Pregnancy looked good on her.
No—pregnancy lookedbeautifulon her.
People always said pregnant women looked like they were glowing, and for the first time, because of Molly, I truly understood what that meant.
“I promise, until today, I never watched your cameras,” I said, stepping inside her house. “I clicked the notification by accident. Good thing I did though.”
She rolled her eyes before her gaze dropped to the supplies I carried. “Do you just drive around with extra light bulbs and a tool kit for fun, or…?”
I stalled for half a second, searching for something believable to say—anything that didn’t involve telling her the real reason I had all these things so easily accessible.
“I was doing some maintenance at the police station the other day,” I lied. “Never took the stuff out. Lucky timing, I guess.”
“I’d show you where all the rooms are, but you already know from the last time you were here, so help yourself,” she joked as she made her way to the kitchen.
I pushed out an awkward laugh, because I did remember the layout of Molly’s house. The memory was burned into my brain with everything else that had happened that night. I glanced at her couch, and without warning, the memory of her straddling my lap flashed through my mind.
I brushed the thought away as I headed toward her bedroom, but it was useless. The second I saw her bed,it all came rushing back even faster—everything we’d done there, the couch included, only intensified. This was where we’d conceived a child. An accident at the time, sure—but one that permanently tied Molly and me together in a way that belonged only to us.
Standing in front of her vanity, I rose onto my tiptoes and unscrewed the old light bulb that had been bothering her. I set it gently on the bathroom counter, making sure not to shatter it and add broken glass to my list of to-dos. I grabbed a new bulb from the box, reached up, and twisted it into place. After a few turns, it flickered to life, flooding the small space with light.
My thoughts drifted to the master bathroom of the house I was remodeling for Molly. This one barely had room for a shower, toilet, and sink. The other one was much larger, complete with a clawfoot tub, walk-in shower, and double vanity.
She’d have so much more space in her new house—plenty of room for her and a wild toddler to run around, the kind of space that would probably make his momma want to pull her hair out on a daily basis. If he turned out to be anything like me, he’d be adventurous. At least, that’s how I was in the beginning.
I was determined to do everything in my power to make sure my son never experienced the kind of trauma I did. All I wanted was for him to grow up knowing, without a doubt, how deeply his parentsloved him and how far we’d go for him. And if, for some reason, we couldn’t make it happen on our own, there was a line of people out the door ready to step in. Aunts. Uncles. Cousins. Grandparents—at least on his mom’s side—all ready to hand him the world just as quickly as we would.
The one thing I wished for most of all though was to be able to take back what I’d said in the beginning to Molly. It would probably go down as my biggest regret in life.
As I grabbed my toolbox off Molly’s bathroom counter, the screwdriver I’d left sitting on top slipped and clattered into her slightly open vanity drawer.
I sighed, sliding the drawer open and reaching inside.
The moment I looked down, the back of my neck went hot.
Not only had I retrieved my screwdriver, I’d also found Molly’s purple vibrator.
“Oh shit,” I whispered.
I snatched my tool and slammed the drawer shut, pretending I hadn’t just discovered the thing Molly used to pleasure herself.Pull it together, Carson. It’s a vibrator. Every girl has one.That plan went to hell almost immediately, because my brain betrayed me, flashing images I had no business imagining of Molly leaned back on her bed, getting herself off.
She wouldn’t need that if she had you,my mind whispered.You could do things that vibrator never could.
The front of my jeans tightened in a way that made me curse myself.
Fuck me.
“Do you need help?” Molly called from the other side of the house.
Yeah… just not with the light bulb.Something way more dangerous. Her growing stomach was proof of just how dangerous.
Chapter 17 – Molly
My pregnancy hormones must have been at an all-time high, because standing there—secretly watching Liam change a light bulb—was turning me on far more than it should.
I was used to seeing him in his uniform, clean-cut, boots polished, everything about him sharp and controlled. Today was different. He wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt that showed off a tan he definitely hadn’t had the last time I’d seen him. He must’ve been spending a lot more time in the sun lately. Maybe whatever maintenance he’d mentioned doing around the station had him working outside.
He reached up to the light fixture above my kitchen island, his shirt lifting just enough to expose his abs. Not that I hadn’t seen them before, because we all know I definitely had.
