“Thank you so much,” Lydia said, as though he had brought Annabelle back from the dead. “How much do I owe you?”
“Same as always. I’ll send you the bill,” Steven said.
“Oh, but it’s your day off,” she said. “At least let me pay for the overtime with dinner.”
I was too afraid I would dunk her head in the dirty water to wait for his answer. I strode past them and into the house.
It didn’t take even thirty seconds for Steven to storm in after me.
“What’s gotten into you?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” I said in a voice that definitely meantsomething. “You can go out with whoever you want.”
The way he looked at me made my chest ache. “I said no, Chloe.”
That was even worse, and I couldn’t explain why. “Well, that was dumb, Steven,” I spit out. “She’s pretty. She seems nice enough. She definitely wants to fuck you.”
His jaw worked as he turned his head so all I could see was his profile. “What if I don’t want her? What if I want…someone else?”
Anger and hopelessness swirled in my chest. God, I hated wanting something I couldn’t have. And I couldn’t have Steven. Not now, and not ever. “Don’t waste your time waiting for someone else. I doubt anyone else wants you.”
I regretted the words before they had even fully left my lips. These fucking pregnancy hormones had me lashing out like a toddler. I started to apologize but it was too late.
He jerked back like I had slapped him. Shocked hurt flashed across his face before disappearing behind a smirk. “Fine. I guess I’ll give her a call right now and tell her I changed my mind.”
It felt like a punch to my already aching chest. My eyes watered. “I don’t care,” I scoffed, as though he couldn’t plainly see the tears rolling down my cheeks. Goddammit, everything made me cry these days. It was humiliating enough to want him. But crying about it? There was no coming back from this.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
“Fuck!” he roared. He disappeared into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
A second later, the shower turned on.
After that,we managed to go a full seventy-two hours without seeing each other. I half convinced myself I wouldn’t see him again until I moved out.
And then it was 3 a.m. and I was up for a little snack and bumped into him, nose to sternum, as he was coming out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower with a towel wrapped around his lean waist.
Oh, my god. Hisabs.
I rubbed my nose and winced. “You know, this is how all the good pornos start,” I said hopefully.
He didn’t even pretend to look anywhere but my chest. In his defense, my breasts had never looked better, and I was braless. My nipples could not be more prominent if they waved little flags. “You hate me, Chloe. Remember?” The barbed wire was back in his voice.
I scowled, mostly because it wasn’t true and I wished it were. “I can hate you and want to fuck you at the same time, Steven. It’s called multitasking.”
He speared one hand—not the hand holding his towel, unfortunately—through his hair and tugged.
“Fuck,” he growled, and stepped backwards into the bathroom, swinging the door shut in my face.
A moment later the shower turned back on.
Fuck this.I needed sex.
In less than six months, my life was going to revolve around a hungry, screaming, pooping baby that was helpless without me. I was okay with that—more than okay, I was so happy it frightened me—but I also recognized that once this baby was born, I wasn’t going to be dating or having sex for months, if not years. For now, my body was still mine. Mylifewas still mine.
Dammit, I was going to enjoy it while I still could.
I saw Steven’s reflection zip past my open bedroom door while I was giving myself a last look. I fluffed my knee-length skirt—jeans would have been better on such a cold night, but none of mine buttoned anymore—and tugged at my denim vest, then turned to the side. I didn’tlookpregnant. The denim fabric was thick, the neckline a low V that drew attention to my chest, and the silver buttons down the front disguised my soft belly swell.
