“He wants me to go to college and have a fancy career, and now…I don’t know if any of that is even possible anymore.”
“It’s possible. And you’ll have lots of help with the baby. Kelli works from home, so she can help out. Hell, maybe she’ll get pregnant too and then the babies can play together.” I smiled, hoping that my words sounded more confident than they felt. I knew my dad would eventually come around and support Alesha and his soon-to-be grandchild. Kelli, on the other hand, was bound to have a much harder time with it. I couldn’t imagine her being thrilled about being a grandmother before she had her own child.
Alesha pursed her lips. “What if—what if I stayed here? With you?”
Her question punched me in my gut. I pressed back in my chair to ground myself. It wasn’t even something I’d had on my radar—and I thought I’d pretty much covered all possible scenarios.
“Never mind,” she said, waving her hand. “That obviously wouldn’t work.”
“I didn’t say that,” I replied, trying to keep my head from spinning around like a creepy monster from a horror movie. The idea of Alesha living with me permanently, with a baby, in my house…ugh.
“Let’s talk to Dad first. Then we’ll decide what’s best. Okay?”
She nodded but didn’t meet my eyes.
“I hate to eat and run, but I have to bake some muffins before I open today. It’s blueberry muffin day and I always have to make triple the normal amount. I swear I don’t put crack in them…but seriously…people go crazy for them.” Alesha smiled and some of the pressure in my chest released. “Do you want to come with me today? I promise you can have as many muffins as you want.”
“Sure. I’ll come by after I take Lady out.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.”
We said goodbye and I headed out to go to The Siren. As I walked, the crisp morning air took me back to the way the wind had blown in Nick’s bedroom window the night before. The way it felt on my sweat soaked skin as Nick brought me to orgasm over and over again. I must’ve come seventeen times. I didn’t know my body could even do that. I wondered if it was a sign. My thighs clenched as I remembered his face buried between them and the moment he’d looked up at me, his face slick and wet and his dark eyes glowing in the moonlight.
“Whew!” I shuddered and flapped the lapel of my jacket to cool off.
Yep, this was going to be a problem. I wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on muffins, coffee, or counting change if I kept thinking about Nick—especially the memories we’d made in his bed.
I was able to successfully—for the most part—set aside my steamy thoughts as I got into my usual workflow, but when he came walking through the front door in the middle of the morning rush—my entire world flipped upside down. It was like flying and drowning all at once.
Then he smiled at me and I damn near lost it.
“Here, why don’t I take those so you can go talk to your boy toy.” Alesha was at my side, reaching to take the tray of muffins from my hand. She slid a sideways smirk at me as I handed it over.
“Thanks.” I went to the counter and Alesha was there, seconds later, ready to help the next customer. Nick raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged. With a tilt of my head, I gestured for him to come over to the other end of the counter by the large carafes of hot coffee.
“Good morning, beautiful lady.” he drawled, giving me another half-smile.
“Morning. Sleep well?”
“Exceptionally.” He leaned forward and before I could realize what he was doing, he landed a kiss. I jerked back in surprise but he was too much to resist. I melted back into the kiss, letting our lips linger for another heartbeat before pulling away. Even before my eyes swept the room, I knew that all eyes were on us, and a calm quiet had washed through the shop.
Alesha let out a wolf whistle and my cheeks went red hot. Nick chuckled. “Sorry, couldn’t help it.”
“I’m sure,” I teased. I turned to address the room. “Okay, people, nothing to see here. We now return you to your normally scheduled broadcast.” Nick laughed and everyone lurched back to the way they were, though the dull roar of whispers was hard to ignore. “Now you’ve done it,” I groaned, unable to stop smiling long enough to properly scold him.
“They were gonna find out sooner or later. Small town.”
“I suppose.” I reached up and ran my fingers over the lapel of his leather jacket. “You working today?”
“Yes, ma’am. The air show is in a couple of weeks and we have a lot of work left to do. But, I’m free tonight.” He waggled his eyebrows and I smiled at his subtle invitation. He was just as eager for a redo of last night as I was.