Chapter 11
Laugh at your problems, everybody else does.
“Have you seen Ellie?”
I freeze when I hear Cole ask Moon where I am. Shit. Where can I hide? My tiny office doesn’t exactly have a wardrobe I can use to travel to another dimension. Where is Aslan, the King of Narnia, when you need him? I eye the area under the desk. It’ll have to do.
I drop to my knees and scamper under the piece of furniture. Dang. The opening is even smaller than I thought. I’m pulling my chair in when the door opens.
“Huh,” I hear Moon say. “I swear she was in here a second ago. Maybe she went to the bathroom?”
“It’s fine. I’ll wait here.”
“It’s your funeral,” Moon sings as she shuts the door behind her.
The chair across from my desk scrapes as Cole pulls it out and sits in it. Crap. I don’t have time to be trapped under my desk during the breakfast service. Why didn’t I at least grab my phone before I snuck under here?
Cole whistles as if he has all the time in the world. Shouldn’t he be asleep now? It’s barely six in the morning. Who in their right mind is awake now except for me and Moon?
I wiggle to get more comfortable since I’m apparently stuck here for the foreseeable future. I still when my shoes squeak on the floor.
“You might as well come out from under there, Ellie.”
I keep my mouth clamped shut. He can’t possibly know I’m here.
“I can hear the wheels turning in your head.”
Wheels don’t actually turn in your head, according to Lilac.
“I can sit here all day. Can your bladder handle hiding under a desk for hours upon hours; needing to pee and not getting any relief?”
Asshole. My bladder has shrunk to the size of a pea since I’ve been pregnant.
“What gave me away?”
He kneels and peeks under the desk to face me. “Do you need help?”
He smiles and a dimple pops out on his right cheek. Not fair! I want to stick my tongue in the tiny indentation. He’s also clean shaven and his blue eyes are sparkling. My inner hussy sighs before urging me to jump him. We did that and look what happened.
“I’m fine.” My voice breaks. I clear my throat and try again. “I’m fine.”
I crawl out from under the desk, and he extends his hands to help me up. I glare at his big, strong hands for a moment as I remember how they felt roaming my body. I shiver before pushing those sexy thoughts out of my mind.
Out of towner, Ellery. He won’t stay. And you know what happens when the cat is away.
I grasp his hand and he uses the hold to pull me to my feet and into his body. I gaze up at him and his eyes flare. The attraction is mutual. Of course, it is. There’s a reason I’m pregnant with his baby after all. Although, we only had sex the one time and he used a condom. Hold up. He used a condom and I got pregnant? One plus one shouldn’t equal baby.
I slap his shoulders. “Did you stealth me?”
He doesn’t budge. “What are you talking about?”
I slap him again. “Don’t act stupid. When a man removes the condom during sex. Not okay, Cole. Not okay.”
Now, he steps away to run a hand through his hair. “I didn’t remove the condom. I would never. I am sorry, though. I didn’t check the expiration date. I should have. I was a bit preoccupied.”
I slam my fists on my hips. “Don’t you dare blame me.”
He holds up his palms as he slowly steps back until he’s on the other side of the desk where he collapses in the chair. “I’m not. I’m sorry. I should have handled you with care. I didn’t. Please accept my apology.”