Corbin glanced around before looking back at me. “You alone?”
I nodded. “Why?”
Corbin shook his head. “Just surprised, I guess. Ever since you got pregnant, Taylor has been hovering over you, so I was surprised you were alone.”
“Yeah, he is a little overprotective, I guess but it’s been a lot.”
“I get it.” Corbin sat down on the booth bench across from me. “But your Dads are supportive, aren’t they? They don’t strike me as the shotgun marriage type.”
That made me laugh. “Yeah, you’re right but they have a lot going on without me adding drama.”
Our server ambled over to offer Corbin a menu, rolling her eyes good-naturedly when he waved it away and recited his standing order.
“Gonna turn into a chicken fried steak one of these days,” she teased.
“Then at least I know I’ll be delicious, Kelly,” he retorted with a grin as she left to add his order to mine.
“Moving in on the senior citizens, are you?” I teased, smirking when she patted her gray curls on her way to the kitchen.
Corbin chuckled. “A little harmless flirting can go a long way to making someone’s day,” he said with a shrug. “Now, why don’t you tell Uncle Corbin what’s bugging you?”
“You’re my uncle now?” I asked skeptically. “Aren’t you two years younger than I am?”
Corbin stuck his tongue out at me. “I have an uncle who is ten years younger than me, so just accept it and spill.”
I already knew what Taylor would have said, so what could it hurt to get another opinion? With a mental shrug, Ispilled the whole story. Finishing just as our food arrived, I sat back to let Kelly set my plate in front of me while Corbin silently mulled my words over.
Halfway through his chicken fried steak, Corbin finally spoke. “I need clarification.”
“Okay.”
“Why are you having sex with Otto if you don’t want to?”
“He’s not forcing me,” I jumped in quickly.
Corbin sighed. “Yeah, you said that like five times while you were talking. Since we know he’s not forcing you, why are you doing it?”
“It’s complicated,” I huffed, stabbing my fork into my potato salad. “It’s not that I don’twantto sleep with him.” I sighed. “You all know I’ve wanted him forever and since he’s the baby’s sire, I guess I’m kind of hardwired to seek him out while I’m pregnant.”
Corbin nodded and continued to eat.
“But he’s made it clear that I’m just a convenient fuck, so I don’t want to want him because I know he doesn’t want me. It leaves me feeling like shit afterward. Does that make any sense at all?”
“Actually, it does,” Corbin agreed, shoving his empty plate away and snatching a carrot stick off mine. “Have you thought about asking Doc if they can give you anything to control the hormone response and then avoiding him?”
I sighed again. “Kind of hard to avoid him when he knows where I live, where I work, and that all he has to do is crook a finger and I’ll fall at his feet. Or on his dick, more accurately.”
The only sound was Corbin gnawing on the carrot for a minute and then he perked up. “Have you thought about taking off for a bit? I mean, you have a ton of vacation time saved up and if you’re not in the area, you can’t fall under his spell,” he snickered, “or on his dick while you sort shit out in your mind, right?”
Hm.
“That’s not a terrible idea,” I said slowly. “Robin keepsnagging me about using my vacation time, but where would I go? It can’t be too far in case something happens with the baby.”
“I know just the place,” Corbin announced with a grin and pulled out his phone. “A woman I work with bought a cabin up in the foothills and when she’s not using it, she rents it out on that website for vacation rentals. Give me a sec.”
I finished my club sandwich while he tapped and thumbed through images on the screen.
“She says it’s available starting tomorrow. We could swing by your place so you can pack and then you can spend the night on my couch. Do you think Robin will approve your vacation request that soon?”
