Tess grinned. ‘We can do that another day.’ She bounced Carmine on her hip, who chortled. ‘When Carmy here’s old enough to join us.’
Eva laughed, hefting the sack of all things off her shoulder and passing it to Tess. ‘There are spare diapers in there if you need them.’ She buried her nose in her son’s padded bottom and took a sniff. ‘But I think you may have lucked out.’
‘Hallelujah!’ Tess said, considering it a job well done when Eva headed off to the bathroom without any more mention of her Firecracker Guy.
* * *
Ten minutes later, though, it turned out the job hadn’t been quite as well done as she’d thought.
Tess taped Carmine’s fresh nappy in place and bent down to blow a raspberry on his soft little tummy, but drew back at the loud clucking sound coming from the doorway.
Eva stood with her shoulder propped against the doorframe, a bottle of Nate’s cologne dangling from her fingers. ‘When exactly did you start using aftershave?’
Tess climbed off the bed, and took the bottle from Eva. ‘What were you doing? Poking around in my bathroom cabinets?’ she demanded, but her cheeks were already flaming.
‘I didn’t have to poke. It was on the shelf above the shower in plain sight. And more to the point, you’re blushing,’ Eva commented as Tess marched past her and headed down the hall to the bathroom.
Tess pressed her palms to scorching cheeks as she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror.
‘And you never blush,’ her friend added from the doorway with Carmine perched on her hip.
She did now.
Great, Eva was never going to drop this!
‘So I’m assuming that belongs to Firecracker Guy?’ Eva continued.
Tess shoved Nate’s aftershave into the cabinet, and let out a long-suffering sigh as she spied the excited smile on Eva’s face. ‘His name’s Nate.’
Eva’s grin got bigger. ‘And...?’
‘And, don’t make a big deal about it. He sleeps over sometimes, that’s all.’
Eva bounced up on her toes, making Carmine clap excitedly. ‘That’s fantastic! You’re an item. And you’re going to have a baby.’ Her eyes went all dreamy, just as Tess had feared. ‘Tess, I should be mad. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this monumental development. And why haven’t I met him yet?’
‘I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d do this.’ She huffed, her chin starting to quiver for no apparent reason whatsoever. ‘We’re not an item. It’s not a monumental development. It’s just sex.’
‘So, is it good sex?’
Tess choked out a laugh, the heat flaming again. ‘For Pete’s sake, Eva!’
Eva pointed. ‘I knew it. You’re blushing again. It’s not just good sex, it’s great sex, right? You never blushed with Dan the Dweeb.’
‘Yes, it’s great sex,’ Tess confirmed. ‘In fact, it’s mega-fantastic monkey sex with bells on. Which is exactly why we’re doing it. But that’s all it is. This is not a relationship. Not even close. So don’t start getting any silly ideas about—’
‘There’s no such thing as just sex,’ Eva interrupted. ‘And there’s certainly no such thing as just mega-fantastic monkey sex with bells on. Especially if you’re about to have a baby together! Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘Our arrangement has nothing to do with the baby,’ she said, but even as the words left her mouth they sounded ridiculous to her too. ‘And we’re not about to have a baby. The baby won’t be born for another five months. This is just something for now. For the two of us. To get this...’ She wheeled her hands, how had Nate put it? ‘This sex thing out of our systems.’
It was Eva’s turn to laugh. ‘For goodness’ sake, will you listen to yourself? Have you any idea how preposterous that sounds?’
Tess shifted her gaze to the bathroom window, her face even hotter. Because now she’d said it out loud, she had a very good idea how preposterous it sounded.
Eva stepped into the room, stroked a comforting hand down Tess’s arm. ‘First of all, why would you want to get it out of your system, if it feels good? And you’re enjoying yourself?’
Tess shrugged, still unable to look at her friend.
Because it was what they had agreed. Because even if her feelings had changed, Nate’s probably hadn’t and she didn’t think she could stand him freaking out again, as he had the last time. She wanted him to be a part of the baby’s life, and if she put him on the spot, admitted that things had got a lot more complicated than expected, that she wanted them to be more than just friends, with benefits, what guarantee did she have that he wouldn’t walk away again? And anyway, how did she even know this wasn’t just a passing fancy, brought on by some kind of pregnancy-brain phenomenon, or great-sex endorphin overload?