Reckless Love (Cowboys & Angels 7)

“Fuck,” I mumbled as I smiled and waved back.

Taking the porch steps two at a time, I rang Scarlett’s doorbell and held my breath. If Eric was here I was going to rip him in two.

The door opened and my breath caught in my throat. Scarlett stood in front of me in a pair of worn-out jeans and my old T-shirt I had left over here. The best part of all was a paint smudge on the tip of her nose and one on her forehead.

Fucking hell, she looked gorgeous.

“Painting?” I asked with a smile. She didn’t return the smile. She simply pushed the door open and walked into the living room.

That wasn’t a good sign.

I followed her through the living room and then up the steps. My heart was pounding, not because I was secretly hoping she was taking me to her room and we were going to have the most amazing make-up sex, but because this woman was carrying my baby.

Our baby.

That did something to my heart, and I couldn’t explain what. It was a good thing…but it was also a scary thing.

She walked past her bedroom and into the room down the hall. When I walked in, I looked around. She was painting it a light yellow. There were strips of painter’s tape going across the room halfway down the wall and across to the floorboards.

“Scarlett, I can help you paint this room.”

Spinning on her heels, she glared. I instinctively took a step back.

“This room is the nursery.”

My stomach did that weird flutter thing, like it always did when Scarlett smiled at me, but this was better. If there could be such a thing.

“Oh,” I whispered, not sure what else to say. Then I found my words.

“I’d love to help you with the nursery.”

Her face softened, and she lifted her chin. “So you don’t still think the baby is Eric’s?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I was confused and he made it seem like y’all were together. The whole thing completely caught me off guard and I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Scarlett stared down at the floor. “We’re only friends. Eric and me.”

Her voice sounded off, as if she was telling me the truth but also holding back.

“You don’t sound convinced of that.”

Snapping her eyes back up to mine, she replied, “I only see him as a friend. He, on the other hand…well…he admitted to having feelings for me.”

I swallowed hard. “Oh.”

It was the only damn thing I could say.

We both stood there for a few moments, neither of us knowing what to say.

“When did you find out? About the baby?” I asked, clearing my throat. She looked panicked for a quick moment and looked away.

“Can I get all of this cleaned up before we talk?”

Moving farther into the room, I took the paint brush and roller. “I’ll clean up. You might want to jump in the shower. You have paint on your face.”

Reaching up with my hand, I tried to rub it off of her forehead. Scarlett drew in a breath and locked her brown eyes on mine.

For a moment, I thought she was going to lift up on her toes to kiss me, but she did the opposite. She stepped away from me, putting distance between us that I felt in my very soul. It nearly killed me.

“Thanks,” she whispered before leaving the room.

I closed my eyes and cursed. Things were totally fucked up between us, and it was all my fault.

After I got the paint lid back on and cleaned the brushes and the roller, I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. Scarlett always had lemonade. While everyone else loved sweet tea, she loved lemonade and I really loved her lemonade.

I looked everywhere in the refrigerator and couldn’t find it.

“What are you looking for?” she asked, making me jump.

“Shit, you scared me. Um, the lemonade.”

She slid onto a chair at the large kitchen island.

“I don’t drink it anymore. All the sugar isn’t good for me or the…baby.”

I leaned against the counter. I had to admit I wasn’t as freaked out about the baby as I had been twelve hours ago. I had been out by the pool rocking back and forth on the lounge chair while Steed and Aunt Vi looked on, concern on their faces. They’d been smart enough to leave me alone. The only time Aunt Vi approached was when I started chanting, A baby. Holy shit. A baby.

Moving around a bit on the stool, Scarlett placed her arms on the island and then seemed to think twice about keeping them there. She was nervous, and I was trying my best to act calm. I had no idea what was going to happen between us. The last thing I wanted was for her to see how fucking scared I was.

Scarlett handed me a piece of paper. “So, um, that’s the baby’s first picture. It was a sonogram they did when I found out I was pregnant. The baby is due on May 25.”