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“Hmm, I wonder how many other couples used that excuse? Maybe we’ll see a few Mardi Gras ball babies in about nine months,” Loren returns, her eyes twinkling.
They laugh again as the elevator stops, charmed again, of course. Then they both stop to hug Loren as they say goodbye, and Mr. Moreau holds out his hand in front of me, despite the way he usually ignores me altogether.
“It was a pleasure, Blake. You know, I’ve been looking for someone like you to endorse as my successor. We should schedule a tee time at the country club to talk it over once it warms up outside. I’m sure our lovely ladies would enjoy getting together for brunch and mimosas at the clubhouse while you and I play a round of golf.”
“Yes, sir,” I reply, not even a little bitter about Loren winning over the Moreaus within a couple of hours when I never could. “Sounds like a date.”
“Oh, and I’ll be expecting a wedding invitation in the mail soon,” Mrs. Moreau adds with a wink.
I force one of my trademark fake grins before placing my hand on Loren’s back. “If I’m a smart man, you’ll get one.”
Loren squirms uncomfortably beside me as we wave goodbye again.
A few more of my acquaintances stop to greet us as I check out of the hotel before we finally make it to my truck. The valet offers to load our bags, but I tell him I can manage since there are so many others waiting behind us. By the time I turn back from handing him a tip, Loren’s adjusting the handle on her suitcase as if she’s preparing to lift it herself.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask.
“Taking care of myself,” she replies without missing a beat.
“It would be nice if you started doing a better job of that, you know, since you’re carrying two babies.” I rip the luggage from her hands and heave it into my truck.
She rocks back on her heels and lifts her chin defiantly. “I’ve been perfectly fine without you for the last thirty years, and I’m sure I can manage without your help now, thank you.”
Her bottom lip quivers as she crosses her arms over her chest and stares me down. Then she lunges forward and reaches into the back seat for her suitcase, but I grab her shoulder and flip her around to face me.
“Listen here, Reed,” I begin, smiling at her. “Like it or not, I care about your well-being more than I care about your pride. And I certainly don’t have any of that left myself. So if you don’t get your adorable, stubborn, pregnant-hangry ass in the truck right now, I’m going to pickyouup and toss you in too.”
She gapes at me incredulously, her mouth hanging open. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she declares once she catches her bearings. “Give me my things. I’ll get an Uber. Or I’ll call Tenley or JD to come pick meuhhp—DAMMIT, BLAKE! Put medown!”
She protests when I scoop her up in my arms and round my truck. But I calmly ignore the way she’s alternating swatting and clutching at me as I shift her weight to one side and use my free hand to open the passenger door. I set her down gently on the seat, noticing the way she leaves her hand on the back of my neck. Her chest is heaving as I lean in to whisper to her.
“You’re making a scene, Agnes. And you’re the one who didn’t want a public break up. So I recommend you prepare yourself, because I’m going to have to pull another one of those moves you pretend to hate so much when I kiss you so hard that everyone watching from the lobby will assume this fight was just foreplay. Got it?”
Her tongue darts out to lick her lips, and her eyes move down to my mouth. She gives me a short nod, and I close in the space between us in an instant, trying desperately not to devour her the way I really want to. But whensheslips her tongue into my mouth first and deepens the kiss, I lose control, at least for a while.
Before I know it, my hands are tangled in her silky hair, and her body is turned so that I’m leaning into her while her legs wrap around me. And as hot as this is, anddamnis it hot, I know I’ve got to stop now if I ever want her to take me seriously. Even though I’d give my left arm and a good chunk of my 401k to sleep with Loren again, I won’t prove her right and allow her to continue believing I only want something physical with her. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand what it is about her that makes me act this way, but I’d rather leave her with a healthy self-esteem than risk hurting her more, even if it means that she’ll never see me as anything more than a friend and co-parent.
Her eyes are still shut and her lips swollen when I pull away, and I take a second to commit this image of her to memory. I rest my forearm against the door frame and clear my throat, and her eyelashes flutter as she awakens from a trance.
“I, uh, I think it worked,” I say gruffly. “I’m also pretty sure if we break up any time soon, half of my friends and colleagues will disown me,” I add, smirking and tilting my head in the direction of the crowd waiting at the valet podium.
She nods absently, still looking flustered. “Yeah. See, you need me more than I need you, Gus-Gus.”
I chuckle at her, but I don’t deny her claim. Instead, I lean in and kiss her forehead, hoping to convey that I want things to go back to the way they were earlier this morning, before I made it awkward by bringing up my stupid, mostly unrequited feelings. She sighs when I linger for a second, and I reach over her to open the center console and pluck out a bag of Reese’s hearts, dropping them in her lap as I back away. Then I shut the door between us and go around to the other side.
She watches me carefully as she unwraps one of the candies and pops the entire heart into her mouth. “This doesn’t change anything,” she mumbles around a mouthful of peanut butter.
“Course it doesn’t,” I agree, pulling out of the parking lot and smiling to myself when she hums contentedly.
“Wait, where are we going? Home is that way.” She hitches her thumb in the opposite direction.
“I’m going to feed and caffeinate you before I bring you back. I know you better than you think.”
She scowls at me while she continues smacking. “Your babies do want coffee. Preferably something with lots of syrupy-sweet, fake flavoring.” Then she bites into another heart. “Just don’t tell my midwife about that last part.”
CHAPTER 22
Loren
