Although for all his gorgeousness, he hadn’t done it for her. The only one to manage that was Tristan, which said an awful lot about her relationship with Dirk. Something to ponder over at a later time for sure. Right now she should get back to Tris before he sent in a search party or came looking for her himself.
“I should get back to…”
“Oh, right. Your lunch.” Karina smiled. “Listen. This might seem strange but would you be interested in joining me and some of the other women in Hope Falls at a book club? It’s nothing formal or anything. And really, it’s more of a wine and gossip club but it’s fun and I’d love the chance to talk to you more.”
“I, um, really?” Why would Karina Black invite a virtual stranger to her book club?
“Of course. We’re always adding to the ranks and I bet Lily will want to ask questions about the choreographer of the White Lace video.”
“Well…”
“You don’t have to decide now. I’ll write down the details so if you want to come you know where and when. We’re at Amanda’s this week.”
“Amanda?”
“One of the original members of book club and one of my closest BFFs. You’ll like her. Everyone does.” Karina grinned and opened the door. “I’ll duck into the office and scribble down the details for you.”
“Thanks.” What else could she say? It wasn’t every day she got to hang out with Karina Black. Hell, it wasn’tanyday. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”
“Sure thing.”
They entered the hallway and paused, Covington’s back to the café. “Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome. How far are you?” Karina asked, gesturing to Covington’s slightly rounded belly.
“Four months.”
“Only four?” Karina’s face scrunched up as she realized what those two words implied. “Ah…I mean…”
Covington laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s twins. I’m told I’ll be bigger than a house before they’re born.”
“Twins? Wow. You’ll have your hands full. Good thing Tristan is more than capable of handling things. He’ll make a great father.”
Smiling, Covington nodded. “Yeah, he’s going to be the best.”
“Cov?”
Air rushed through her lips as she sucked in a breath. Closing her eyes, she whispered, “He’d behind me isn’t he?”
Keeping one eye squeezed shut Covington cracked the other to find Karina nodding at her, a smile of sympathy on her face.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her other eye and smiled. “I’ll let you know about the book club.”
“Sure. No pressure. I’ll bring you the details before you leave.”
Covington watched as Karina turned and walked away, disappearing into what she had to assume was the office. Taking another deep breath, this one filled with fear and shame and hope, she spun around and faced Tristan.
