California Secrets

“So you’re an interior designer?” he asked.

“By default,” she half joked. “My sister was the truly brilliant designer, but she always said I had a good eye. She opened Two Sisters Design a year ago and begged me to join her, so I did. And then... Well, you know she passed, so here I am.”

Ethan remained silent as he shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. The quiet air seemed to crackle around them, and she hated this awkwardness that settled between them.

“And that’s enough of my backstory for now.”

She hated the tension that had slid between them. She had no clue how to act or what to say around him, which seemed rather odd considering they’d spent nearly every night together over the past month. Flings were messy, they were confusing, they were...

Harper mentally gave herself a slap in the face to wake up. She wasn’t having a fling anymore. She was having a baby with a man she barely knew. Which raised the question of his presence here now. Had he followed her?

“What are you doing here?” she asked again.

Ethan shrugged. “Just wandering around.”

“This whole area is closed off.” The manager knew who she was and allowed her access to any part of the resort. “How did you get in here at all? The door to this whole portion is coded.”

“Code?” he asked with a shake of his head. “The door was wide-open when I came through. I wasn’t aware it was closed off.”

Harper couldn’t tell if he was lying or if the door had in fact been left open. He had no reason to lie that she knew of, but she was sure she hadn’t left the door open. Something was off, but she couldn’t exactly say if it was Ethan or not.

“So, you’re revamping the entire resort?” he asked, glancing over her shoulder into the open ballroom. “That seems like quite the undertaking for one person.”

“I’m up for the challenge. Besides, I have a team that will come in and do the physical work.”

No need to tell him this was her first solo gig. She couldn’t treat this as a rookie project. Now more than ever, Two Sisters needed her entire focus.

Ethan took a step toward her, and that focus tilted. How could a man wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and a T-shirt be so damn attractive? Oh, yeah. Because she knew every inch of muscle tone that lay beneath those clothes.

He slid the back of his knuckles across her cheek. Harper’s breath caught in her throat as she closed her eyes and relished in his touch. When would she get over this? Would his touch always make her body tremble, her head foggy, her belly tingle?

“Ethan,” she whispered as she focused back on his hungry gaze. “We need to stop this.”

“That’s impossible,” he countered, bringing his other hand up and framing her face. “The attraction won’t stop just because we say so. Is there a rule that I shouldn’t want you just because you’re pregnant? Because I want you now more than ever.”

More than ever. In their month-long fling, she’d come to crave him more than anything, so she understood his need. They matched each other so perfectly in the bedroom. Never before had she experienced anything like Ethan Michaels...and the man was quite an experience.

“You can’t say things like that.” She was going for a scolding tone, but for reasons she ended up sounding breathless.

“Why? Because you’re trying to lie to yourself and pretend you don’t want me, too?”

She couldn’t lie to him, and she shouldn’t be lying to herself. She had to face every obstacle head-on.

“I just think...”

Harper shook her head and stepped away.

“I can’t think when you’re touching me and looking at me like that,” she stated more firmly.

His lips quirked as he took another step toward her, then another until he’d backed her fully into the open ballroom. Without a word, he reached behind him and slid the doors closed, the smack of the wood echoing through the room.

“You love every second of my touching and looking.”

That throaty tone sent shivers through her.

“We’re having a baby,” she stressed, as if he didn’t already know. “You said yourself that changes things between us.”

“It changes the timeline,” he stated, reaching for a curl and wrapping it around his finger. “It means we’ll be part of each other’s lives forever. But it sure as hell doesn’t change anything else.”