He closes his eyes and laughs. He has such a nice laugh. Not overly quiet or loud. Definitely not obnoxious.
“I think working in pajamas sounds damn good.”
Then he winks at me, and all the blood in my body rushes south. Holy moly. This man does it for me. He totally does. It’s not only his looks—although they definitely do it for me—but it’s also the rest. Him. The whole package.
The way he wants to take care of me and the baby and asks me every day how I’m feeling. The way he makes me laugh. The way he turns me on with a single glance or a sentence. The way he’s helped his brother. The way he talks about his family. Always with a smile on his face and a softness to his voice.
And let’s not forget his dirty mouth.
I’d have no problem bending you over my knee and spanking that fine ass of yours.
I’ve been daydreaming about that sentence since he said it last week. The fluttering in my belly explodes, swarming through my entire body and filling every last inch of it. It burns me up from the inside.
Oh yeah, he’s most definitely doing it for me.
And you’re lying to him.
That voice in my head douses me with a bucketful of iced water.
I need to tell him. I need to come clean. Soon.
Right now, I’m channeling Tara who was confident I’d get the job. That would be one less problem, and I want to be happy about that before I ruin everything by fessing up to my deception. It’s also not something I want to do over the phone, so the next time I’ll see him, I’ll confess. No matter if the thought alone makes me nauseated.
Ryan’s told me all about his family, while I’ve been evasive about mine, at least about my dad. And I hate it, I really do.
How mad is he going to be? He wouldn’t end things between us over this, right?
I can’t be all alone again.
My hand flies to my stomach.
I won’t be alone soon.
Inhale. Exhale.
“Harper?” Ryan’s eyebrows pinch together.
“What?” Damn it. I need to stop spacing out so much. Whatever’s in these pregnancy hormones, they’re distracting as hell.
“Are you okay? You seem sad.”
I roll my shoulders, trying to get rid of all of these feelings and emotions. They drive me crazy.
I smile and hope it doesn’t look as fake as it feels, but I need him to stop worrying about me. I don’t want Ryan to think he has to constantly fix me or feel sorry for me. That’s not who I am, not normally. It’s definitely not who I want to be. “Yeah, sorry. I was wondering earlier if it’s actually possible to freeze your butt off.”
“What?” The corners of his mouth tip up.
Goodness, I love his smile. “The phrase. Freeze your butt off. I wouldn’t mind if that was possible, now that I’m, you know, growing extra butt padding and all.”
He laughs at that, and it’s so ridiculously sexy I wish I could bottle it up. Or at the very least take a video of it, so I can watch it over and over every time I’m lonely.
“You’re absolutely perfect the way you are.”
Heat creeps into my cheeks. “You’re such a charmer.”
“Just telling the truth.”
“Thank you.” Goodness, someone calm down these flutters in my stomach. “So, tell me about your day.”