Have My Baby (Crescent Cove 1)

Suddenly it was vitally important she answer me. That I hear her say the words, to solidify the reality of it happening in my head. Because it was sure as fuck real according to what was going on in my jeans.

“So we could have, you know, sex.” She spoke so fast that I lessened my grip a fraction and she yanked free, popped to her feet, and grabbed hold of the folder containing the contract.

Both of them.

Though she didn’t know about the second one yet. I hadn’t gotten that far.

I started to lean toward her to snatch it back, then paused. Hmm.

Maybe it was better she read the contract on her own. Seeing it all in print might work to allay her fears. It wasn’t as if I was asking her to let me breed her and marry her and lock her away forever in my tower. It was just a simple exchange between friends. No romantic relationship, but a pleasant, mutually satisfying one. She would give me something I wanted, and I would give her something she would never ask for but deserved.

Hell, I’d be happy to offer her the money right now on the spot, no strings attached, but she would never take it. So instead I’d made it a condition of our bargain. All neat and tidy and written down.

A wise businessman pivoted with changing conditions. And I was nothing if not my father’s son.

“Too slow,” Ally said, her confidence returning as she clutched the folder to her chest. “Better work on those reflexes of yours, Hamilton. Think you’re getting old.”

“Thanks for bringing that point up. Sit again for another moment.” I inclined my chin toward the opposite side of the booth.

She sighed and sat sideways on the seat, balancing the folder on her knees far from my reach. “Finally reconsidering this insanity? I knew if you took a moment to just think, you’d realize this is insane. Just because Laurie wants a sibling isn’t a reason to be rash.”

“Rash. Right.” I stirred my now ice cold coffee and dropped the spoon into the saucer. “She’s told you too?”

“She’s told everyone. When I picked her up at school last week, Mrs. O’Connor mentioned it to me. She had this idea that I was your girlfriend.” Shaking her head, Ally smoothed a hand over that green Hamilton Realty folder that held the power to change both of our lives. “Ridiculous.”

“So you keep saying. Ridiculous you’d be my girlfriend, ridiculous I’d want to fuck you to make a baby.”

Her eyes flared wide before she slapped the folder on the table. “Keep your damn voice down. You know how this place is with gossip. If the wrong person hears that, they’ll think you actually want to…do that.”

My frustration level spiked, and laughing was the only thing I could do to alleviate it. Along with grabbing hold of the back of my neck to rub out a particularly pesky set of knots.

Not the only thing I wanted to rub out, but that wasn’t going to be occurring at the diner. Probably. Unless she pushed me to untold lengths.

“Newsflash. I do want to do that. I want to spread you out on my bed and fuck you until you’re so full of me it’s spilling out of you. And then, just for g

ood measure, I want to roll you over and do it again.” Her lips trembled apart and I placed a finger over them. “But no, I don’t want a girlfriend. I want you to have my baby, and I want it to be a good, positive thing for both of us. Unconventional, yes, but then we’ve always been that, haven’t we?” I rose, unable to deny that I enjoyed looming over her while her big brown eyes tracked my movements.

“Seth,” she whispered.

Her usage of my actual name instead of some insult said volumes.

“The second contract,” I said lightly, pulling out my wallet to leave a wad of bills on the table. Far more than my coffee and tip should cost, but I always tipped excessively, especially at the diner. “Call me when you’ve had a chance to read it.”

Slipping on my sunglasses, I headed toward the door. I could feel her heavy stare on my back. And knew she would probably flip open the folder to scan the contents before the door shut behind me with a cheerful tinkle of bells.

I’d made it up the street to my Mustang and was just about to open the driver’s door when my cell vibrated in the pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out and answered her call without reading her name.

It could only be one person. The one who held a good chunk of my dreams and my future in her strong, capable, ringed hands.

“Hi there,” I said, keeping my voice pleasant. Even with my aviator sunglasses, I still had to shield my eyes from the angle of the sun glinting off the lake directly in front of me. “That didn’t take you long.”

I heard a hiss that I guessed might be running water then the sound disappeared. “You told another human being about this crazy plan?”

“I told my lawyer. Whether or not he’s actually human is up for debate, but most people seem to think he qualifies.”

“The last hope I had was that this was another one of Seth’s wild schemes. You know, like when we put the top down on your convertible and drove up to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls on senior skip day without any ID. All because you woke up that day and wanted to do something fun.”

“And you thought I’d ask you to make a baby the same way.” I nodded, inhaling a deep breath of water-tinged air. “Sure. I can see now why you’re hesitating. If you think I’d view those two events the same way, no wonder you aren’t inclined to say yes.”