His fingers brushed against the nape of her neck, and she shivered again. This time it hit her at the core, warming her, and making her want so much more than friendship.
Her eyes were still on his, wide and dilated. His jaw hardened, a dimple popping in and out on the side of his face. She wanted to touch it the way he was touching her. To run her finger along his cheekbones, down the predominant ridge of his nose to his soft lips below.
The memory of the night they’d slept together danced in her thoughts, making her heart bang against her chest. The way he’d kissed her jaw, her throat, his lips lingering in the dip of her neck. It made her want everything she knew she couldn’t have.
“You should go home,” he said, his hand still cupping her neck. “Get some dinner, and some rest.”
“Yeah.” She didn’t move an inch.
“Harper?” His eyes dipped to her throat. He slid his fingers down to her chest, tracing the base of her neck, and her breath escaped with a loud sigh.
“Mmm?” She wasn’t winning any awards for dialogue right now.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m one of those blueberry muffins you get from Déjà Brew and you’re the hungriest woman alive.”
She laughed, she couldn’t help it, and it cut through the electric atmosphere, dispersing the hiss and buzz that had been growing between them. “Hormones,” she told him, wanting to hit herself for reacting that way. “To be honest, I’d probably jump the mail man if he knocked in the right way.”
James pulled his hand away from her and shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “I’ll walk you out,” he said, taking a step back to increase the space between them.
She took a deep breath to regain her equilibrium. “It’s okay. I can manage it by myself.”
“You sure?”
She nodded quickly. She needed some distance between them before she did something stupid like rip his clothes off. “Goodbye, James. Have a good evening.”
“You too.”
As soon as she closed the front door behind her she let out a sigh. Her life was so damn messy already, and now her body was messing it up even more.
It was time to grow up and stop listening to her hormones. She had a baby to think of.
13
“Thank you for coming here with me,” Ember said as she and Harper stood in front of a rack of baby clothes, rifling through the tiny onesies and dresses. Her bump was so big she had to stand back from the rack so she didn’t hit it with a hanger every time she slid an outfit along the metal pole. “Lucas is so sick of shopping it hurts. And he’s working all the hours he can to build up some leave for when the baby comes.”
“Are you getting excited?” Harper asked.
“Kind of excited and kind of scared. It’s all getting so real now. The baby’s head is engaged and I can feel the damn thing every time I walk. I can’t sleep at night and I’m constantly in the bathroom. I figure having a newborn baby can’t be much worse than hitting this stage of pregnancy.” Ember saw Harper’s shocked expression and laughed. “Sorry, is that TMI?”
“No. I was just hoping the third trimester would be kind of like the second.”
“It is for the most part,” Ember reassured her. “It’s just these last few weeks that have slowed me down. Trying to work full time and grow this little human has taken it out of me.” She cupped the slope of her bump with her hands, smiling. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“How about the birth?” Harper leaned forward. “Have you written out a plan?”
“Yeah. I’ve had it written since I was six months.” Ember smiled. “But older and wiser women have told me nothing ever happens as planned.”
“Brooke?”
Ember grinned. “Yup.”
“Have you decided if you’ll have an epidural?” Harper asked her, running her finger down a soft onesie. They were all so tiny. Strange to think she’d be dressing her
baby in miniature clothes like these.