“Why do I keep crying in front of you?” I sniffed.
“That’s a rhetorical question, right?”
I chuckled. My emotions had settled, yet I had no desire to move out of his embrace, and he didn’t seem inclined to let me go. So, we stood like that for a while, until my stomach rumbled.
“Let me fix you a bagel,” he said. “Yeah?”
I nodded, my cheek brushing against his clean shirt.
He sighed and hugged me tighter.
I needed to get a grip. I needed to stop letting him comfort me because my hormones were out of control. I needed to stop thinking about how good he smelled or how I could get used to being around him.
“You’re beautiful,” he said gruffly.
I snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”
He gently grasped my hair and tugged on it, so I tilted my head back. Slash stared down at me with an intensity that had me swallowing. “You’re beautiful.”
It wasn’t what he said but how he said it. It was the way he held me and looked at me. As if he didn’t care that I’d been a one-night stand or that this baby was going to change his life forever.
“Even in sweats?” I pressed.
“Even in sweats.”
“Even when I’m a hormonal mess?”
His mouth quirked up into a small smile. “Especially then.”
Somehow, I found the strength to untangle myself from him. “The bagel smells good.”
“Sit. I’ll make you one.”
We ate our bagels in companionable silence and then I took our empty plates to the sink.
“You sure you don’t want me to go to the appointment with you?” Slash asked. “I don’t mind. I have the morning free.”
I shook my head and sipped the orange juice. “Nah. There’s no sonogram happening, so there’s no point in you being there.”
He nodded. “Boxer is throwing Linden a surprise party this weekend. You wanna go?”
“A surprise party? Is it her birthday?”
“No. It’s a belated celebration for the opening of her clinic.”
“Sweet,” I commented. “I’m in.” I looked at the clock on the microwave. “Crap. I have to hop in the shower or I’ll be late.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Slash said. “I mean it.”
I nodded.
“Even if it’s the middle of the night and you just need someone to talk to.”
My heart went all gooey without my permission.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead and then left the apartment.
I jumped in the shower and tried to forget about Slash.