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When Piper sees me watching, she drops her hands to her side. Her movements are stiff and clumsy, like she wants to wrap her arms back around herself but can’t. Or won’t.
The realization dawns all at once—and punches me in the gut.
She passed out in the closet. She didn’t touch any of the food on the flight. She’s refusing alcohol.
I’m not sure how many secrets Piper is keeping from me, but I know one for sure: she’s pregnant.
And the baby is mine.
16
PIPER
We’re back in the hotel room. It’s even more beautiful in the daytime. Gauzy curtains diffuse the light, filling the room with a warm glow. The place is almost beautiful enough to explain why I willingly came back here with Timofey.
“I’m going to meet a friend for lunch, but you can come with me,” Ashley had said. She was clinging to my hand like she was afraid I’d disappear if she let go. “I’ll introduce you. I’d love for you to see what my life has been like for the last couple weeks.”
Gram had already gone up for a nap, and I was finding myself exhausted, too. Creating a human will do that to you, apparently.
I waved her away. “No, it’s okay. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Are you sure?”
I could feel Timofey standing behind me. I nodded. “I’m sure. Have fun.”
But now that our hotel door is locked and he’s sitting at one of the barstools, his legs crossed casually at the ankle, I’m not sure at all.
Timofey wraps his lips around the edge of his glass. His throat bobs with every drink. I never knew hydration could be so sexy.
He looks over at me, and I blush at having been caught staring. So I duck into the bathroom and grab the robe from behind the door. My clothes are in desperate need of washing, and since I can’t be wrapped in the warm, strong arms I’d like, the embrace of a clean outfit will have to do.
“What did Gram say to you?” I ask through the open bathroom door. I can’t see Timofey, but I know he can hear me.
“Huh?”
“Gram,” I repeat, leaning through the doorway. Timofey’s blue eyes trail down to my bare shoulders. I barely resist showing him the rest of me just to feel that zing of his appreciation again and again. “She wanted to talk to you alone. What did she say?”
He turns away, taking another long drink. “Seeing as how she wanted to talk alone, it seems like I ought to keep what we discussed private.”
I slide my arms into the silk robe and walk back into the bedroom. The garment is shorter than I anticipated, coming only to my mid-thigh. The top, too, gapes open. I clutch the material in one hand, but the moment I let go, it falls open again.
I throw my arms wide, gesturing to my exposed skin. “I think we’ve moved beyond privacy, don’t you think?”
Timofey takes me in one bit at a time. My arms. My chest. I can practically feel his gaze inching down the collar of the robe to where it gathers loosely under my ribs. When his eyes seem to pause at my stomach, a wild idea hits me.
He knows I’m pregnant.
But as fast as it appears, it fades. There’s no way. Silly thought. I have enough to worry about without conjuring up new fears.
Timofey skims my legs up and then down. Finally, he meets my eyes. “Your grandmother wants me to take care of you.”
My thoughts are so filthy that all I can imagine is my grandma telling Timofey that he shouldtake care of me. Wink. Wink.Then, thankfully, I come to my senses. “Were you getting her blessing or something?”
“Of course not,” Timofey grumbles a bit too quickly. “She just… She wanted to make sure you were taken care of when she’s gone.”
“Why would she be gone? Is she going somewhere?” I think back to her wet cough in the courtyard. Maybe Mexico hasn’t been as good for her health as I hoped it would be. Maybe the humid air is bad for her lungs.
I can feel my thoughts spiraling, panic creeping in. Maybe I screwed up by sending her here. Maybe I shaved years off her life. Maybe I—
