“Suit yourself.” She sat, crossed her legs, and crossed her arms over her chest. “So?”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “The first night we were together you said you still loved your ex-husband and would probably take him back if he asked. Well, he’s here and he obviously wants you back. So forgive me if I’m a little worried about what you’re feeling and what you intend to do.”
“That was months ago, way before we met again and became involved.”
“Arewe involved?”
“What do you mean? Of course we are.”
“We have sex. We have fun. But I’m not sure we have anything deeper.” Which, he supposed, was as much or more his fault as hers. Yes, he’d told her he loved her, but he hadn’t asked for more. She probably had no idea that he wanted what they had to last. Hell, he wanted to marry her but there was no way he could ask her yet. Not when he didn’t know whether she was in love with him…or her ex-husband.
She’d told him she was done with Phil. So why couldn’t Connor accept that she meant what she said?
*
Liam had canceledon him the other night because Val wasn’t feeling well. So he waited until his next day off to drive out to the ranch, even though he was in no mood to be nice. Liam and Val were so excited already that he was afraid they’d burst before the baby actually came. It wasn’t their fault he was an idiot. Sierra had told him the first time they met that she wasn’t over her ex-husband. What had made him think she’d be over him when they met again only a few weeks later?
He hadn’t. Not then, anyway. Not before they’d gotten closer. But the longer they were together the more he’d believed she was over the bastard. Which, clearly, hadn’t been true. Sure, she’d denied that she wanted anything to do with the man, but Connor suspected that she’d been having second thoughts. Was that him being paranoid…or was there more there than Sierra was willing to admit? Even to herself?
He knew she’d seen the bastard several times. Rumor was rife at the hospital. If he heard one more time about that hot doctor who was in town to get his ex back he was going to puke.
And he, dumbass that he was, had told her he loved her. Worse, he meant it. For him what they had wasn’t just fun, just sex. It was love, damn it.
“Connor,” Val said. “Do you want a beer or something else to drink?”
He had a feeling that wasn’t the first time she’d asked. “Water would be good. Thanks.”
Val left the room to get his drink. Liam asked, “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Why?”
“Because you don’t seem okay. It took Val three tries to get your attention.”
He looked at his brother amid a pile of crib rails, nuts and bolts, and other assorted objects for putting together the crib. Liam looked happy, even though he’d never enjoyed putting things together before. Normally he never looked at the directions. But he had them spread out and was actually reading them today. Strange as it was, Liam even appeared to be excited about assembling the crib. Connor guessed it made the coming birth seem more real. The baby had changed everything.
The last thing he wanted to do was rain on Liam’s parade. His brother and Val deserved every good thing that happened to them. He didn’t want to drag them down with his issues.
“I was just thinking about a problem at work. I’m sure it will be taken care of soon.”
“Logan told me Sierra’s ex-husband is in town and bets are on that he wants her back. Is it true? Is that a problem for you and Sierra?”
He should have known Logan would have blabbed. “Nothing for you to worry about.” Before Liam could continue he asked him about baby names. “So have you two decided yet on a name?”
Liam hesitated but answered. “No. We’ve been going round and round about it.”
“At least you only have to think of girl names.”
“True. But back to Sierra’s ex-husband—”
Val came in and gave Connor a bottle of water. “Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it, Liam.”
“Of course he doesn’t. But he probably needs to.”
“I’m afraid Sierra’s thinking about going back to her ex-husband.” He just blurted it out. Liam was right. He did need to talk about it. And his brother wouldn’t have said anything if he wasn’t willing to listen.
“Well, shit,” Liam said. “Has she said she wants to?”
“No. In fact she said the opposite. But I’m still worried. She sees him at the hospital. He drops in there a lot. I don’t think he’s popping in at her apartment but hell, he could be and I just don’t know it. She probably wouldn’t tell me because she thinks I’d flip out.” Which he would. Undoubtedly. “The hospital staff like him. I’m not sure how he met so many of them. Doctors, nurses, whoever, they all say he’s a nice guy.”
