Startled him?She’d damn near stopped his heart.“Don’t worry about me.You said you’re pregnant?”
He heard two deep breaths, and then she whispered, “I think I might be.”
Which meant she also mightnotbe.“Okay, one step at a time.Tell me why you think that.”
“Please know that I wouldn’t bother you with this, except Skye is away with Ford, and the last thing I want to do is bother her.Oh, Knox, she’s so happy right now.”
“So is Ford.”He smiled, and now that the truck had cooled, he closed the door and sat back.“I take it you need someone to talk to?”Count him in.Hell, even if there was a bun in the oven, he was still interested.He liked kids.He more than liked Laylee and had from the first moment he’d seen her.For months now, they’d been getting to know each other better.
His very first glimpse of her had snagged him because the woman was incredibly beautiful.Model-worthy, and in fact shedid do local modeling and seemed successful.Plenty of reason for an insta-attraction there.
But at twenty-five, he’d known his fair share of attractive women.It was everything else about Laylee that made him think in terms of a relationship—her love for her sister, her boldness mixed with her occasional uncertainty, and the easy way she’d fit in with his group of close friends.
“They’re perfect for each other,” she said.“And yes, I bought a pregnancy test but now I’m afraid to do it.”
Alone.She was afraid to do it alone, and that’s where he could step in.“So how about I finish up here and head your way?We’ll do it together.”
She choked.
“I don’t plan to pee on the thing,” he teased.“I just meant I’d be there with you.”
Her voice softened, losing its edge.“You know how to do a pregnancy test, Knox?”
“I have a little sis, so yeah, I know.”Then he thought to add, “She’s two years younger and wants a family, just not yet.It was negative, by the way.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister.”
They were getting off topic, but she was definitely calmer now, so he didn’t mind.“Sis recently turned twenty-four and my brother is now twenty-one.You’ll like them.You’ll like Mom and Dad, too.”
There was a long pause before she asked, “I’ll be meeting them?”
“Whenever you want.”He looked forward to introducing her to his family.
Laylee cleared her throat.“Okay, cool.I’d like that.Anytime is fine by me.”
“We’ll figure it out.But for now, how about that test?You want to wait for me?”
“You’re working.I mean, I knew that, but I’d forgotten when I called.I got home with the test kit, took it out of the bag, andthen a wave of panic hit me.I might have freaked out Maybelline and Tank.”
The two dogs, both rescued from a shelter, were closely bonded yet as different as night from day.Maybelline was enormous, and whether Ford wanted to admit it or not, she was pretty damned homely.Sweet as could be, sure, but not a pretty sight.Tank was an itty-bitty thing who lacked Maybelline’s gentle nature.He was a feisty one, always ready to rumble, but once you won him over, he could be a sweetheart.
“The dogs will be fine,” he assured Laylee.“They feel secure now and they know they’re loved.They can handle you getting a little stressed.”
“Stressed and terrified.”
Yeah, he could hear the anxiety in her voice.“So, does the guy know you might be—”
“God, no.It was just a … desperate quickie?”She made a disgusted sound.“He wasn’t even that attractive, Knox!What was I thinking?”On a roll, she sneered, “But oh, I was feeling sorry for myself—a bad habit, for real—and he was a mistake that happened.I mean, not that he was icky or anything.I do have some standards.”
“I understand.”If only she’d come to him instead.“You only saw him once?”Not that he wanted details, God no, but if she was still involved with the guy, it mattered.
“One and done,” she promised.“Anyway, it dawned on me that things were … off.Then I wondered why and the big pregnancy scare hit.I want to be sure before I even think of talking to a guy.”
Damn it,hewas a guy.Or hadn’t she even noticed?“Good decision.”If Knox had anything to say about it—not that he did yet, obviously—all other guys could take a hike.“We’ll work it out, okay?”
“Knox,” she breathed softly.“You’re the best friend a girl ever had.”
He barely kept his groan contained.Stuck in the friend zone.Hell, it was better than being shut out completely, but it wasn’t even close to where he wanted to be.
