Perfect Fling (Serendipity's Finest 2)

She eased herself into the chair, unwilling to confess that her legs had been about to give out, the pain from her arm making her dizzy and weak.

“I hope you’re always going to be this easy,” he said, his pleased smile causing a distinct flip in her stomach.

“Don’t count on it,” she muttered.

“Considering you don’t cook, your house is filled with all the right tools.”

“What can I say? My mom still holds out hope.” Her mom. Whom Erin would soon have to tell she was pregnant.

Nausea that had nothing to do with hunger or morning sickness filled her at the realization, and she lay her head on the table to wait for her food.

• • •

Erin survived Cole’s first night at her house by passing out and not waking up until late the next morning. Since she was in her bed with no recollection of how she got there, she realized she must have fallen asleep watching TV after dinner. Which meant Cole must have carried her to bed. Quite the knight he’s turning out to be, she thought.

A dark knight who’d spent years undercover doing who knows what . . . or with whom. He obviously carried the emotional scars, and he’d been a brooding bad boy when she’d known him before. But now? She couldn’t read his moods or feelings about their situation, but he was certainly stepping up and taking care of her.

For Erin, who’d never found a guy who treated her like she was precious or meant something to him, she found she appreciated being pampered when she wasn’t feeling well. And that was the thought that had her ready to get up and back on her feet.

She couldn’t get used to Cole taking care of her. From here on out, she’d take care of herself and their child. He’d have a say in their baby’s life, and she wasn’t an idiot . . . she’d accept reasonable financial help. But for Erin, this pregnancy meant giving up the dream of having the love and marriage her parents shared. That her brother and Cara now had. That Alexa and Luke had. Finding a good man was hard enough. Finding one willing to take on another man’s baby? Those were few and far between. But her reality didn’t mean she could allow herself to mistake Cole’s obligation to her baby as caring for her. He’d made himself clear each time she’d seen him post-one-night-stand.

The truth sent a knifelike pain to her heart, and as she climbed out of bed, the throbbing in her arm added to her torment. But she managed. Once again, she awkwardly used the bathroom and brushed her teeth with one hand, and she was starting for the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

Cole beat her to the front door. She heard him talking to someone outside, looking around before letting whoever it was inside.

Macy barreled past him, waiting until he shut the door and turned toward her before getting in his face. “What are you doing here, and where’s Erin?” her friend demanded.

“I’m right here,” Erin said from the top of the stairs.

Both Macy and Cole turned as Erin walked down the few steps to greet her friend. Macy’s gaze ran over her, her wide-eyed panic subsiding when she saw for herself Erin was okay. “Oh, honey,” she said, her gaze falling on the bandage and sling. “Come sit.”

“I take it you heard what happened?” Erin asked.

“Good news travels fast,” Macy said with sarcasm in her tone.

“I didn’t know you were awake,” Cole said. He hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets and stared at her with that intense look that set her nerves on edge.

His black T-shirt showed off well-defined muscles. He hadn’t shaved, and he was even more appealing scruffy than any man should be, while she looked like roadkill. She could only imagine the sight she presented, and she did her best not to wince.

“How’s the pain?” he asked.

“Bad,” she admitted.

His eyes darkened.

“Can you take anything given your condition?” Macy asked, startling Erin.

She’d forgotten she and Cole weren’t alone. Par for the course around this man, it seemed.

Suddenly Macy cleared her throat, her eyes widening in sheer panic. Erin managed not to laugh at her friend’s distress. “He knows.”

“Oh? Oh!” She whipped her head around to look at Cole, whose expression, true to form, was bland, giving nothing away. “So can you take anything?”

“Tylenol, definitely. And the doctor gave me a prescription for something stronger to take sporadically if I’m in agony but . . . I’m trying not to use it.”

Macy squeezed her hand. “Well, I’m sure that makes rest all the more important then. You

need to be still.”