Claim My Baby (Crescent Cove 2)

I nodded vigorously. “It caught me by surprise too, but I love her.” Saying the words was like unlocking a set of plates inside my chest and everything started spilling forth.

Far too much, in retrospect.

“At first, I figured it was just sex. She’s hot, right?” I didn’t wait for his confirmation. I didn’t truly care what he thought. Anyone with eyes could see Sage was freaking gorgeous. “Not just that, she’s so much fun to be with. She makes me laugh.”

“When she isn’t trying to kill you?”

I shrugged. “Flesh wounds mostly. We like arguing. Besides, making up is the best.”

“You didn’t fall when you were in Vegas, did you? Hit your head?” When I didn’t respond, he just held up a hand. “Look, I know I’m not being supportive, but I feel like I missed a hundred steps. When does Oliver Hamilton fall in love with someone in a month?”

“It isn’t just the last month. I think I’ve been falling in love with her since we met.”

Dare grinned. “Yeah, he’s a goner, Seth. Get the morgue cart. Dude is DOA.”

Ignoring him, I gripped my beer, letting the cold from the glass seep into my skin. The more I spoke, the hotter I was getting. It was as if figuring all this out had melted all the ice inside me and now I couldn’t shut the hell up. “Every dumb argument, every time we poked and prodded each other, every bit of snark…they were all just leading us to Vegas. That was the start of everything. It’s not even about the baby. That’s just the icing on top.”

Seth had picked up his drink—and now started to choke. Dare thumped him on the back, but my brother continued to stare at me, eyes watering. “Baby?”

“So, your wife did keep the secret.” I let out a low whistle. “Impressive. And here I thought marital law always came before bestie-ism.”

“Ally knew?” He held up a finger. “Also, I’m Ally’s first best friend, not Sage.” More coughing. “Technically, that means she owes me all secrets.”

Dare thumped Seth’s back again. “You’re gonna rupture something. Chill.”

“You don’t get it. Oliver doesn’t do this shit. This is all Seth-level stuff.”

I had to laugh, toasting him with my almost-empty glass before taking a drink. “Twin thing. You know it always kicks in eventually.”

Perhaps the getting-back-my-woman part would kick in soon too.

A guy could hope.

19

Sage

My week had a been a mixed bag, to say the least. So, to recap, I decided to pull an Oliver and weigh the bad with the good.

Pro: I’d found out I was going to have a baby.

Con: Timing el crapola.

Pro: I’d made dinner plans with a new friend, Kelsey.

Con: She’d suggested eating at The Spinning Wheel, a restaurant slash bar, and I could not drink.

Pro: I’d been given my first piece of lovely jewelry by a suitor.

Con: We’d immediately broken up afterward, without ever actually being an official couple, despite the very official child cooking inside me.

Net result? A lot of longing looks at Kelsey’s daiquiri.

“So, let me get this straight.” Kelsey plopped the little pink umbrella back in her half-empty drink and propped her chin on her hand. “This handsome, smart, funny man who is gainfully employed and also happens to have a large penis and the ambition to know how to use it correctly—along with his tongue and his fingers—planted a baby in you on the first try, and then had the audacity to insist you get married right away and also told you to stop working, because it was your dream to stay home with your child. Am I missing anything?”

“I don’t know if you are, but I’m impressed how you didn’t have to stop to take a breath. That was one hella long question.” I sipped my own virgin pink drink and considered the question more fully. “I’m guessing you’re not seeing the subtextual issues.”

“Subtextual issues? Girl, if a hot guy wanted me to put my feet up so I could churn out babies, well, I’d give it the old college try. I do have birthing hips.” She patted hers with a grin. “At least that’s what my mama used to say.”