The Best Friend Bargain(14)
“It’s nice to see you laugh again.”
“You’re funny.” In her head, though, she thought, sexy. He hadn’t shaved this morning, probably not yesterday, either, and the scruff along his square jaw put his handsome face into the panty-dropping category. Combined with his sense of humor and kind words, who wouldn’t find that hot?
Whoa. Danny did not affect her this way. This was her brain on pregnancy talking. She’d done some research online and had learned that for many women, pregnancy made them crave…intimacy more often. That’s all this was. A temporary craving, like she got for chocolate. Only she could eat chocolate every day.
Stop. Stop right now. She could not think about sex while Danny stood a few feet away from her or she’d have to start avoiding him. And the whole point of her plan was to have him close.
“I’m also hungry. Thought I’d whip up an omelet this morning. You want one?”
Perfect. Food would distract her from…he turned and walked toward the kitchen. His faded jeans hung low on his narrow hips and she couldn’t help but check out his butt. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen it before.
But this time she felt the urge to squeeze her thighs together as she wondered what it would feel like to dig her fingernails into those fine gluteus maximus muscles while he thrust inside her. She jumped up. Her phone clattered on the hardwood floor. “I have to pee! And then, uh, get dressed. So, no omelet for me.”
She picked up her cell and hurried upstairs to her bedroom. To say her mind was a jumble of foreign thoughts would be putting it mildly. And really she had one person to blame for that. Will.
He’d hurt her more than she’d ever imagined. But that didn’t change the fact that he was her baby’s daddy. She reread his text, then sent him a message back. I’m good, thanks. How are you?
A couple of hours later, Liv walked out the front door on her way to her first doctor’s appointment. She hadn’t mentioned it to Danny, but now she wondered if she should have. They hadn’t tackled the whole pregnancy thing yet, and she didn’t want him to feel obligated to go with her, especially when work had him busy. But she wished he’d be there to calm her nerves.
“Olivia,” a woman said from over her shoulder, “I’m so glad to see you out and about.”
Liv spun around. “Hi, Mrs. Landry. How are you?”
“I’m well, thank you. Worried about you, though.” She linked her arm with Liv’s and escorted her down the stone walkway. Scattered puffy white clouds hung in the blue sky, palm trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and quiet filled the space around them. So different from what she’d experienced walking out her door in London.
“That’s sweet of you, but I’m fine. On my way to my first…” Shoot. She hadn’t meant to mention that.
“Your first doctor’s appointment?”
“Yes,” she said a little reluctantly, feeling guilty for not mentioning it to Danny first.
“I’ll just keep you a minute then.” Mrs. L. drew them to a stop. “I have something I want to discuss with you: your wedding.”
“My”—Liv choked on the words she’d just heard—“wedding?”
“I hope you don’t mind, but when Danny told me you two were going to marry at the courthouse, I told him absolutely not. You’ve got a beautiful house where you can get married and every girl deserves to walk down the aisle.”
“Wh-what did he say to that?”
“He looked at me like I’d sprouted horns and then mumbled something about you wanting it to be just the two of you.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Liv sighed in relief. Mrs. Landry wanted to butt her nose into their business a little, that’s all.
“I told him that was ridiculous and then Tuck told me to mind my own business, and well, that sealed the deal.”
“Tuck?”
“My friend with benefits.”
“Oh.” Liv suppressed her smile by pressing her lips together.
“Whatever he tells me to do, I do the opposite.”
“Oh?”
“Then Shirley, Midge, and Betty poked their heads into our conversation and they insisted we do this. By the way, how did you like the ginger spice muffins?”
“They were delicious. Thank you.” Liv wiped the perspiration off her forehead. “And what exactly is this?”
“Your wedding.” Mrs. L. looked at her like, Really? Are you not listening to a word I’m saying? “Didn’t Danny tell you any of this?”
“No.” Liv got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Were there other things Danny wasn’t telling her? Like that this was too much for him to deal with?