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“I’m not.” It came out too quickly to be something I’d thought hard about. Suspiciously quick. She definitely picked up on it based on how she raised one singular eyebrow at me. “I’m not! We fucked once, Leese. Just two adults doing the deed. It probably won’t happen again.”
“And you’re… okay with that?”
“Of course. He’s a dad, and he doesn’t want any more kids. He’s my doctor. I’m his nanny. It would be weird.”
Lisa sucked her teeth before she took a hefty sip of her mimosa. She’d always been at least a little protective of me, even when she insisted I get with whoever and do whatever. This time, shockingly, was no different. “Did you use protection?”
I snorted. “No. Don’t need to, for now at least. I’m not on the drugs yet.”
“So there’s no chance?”
“No. And to be honest, I don’t really want to talk about how I don’t need birth control,” I sighed. I’d tried not to let it get to me over the last couple of days, but it had been there, right at the back of my mind, ruining any chance of fantasizing about how fucking amazing Hudson had been.
“Okay. We don’t have to talk about it.” Lisa cut a square out of the center of her stack of pancakes, shoving a massive bite into her mouth. “Is he hot at least?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I wanted her to meet him, pictures wouldn’t do him justice, but I pulled my phone out regardless. “He’s like a Greek fucking god, Lisa. It’s annoying. Here, I took a picture of him yesterday at the fair.”
Lisa snatched my phone from my hand, her eyes glued to the screen immediately. “God damn.”
“I know, right?”
“Wait, I’m sorry, rewind. You went to the fair? With him and his son?” She clicked the side button, blackening the screen. “Why?”
I shrugged. “He invited me.”
Lisa’s silence settled over the table, unnerving me. I hated it when she went silent. When she spoke again, her voice was low, slow, and calm. “You went with him to the fair, off duty, because he invited you.”
“Yes.”
“The day after you had sex.”
“Yeah.”
“Sophia Elizabeth Mitchell, you are fucking falling for him.” She aimed her fork at me, a little jab. “And I think you already know that. Why are you denying it?”
I could feel the heat rise in my face as I looked down at my food. I didn’t think I was falling for him. I’d put up a wall between us, making sure that I didn’t get too tempted by his charm, his wit, his looks. If that wall was crumbling… no, I couldn’t think about that. No way. It wouldn’t work. “I’m not,” I insisted. “I barely know him.”
“That’s made zero difference in the past.”
“Respectfully, Leese, you’re not inside my head. I just like hanging out with his kid. I do want a baby, so it shouldn’t be that surprising.”
“I still don’t get that?—”
“I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking you to support me. Hudson doesn’t want another kid, so why would I let myself fall for him? That would be insane. I’d be setting us up for failure.” I picked at the poached egg on my plate, moving it around in the avocado. I’d suddenly lost my appetite. “I love you and I appreciate your protectiveness, but I’m fine. I’m handling it.”
She tapped her knife against her plate, contemplating my words. It didn’t appear that they’d sunk in, not from the expression on her face. “Alright,” she sighed, taking another sip of her mimosa. “Just… be careful with him. I’ll pick up the pieces if you need me to, but for your own sanity, Sophie, try not to let him sink his teeth into you.”
But he already has. Literally. Not metaphorically, right?
Maybe that, too.
“Guess you’ll need to buy a ring, now,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood a hair. It was sweet of her. And fuck, she was right.
“Shit, I didn’t even think about that.” I pulled my phone back out.
“No, no, let me pick it. You have awful taste,” Lisa teased, and I shot her a look that said are you fucking kidding, I’m a literal designer, but she grabbed my phone anyway.
A few seconds later and she’d brought up a shockingly genuine-looking ring, priced at fifty bucks. It was beautiful—the kind of design I’d actually like if someone asked me to marry them, though I’d prefer one that was real and cost more than fifty dollars.
