“Thanks.”
They didn’t say a word as they made their way through the building and out onto the tarmac. The air was cool, cooler than it had been yesterday, and the sun was low, taking most of the warmth out of the day. He followed Mazey, let her lead him where she would. He smiled, remembering having thought about letting her lead weeks ago. And look where that had gotten them.
In this strange place between colleagues and friends and lovers.
Rounding the hanger, she headed for their chopper. Halfway there, she cleared her throat and said, “I think I’m pregnant.”
It was a full five steps before what she said sank in, and he stopped walking. “Sorry. What?”
She was nodding, her gaze focused on something in the distance. “I haven’t taken a test yet. I only worked it out this morning, after you left. I didn’t have time to stop and get one before coming to work.”
His jaw worked. His mouth opening and closing. But he’d be fucked if he could get his vocal cords to function.
“You don’t have to say anything. I’m not expecting anything—”
“Fuck that shit! You should be expecting something.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Shaking her head, she drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know how I feel or even if I am or what I want or what this means...”
“Well, if you are, it means we’re having a baby.”
Mazey eyed him. “We?”
“You wouldn’t be telling me this if you didn’t think it was mine, and I know you’re not sleeping with anyone else.”
“We’ve had penetrative sex once, Rylan.”
“It only takes one sperm, Mazey.”
She gave him a sad smile, and he couldn’t have stopped from pulling her into his arms if he had a gun pointed at his head. “Come here.” He ran his hands up and down her back, rested his chin on top of her head. “It’ll be fine. Whatever happens.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured into his chest, her arms slipping around his waist.
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”
“I forgot to get my shot.”
“And I forgot to use a condom.” He cradled the back of her head and held her close. “We both forgot. That cancels out any blame.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t have to know now. First, we find out for sure then we take our time to decide what we’re going to do. But I have to be honest, Maz. I’m thirty-nine. I want this. I’ve wanted this for a while. Just didn’t see it happening any time soon.”
“But we’re not . . .”
“Again, I’m going to be honest and tell you the no-strings thing was a way to keep seeing you. You said you didn’t want to get involved, but I wanted to, and the whole have-sex-and-not-see-each-other idea seemed like a way to get under your skin and get you to agree to something more. Putting a baby in you isn’t the under your skin I was thinking of, but I’m not sorry I did.”
“If you did. We still don’t know for sure.”
He nodded, his gaze on the horizon. “All right. How about this? Tomorrow, after our shift ends, I’ll come to your place, and we can go and get what we need to find out together. We’ll think about nothing beyond that. We’ll leave it all until after you take a test and we know.”
“I can’t believe you’re not freaking out right now.”
Rylan didn’t want to tell her he’d been here before. Had another woman tell him she was pregnant with his baby. He’d married that one, and as much as he wanted to suggest doing that with Mazey, he didn’t think she’d be on board with the idea. She wouldn’t even date him, for fuck’s sake.
She’d been skittish before now, and if he pushed in the wrong direction, she’d bolt in the other. He couldn’t let that happen. One step at a time.
“Not much use in panicking. What’s done is done. We deal with it. Together.”
