"Don’t be difficult," he says, ignoring my disbelief and the way I bristle at his words. He looks determined now.
Difficult? Oh, he has no idea. Butchallenge accepted.
"It solves the immediate problem," he presses on, bulldozing past my glare. "You need a place,now. I have a spare room. It's close to both our companies." He hesitates for a fraction of a second, then adds, meeting my eye, "And yeah, maybe it gives us a chance to figure out how to coexist before the baby comes. See if we can actually do this co-parenting thing without killing eachother." He quickly pivots back to safer ground. "Plus, Reedjust saidyou need less stress. This is less stress."
"Less stress?" My laugh is short, brittle, disbelief dripping from every syllable. "We barely tolerate each other on a good day, Kasen! You wantme—exhausted, hormonal, probably crying over dirty dishes one minute and irrationally angry the next—invading your space? You want this,” I jab a finger toward my stomach, the emphasis sharp, maybe unfair, but fueled by panic and hormones, “mess in your life twenty-four-seven? That's notless stress; that's a freaking sitcom pitch waiting to happen.”
"It's not forever," he counters, shoving his hands in his pockets, his jaw tight. "Just until you find your own place. Look," he exhales sharply, "I'm not trying to trap you, or pull some shit with Cascade, or... whatever convoluted conspiracy you're cooking up." He meets my eyes. "You need to avoid stress, like Reed said. This helps. Let me help, Wren. For the baby."
And at those last three words, I go all gooey and melty inside andwhat the fuck.
Fuck you, hormones.
And why does he have to be so hot? Honestly, how am I supposed to keep looking at him like my nemesis when every part of my body wants to be on every part of his?
Reed clears his throat loudly, and I startle. Holy shit, I forgot he was here. "I think I'll, ah, leave you two to discuss." He hands me the ultrasound pictures, those precious grainy images of the life inside me. "Call my office for your next appointment. And Wren? Take it easy." He makes a swift exit, practically fleeing the impending explosion.
The door clicks shut, leaving Kasen and me alone in the suddenly too-small room.
"This is certifiably insane," I state flatly.
"What's insane is you trying to find an apartment in three weeks while dealing with first-trimester bullshit," he shoots back, pulling off his beanie to run a hand through his messy dark hair. "I know we drive each other crazy. But this isn't about that. This is about making sure you and..." he gestures vaguely at my stomach, "...are okay."
"How can you possibly think this could work?”
He gives me a little smirk. "Because we worked in Vegas.”
I ignore the liquid heat pouring into my veins at the reminder of his body on top of mine, behind me, under…
Nope.
“We were drunk.Blackoutdrunk. And in case you’ve forgotten, I can’t drink right now.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” His eyes get darker before he blinks, and it’s gone. “Just think about it, Pink. I’ve got the space, you need a place. It’s simple."
"Right," I snap, suddenly feeling all kinds of overwhelmed. "Simple. It’s soeasyto uproot my entire life.”
I stand up, gathering my stuff and taking a second to wipe my face because a couple of stray tears managed to escape. I hate change andeverything’schanging, and I don’t know how to cope outside of crying. And maybe chocolate.
When I refuse to look at him, he steps closer so I have to tilt my chin up to hold eye contact. “Please.”
The unexpected openness in his eyes when he says that single word throws me off. This isn't the Kasen James who pisses me all the way off.
This is someone else and I don’t know him. Inside my head, my thoughts are at war. His houseisconvenient. Itwouldsolve the immediate crisis. But living with Kasen?
"I need time to think," I say finally, clutching the ultrasound photos like they’ll protect me from whatever feelings are startingto take root inside of me when it comes to him. I reluctantly loosen my grip and hand him one to take.
He nods, accepting it. He tucks the photo into his back pocket with a grin. "Okay. Fair enough."
We walk out to the parking garage, the silence between us heavy and filled with so much. He’s walking close enough that his fingers brush mine while our arms swing next to each other and every time his skin touches mine, I feel it as sparks between my legs.
I’m in so much trouble.
At his truck, Kasen stops.
"Hey," he says quietly, meeting my eyes. "For what it's worth... I’m happy you decided what you did. About keeping it."
I touch the pocket in my purse where all but one of the photos are safely tucked away. "Yeah," I whisper. "Me, too."
