Knocked Up(34)

Those times when she'd been most herself around him instead of this skittering, nervous--

The bathroom door swung open and Tawny emerged with his sheet folded neatly in her hands. She dropped it at the edge of the bed, then started speaking at the speed of sound.

"Ok, well, I should get going. Stuff to do and all. I hope you're feeling okay and I'm sure we'll be in touch soon, so--"

“You don't have my phone number,” he said, cutting through her avalanche of nervous words. She looked alarmed for a minute before winding up again.

"Oh, um, right. I'll need that, I guess. I'll just...um..." She scrambled toward the kitchen and started opening drawers at random.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Looking for a pen."

“I’ll text you right now and you’ll have it." He picked the smart phone up from the ground beside him and then tapped out a quick text to her.

"Oh. Right. Perfect. Well, the world waits for no man. So. Have a good day."

She moved the the door, swung it open, then disappeared down the steps without so much as another glance at him.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure her out. He scrubbed a hand over his face, remembering what Rex had said in the garage the day before.

Was it possible that it had been bad for her? Both times? That, in his own addled state, he hadn't taken care of her the way he'd thought he had?

Jesus, what if she’d been faking it?

His gut churned. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. And she seemed to like him the rest of the time. In fact, she only seemed to bolt and not want to talk to him anymore after they’d had sex. He’d be thick as a brick not to wonder if the two things were related.

He’d wanted a chance to make it better for her--but what if last night had only made it worse? He supposed it might not matter, that they would--if Tawny's actions were any indication--likely never have sex again. But still, something about it stuck in his craw.

Could he really allow her to walk around thinking he was shitty in bed? She was the mother of his child, after all. And if she did...

Well, he didn't know what, but he barely resisted the urge to get in his truck, race her home, and try to set the record straight once and for all.

She clearly needed some space right now, and he was going to give it to her.

But come tomorrow? He was going to put on the full court press to give her something else. And this time, it would be so good, her legs would be too weak to walk away even if she wanted to.





Chapter 14





She felt like an Olympic sprinter, vaulting her way down the steps of Luke's tiny apartment. It was good of him, at least, to have not followed her. It gave her time to consider how dumb, irresponsible, and completely thoughtless she'd been.

Seriously, what did she think was going to happen? That a little toe-curling sex would manage to make things somehow less awkward between her and the father of her child?

Yeah, that seemed likely.

And then she’d gone and fallen asleep on top of it, making the morning even more uncomfortable. Damn her pregnancy exhaustion. Give her a warm bed and a pillow and she was out like a light.

She rounded the corner, eager to make it around the front of the house and back to her car, but as soon as she did she found that she was not alone.

Standing in the front of the yard, gardening shears in her hand and a chubby toddler on her hip, was a tall, attractive woman with tired eyes.

She gazed at Tawny curiously at first, but then something seemed to click in her mind and she grinned, ramping her attractive straight up to lovely. "Oh, you must be Tawny!”

"I...yeah. I'm Tawny." She nodded, suddenly unsure of what to do with her hands. "I'm just..."

Escaping. As fast as I can.

"I hope you're not in a rush. I've been dying to meet you. Would you like to come in for some lemonade?" The woman's grey-brown hair swung back and forth in a long ponytail as she rocked the baby on her hip, her garden shears forgotten on the ground. "I was just getting some daisies for the kitchen. It makes cooking all day a little less cumbersome if you have something nice to look at, you know?” She smiled again and when Tawny didn't respond, she added, "But, of course, company would be even better."

It was a mistake to get any closer to this woman, to this family, than she already was. She had to have some sort of relationship with Luke, but this woman, who was clearly his mother? And who clearly had heard about her from Luke?

Bad idea.

Did the woman know about her pregnancy? How much had Luke told her? It would only cause more complications to accept her invitation.

She knew that.

Still, the woman seemed to have a power behind her warm, easy smile that Tawny couldn't resist, and even as her mind screamed excuses, she found herself saying, "I guess lemonade would be nice."