucky you only got a pinch and not a smack to the face.”
I’m sporting a shit-eating smirk while running my hands up and down her thighs underneath the loose yellow dress she’s wearing. “Are you really having my baby?”
She nods, flashing me a flirtatious grin. “I’m really having your baby.”
“Wow.” I kiss her knee. “This makes my fucking day.”
“You’re not worried that this happened too fast?”
I shake my head. “Sure, our relationship is new, but my feelings for you are strong enough that I’m ready for this—ready to jump headfirst and be with you, for us to be a family.”
I groan deep in my throat as her eyes water, and I move my hand between her legs.
She laughs. “You’re in a mood.”
“Hell yes, I’m in a mood.” I flip her dress up. “In the mood to show the woman who’s having my baby how damn excited I am, how appreciative I am for her, and you deserve a reward for it.”
She squeals when I move an arm to slip it around her waist, dragging her to the edge of the chair, and I part her thighs. Ducking my head, I drag her panties down her legs and yank her closer to my face. I savor the sound of her moan as I softly suck on her clit before thrusting two fingers inside her.
“Look at that. My baby mama is soaked for me.”
Her eyes are shut, and she’s licking her lips. “You’re really going to play out this baby mama thing, aren’t you?”
“Damn straight.” My tongue joins my fingers, and I start devouring her—sucking and praising her pussy.
I love how sensitive she is to my touch—how goose bumps cover her soft skin and how she shivers with my every thrust.
She comes on my tongue, tasting delicious, and I suck on my finger before smearing her juices on my bottom lip.