Page 21 of Bless My Heart

“So, Haze, have you told your parents yet?” Lexi asks. I feel everyone’s eyes on me but keep my gaze focused on my plate.

“Um, no. Not yet. I’ll probably call them this week or something.”

“How do you think they’re going to react?” I can hear the wince in Caroline’s voice as she asks the question.

“I really don’t know. I think they’ll be happy about the baby but disappointed I’m not married. And that it’s not with Jordan.”

“Who’s Jordan?” Wes asks. He doesn’t sound jealous or anything, just genuinely curious.

“My ex. We were together for awhile. Everyone thought we would get married.”

“What happened?”

“I guess he just decided he didn’t want me anymore,” I say, trying to sound chill. I’m not mad at Jordan anymore. I was. I was really pissed when everything first happened, but I’ve come to terms with it. I know we weren’t good for each other, and breaking up was probably best for both of us.

“He’s an idiot.” I look up, and Wes is looking right at me. My heart speeds up every time he looks at me. This can’t be good for the baby.

We don’t break eye contact for at least three beats before Lexi finally does a little cough to get our attention. I break first, moving my eyes back to my plate to see how much pasta I’ve actually twirled on my fork.

“Yeah, Jordan wasn’t the best. But now, you’re on to bigger and better things,” Caroline says as she throws Wes a wink. If she wasn’t married to the love of her life, I might think she was trying to hit on Wes. I have to keep reminding myself that Wes is not my boyfriend, so anyone is welcome to flirt with him. Ugh.

After dinner, Wes tries to clean the dishes, but Lexi and Caroline insist they do it since he cooked. It’s kind of weird there’s all this fuss. We usually eat off paper plates or order takeout for girls’ night.

Wes walks back into the living room with me.

“Well, I should probably get going. I don’t want to completely consume girls’ night,” he tells me with his perfect smile sparkling at me.

“Oh, ok.” I try my best to hide my disappointment. I hate to admit I actually enjoyed just hanging out with him today. “Are you going home?” I ask before my brain can stop my mouth from moving.

Why do I want to know if he’s going home? I shouldn’t care what he does or who he does it with. I shouldn’t care, but I do. And now he knows it. Dammit.

“Ozzy works at Jim’s Bar downtown on the weekends. I usually meet Ezra down there and have a few beers while Ozzy works.”

A pang of jealousy hits me. This sexy man-candy standing in front of me is going to a bar with a bunch of drunk college girls. That’s fine. I’m fine. My heart is about to beat out of my chest, but it’s fine.

“Cool, cool. I remember going there back in my day. I’m surprised it’s still standing.”

He gives me a knowing smile. “Back in your day? Hazel. You aren’t that much older than me.”

“I beg to differ.” He moves closer to me and brings his hand up to twirl a strand of my hair.

“Are you worried that I’m too young for you? That I’m not man enough for you?” He leans in toward my ear, and my mouth instantly goes dry with him being this close. “I can assure you I know exactly what you need, but I’m pretty sure you know that,” he growls into my ear.

He looks down into my eyes. I’m pretty sure my legs are going to give out at any moment. I’ve never had someone turn me on as much as Wes does, and he isn’t even touching me in any of my sexy places. It’s just him. His eyes. His voice. His mouth. He is walking sex on a stick, and I want it all.

He takes a step back, and my body wants so badly to grab him and bring him close to me again. I clear my throat. “Well, thanks again for dinner. You continue to surprise me.”

“There’s a lot more where that came from, baby girl.” He takes a few steps towards the kitchen to tell Caroline and Lexi bye.

When he’s back at the front door, I blurt out, “Be careful.” Like I’m his freaking mom. Smooth Hazel, real smooth. He smiles and gives me a nod, then he’s out the door, shutting it behind him.

I let out a breath and rub my hands on my face.

“Hazel?” I hear Caroline ask as she comes from around the corner.

“Yeah?”

“Are you ok?”