“Yeah?” My voice cracked, a sudden but innate relief rushing through me. “I rocked your world, huh?” I darted my eyes away for a moment after I tried to deflect.
“You absolutely did,” he replied, his voice was low and husky, sending a chill down my spine. He’d more than rocked mine. One night in his bed had obliterated it.
“But we went from zero to sixty since even before the wedding, and I don’t know about you, but I have a little whiplash over it. And now”—he motioned to my still mostly flat stomach— “we owe it to someone else to get our shit together over the next few months.”
“Agreed.” I put the photo down, making a silent promise to the dot that I would try my best to do just that, even if my lifelong track record said otherwise.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked, his hands running up and down his legs. “You said you were nauseous. Tegan makes these ginger cookies that she swears help digestion and nausea. Maybe I could bring you some of those.”
“Sure. I’ll try them.” I shrugged, my nose burning again as I tried to swallow the lump in my throat at his concern. The thought of being this much of a sap for my entire pregnancy already exhausted me. “Thank you. Go and get some sleep. I know you have an early morning, and I haven’t slept much since yesterday.” I reached out and draped my hand over his. “I have an appointment tomorrow night out east. If I’m going to make the hour drive back and forth, I think I need to turn in soon.”
“I can go with you. We close earlier on Fridays. What time do you have to be there?”
“Seven thirty. But you don’t have to.”
A groan erupted from the back of his throat. “I don’t have to. Iwantto. Even if you weren’t feeling well and were too tired to make the drive. So I’ll be here at six thirty to pick you up. Got it?”
A grin split my mouth as I nodded. “Got it.”
“An agreeable Olivia.” He pushed off the couch. “Another thing I have to get used to.”
“Don’t get used to it too much,” I said, cocking a brow as I followed him to the front door. “I’m still me.”
He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my cheek, close enough to the corner of my mouth to remember how his lips felt on mine. He lingered, resting his forehead against my temple for a second before turning down my side steps.
“Hey, Tyler,” I called out. “Do you know why I knocked the cake batter out of your hand that day?”
“Other than you were mean?” He lifted a shoulder, a smirk tipping the side of his mouth. “No.”
I smiled and shook my head.
“You just had a haircut, and your cheeks looked bigger. You mixed that tiny bowlsoslowly.” He laughed at my exaggerated eye roll. “But I kept staring at you because you were so damn cute, I wanted to kiss you. I came close, but when I thought you noticed, I knocked the little pan out of your hand so you’d be mad at me and forget.” I leaned on the doorjamb, laughing at the pathetic bully I was. “Iwaskind of the antichrist. Maybe if I just kissed you, things would have been different between us. Or I would have grossed you out and you would have hated me for a whole different reason. I guess the world will never know.”
A blush crept up on his cheeks.
“I wouldn’t have been grossed out. If you tried to kiss me at any point in our lives, I would have let you.” His voice dipped to a low rasp that my entire body noticed, especially my tortured nipples. “And I wouldn’t have hated you for it, not that I ever really did.” He nodded inside. “Go get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I shut the door, resting my hand on my bloated lower abdomen as I came back inside. Maybe hope and second chances were a real thing, even for me.
TWENTY-THREE
TYLER
“You seem almost in a good mood,” Eli noted as we cleaned up the counters for an extra early morning tomorrow. “Did you finally slide into someone’s DMs and get a date?” He winked as he hung up his apron.
“Tyler has a date?” Tegan asked—or more, squealed. “I bet it’s with that girl who came to see him yesterday.” She turned to Eli with a loud whisper. “Staci said the sexual tension was crackling.”
“First of all, I’m right here. And second, Staci should pay attention to the customers and not whatever she thinks she sees crackling.” I groaned as I scrubbed my hands at the sink. Olivia and I did have electricity between us, enough to destroy a hotel bed headboard, but what Staci thought she picked up on was the overall stifling tension. I was excited to see Olivia but trying not to show it, she was nervous about what she had to tell me, and all our complicated history bubbled to the surface.
Still, Eli was right, although I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting it. I wanted to see Olivia tonight. Not because she was having my baby, as I was still wrapping my head around that. Tonight, I hoped there would be no games or pretense because, after a lifetime of both, I was exhausted.
“Good night,” I said, feeling everyone’s stare at my back as I unlocked the door to leave, still not offering any explanations. Whatever was between Olivia and me was something I wanted to keep to myself for the moment. My staff would be thrilled for me, as even the idea of me dating someone had them chattering for days. Only the late-night bakers saw Olivia come in after hours and would give me loaded looks when she’d leave but hadn’t called me on anything—yet. I could wait for all the wide eyes and slacked jaws when they found out that we were having a baby together.
This simple dinner was something I never thought I’d want but had anticipated all day long. If I was being honest, I’d anticipated it since I dropped her off the morning after Donnie’s wedding, I just didn’t know how to ask for it.
After I jogged back to my apartment for a quick shower and change of clothes, I headed to Olivia’s. I wasn’t sure what kind of place this was tonight, but I pulled out a button-down black shirt and black pants. The pictures I’d glanced at online of the restaurant seemed trendy, at least not a jeans kind of crowd. As I pulled into a spot in front of Carla’s house, I ignored the thrill of dressing up for Olivia tonight. The excitement over being close to her and having her to myself without having to pretend I didn’t want her was a little bit of a mindfuck.
I was here for it because I wanted to be here for her.
