He offered half a smile. “I have everything to come home to.”
Good. Yes. And about that…
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. “On that note, can you help me math something?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Okay, where to start? I’d done the math myself, and something wasn’t adding up.
“My period’s weird this month,” I said, keeping my voice down. We had our table to ourselves, but we still had Hillcroft people all around. “And the more I think about it, the more I wanna remember it was kinda weird last month too.”
He cocked his head. “Weird, how?”
“Well, this month, damn near nonexistent,” I answered. “In a regular month, I need tampons for three days. I haven’t used a single one now. And last month—I mean, it wasthere, just way less than I’m used to. But enough for me to write it off as an odd month, which is perfectly normal. It happens.” I paused. “My question is if you can remember if we were reckless outside our usual windows in December. You know how we’ve tried to stick to right before and after my period to be reckless.”
He chuckled and forked up more food. “We’ve really been shit at that from the very beginning.” He grew pensive as he chewed. “I don’t know, baby. It’s highly possible. Hell, I had to dick you down once just because it drove you bonkers to watch me shave. And let’s not forget that I’m at half-mast as soon as you shimmy around in one of my shirts.”
No lie detected…
“I’m willing to shoulder 20% of the blame,” I offered. “But at the end of the day, it’s the Big Breeding Energy that gets me, and we’ve agreed that’s on you.”
He chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “I could argue that it’s 100% your fault, seeing as I’ve only ever had that urge with you.”
It was my turn to shake my head, because I was totally innocent, and?—
“Wait a minute.” James sat up straighter and stared at me. “This means…there’s an actual possibility you’re already pregnant?”
Well, yeah. Wasn’t that clear?
“The possibility’s there,” I confirmed. “I’m far from convinced. Minor bleeding and the fact that I’ve had zero nausea or any other common pregnancy symptoms, itfeelsunlikely. But I can take a test at work to be safe.”
He was already shaking his head and scooping up the last food on his plate. “You think I can wait that long? Finish up and meet me at home. I’ll run out and buy a couple tests. Do you need anything else? Oh, and you should walk slowly. Don’t overdo it. Maybe I should have one of the junior operators escort you. Is it even safe for you to walk?”
I blinked.
Oh dear lord.
There was no way, right? Had I spent the morning with my head in the toilet, I would’ve felt more confident.
My nerves, at this point, were only frazzled because James was pacing a hole outside the bathroom. I felt like I had to be the level-headed one in this scenario.
He was freaking adorable, though. And it was reassuring to see him both hopeful and prepared to “learn all the shit,” as he’d said earlier. He’d already made a list on his phone.
Buy pregnancy books, it read.
“How much time is left?” he asked.
“Umm, I’d say about thirty seconds less than last time,” I teased.
He shot me a look. “Woman, that’s unhelpful. If you’re pregnant, we’re behind on things. I don’t know at what point the fetus is a pea or an avocado. Do they still compare the baby to vegetables? Not to fucking mention, we don’t have a house yet. You will have to study school districts. I’ll handle the crime rate stats. It’s gotta be the safest goddamn neighborhood in the whole state.”
I beamed at him, unable to help it. “I promise I will look into the school districts.”
“Studythem,” he emphasized. “No cursory glances on my watch.”
“Aye-aye, captain.” I saluted him.
Was he even aware of how he was painting our future? I remembered the first time I’d met his coworkers, like Bo and Danny, and how James had said no embarrassing stories about him could resurface until I was “locked down” and had his name. Marriage had been on his mind, in other words. And now, a house? In a good school district?
