“Been busy with work.” I pulled open the dryer, plucked Storm’s tiny navy coat out, then turned the sleeves outside in.
Lucas nuzzled Storm’s head. “Women.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What about women?”
“You’re a puzzling bunch.”
I snorted. “Hope you didn’t tell your girlfriend that.”
“Nah. I did way worse.” He sighed. “She may never take me back.”
“You’re not mates?”
“Not many of those in our pack. Only Ness and August from our generation.”
“Really? How come?”
He smoothed a cowlick atop Storm’s head. “Probably because we eliminated girls with our gender selection root. Heard about that, right?”
“Yeah, I heard.”
I took one of Storm’s little fists and fed it through the armhole. “So, what did you do?”
He twirled Storm so I could get his other arm through. “I’ll tell you if you tell me the truth about why you’ve been avoiding us.”
“What do you care why I’ve been avoiding you?”
“Curiosity.”
My ass, curiosity. “Forget it. Your love life’s none of my business.”
“My girl’s preggers.” Lucas frowned, but not at me, at the floor. “Baby’s a girl.”
“And you didn’t want a kid?”
Lucas’s black eyebrows leveled. “It was unplanned, but I couldn’t be happier. Storm made me discover I have a very developed paternal bone.”
“Soshedoesn’t want a baby?”
“Didn’t you hear the first part? Baby’s agirl. OBs don’t have girls.”
My head jerked back. “It’s not yours?”
“That’s what I said, even though I couldn’t imagine Sarah would cheat on me. I mean our sex life’s—”
“Don’t know you well enough to hear about your sex life.”
He smirked, but it quickly morphed into a deep frown. “I asked her for a paternity test.”
“Ouch.”
“She told me to go fuck myself since I wouldn’t be fucking her anymore, and then she moved out. Last week, I wake up to an email with the results of the test. Baby’s mine. So I grovel. Buy her flowers. Lingerie. Stilettos. She loves pretty shoes. I even buy this tiny baby dress, all pink and frilly, and what does she do? Dumps it all in front of my door.”
“Wow.Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now.”
“Idon’t want to be in my shoes right now.”
I led him back upstairs, not that the basement wasn’t cozy for heart-to-hearts what with its muted lighting and powdery fresh smell.
