And he still wasn’t home.
Thursday evening, Pepper ate her dinner on the couch with Daisy next to her. The pup had become her shadow. If Pepper ever had any thoughts of rehoming Daisy, they’d been quickly forgotten.
Still, this was the first time Simon had said he would be home for dinner and then was a no-show. She never thought this arrangement would work out. In fact, she’d been downright certain it was a huge mistake, from the press hounding them, to the unexpected
news of the baby—her hand pressed to her slight baby bump—to the fact she couldn’t let herself fall for him.
Simon didn’t do commitments. He’d told her that.
He also normally didn’t work nine-to-five. So then why until now did he make such an effort for them to share their breakfasts and most dinners—even sometimes slipping home for lunch?
He was going out of his way to make her comfortable. Again, she came back to the question: Why? She told herself it was because he was just being a good host. Nothing more. But then why did it feel like more? Why did it feel like they’d become some sort of an insta-family? And if that was the case, where did they go from here?
Daisy lay in the corner of the kitchen, where she could keep an eye on Pepper. Talk about your loyal companion. Pepper smiled. “You’re a good girl.”
Daisy lifted her head and wagged her tail, understanding what Pepper had said.
And then because she couldn’t resist such cuteness, Pepper grabbed a dog biscuit from the plastic bag on the counter and gave it to Daisy, who readily accepted it.
With the dirty dishes rinsed and loaded in the dishwasher, the countertops wiped down and nothing left to do for the day, she glanced at the clock. It was well past six. Where was he?
Don’t worry. It’s none of your business. He’s only your host. Nothing more. Except the father of your baby.
Did that make a difference? Enough for her to butt into his life and make sure he was okay? Their situation was so complicated. She wasn’t sure what was right. And what was inappropriate.
She glanced at her purse on the bar stool at the giant island. Sticking out of the top was the mail she’d picked up on her way back from the animal shelter. A padded manila envelope snagged her attention. She was pretty certain what was inside—a new-to-her DVD.
She didn’t care if some people called her old-fashioned. She loved black-and-white movies. She collected them. Though some were available for streaming, a vast number were not. She had a huge collection of VHS tapes she’d inherited from her mother, and slowly over time she was replacing them with DVDs.
She pulled out the package. Maybe she should sit down and get lost in a movie. After all, she was caught up with everything she had to prep for tomorrow.
Her gaze strayed to the clock on the wall. It really was late for Simon. Worry settled over her, dampening her mood. Where could he be?
Silly question. She assured herself he probably got wrapped up in a project at work and forgot the time. She knew how that could be. When she was developing a new recipe, she could be at it for hours until she got just the right match of ingredients.
Maybe she should call him, just to make sure that was the case. She moved to get her phone from the counter next to the fridge. She picked it up and pulled up Simon’s number.
Her finger hovered over the call button. Should she? Or would it be overstepping? What would Simon think—
She heard the sound of the front door opening. She set her phone aside and rushed out of the kitchen, with Daisy right behind her. There stood Simon in the foyer. His black wool overcoat glistened with quickly melting snow.
He slipped off his coat and hung it up to dry. He glanced up. “Sorry I’m late. It’s getting nasty out there.”
“You’re late?” She tried to act like it was no big deal—like she hadn’t been worried about him. “I hadn’t noticed.”
He arched a disbelieving brow at her. “Are you trying to tell me that you haven’t eaten yet?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. She’d been busted. “I tried to wait. Honest.”
He smiled. “So, you did notice my absence?”
Heat licked at her face as she shrugged. “I guess I got used to our routine. I started to worry when you didn’t show up.” Now what in the world had she gone and said that for? “I mean, I know you have a lot of work to do and sometimes you have to stay at the office late.”
“Actually, I didn’t work late.”
“You didn’t?”
He shook his head. “I stopped by the bakery. I wanted to see the progress.”