Page 57 of Tempt
“I wonder what their special announcement is.”
Zach exhaled heavily. “I think I know.”
“You do? Can you say? Or is it a secret?”
He didn’t say anything right away. And then, “Lori is pregnant.”
“Oh! Well, that’s nice. Mason has always wanted a family.”
“Yeah.”
Then it hit me. I gasped and sat up, looking down at him. “Holy shit. You’ll be a—”
“Don’t say it.” He clapped a hand over my mouth and shook his head. “Just don’t say it.”
I pushed his hand down and tried to suppress a grin. “When did you find out?”
“Last night at the reception. Right before I found you in the office.”
“Oh.” I recalled his addled mental state when he’d wandered in, whiskey in his hand. “Guess that explains why you seemed so distraught. I thought it was just the photos.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you. Mason had just told me, and I was still processing it. It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I was just...shocked. And embarrassed, I guess.”
“Embarrassed?”
“Yeah.” He laughed bitterly. “I don’t want to be a—you know. I’m not ready. I wasn’t even ready to hear I had a son, let alone a...” His brow furrowed. “I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control, and it just seems like all these unpredictable, uncontrollable things are piling up.”
“I get it. You’ve been hit with a lot all at once.” I tried to find a bright side as I studied him lying there naked in my bed, but I got distracted by his body. The muscles, the ink, the chiseled jaw. He was so damn hot. Suddenly I started to laugh.
He looked over at me, his scowl deepening. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, collapsing into giggles. “But it’s just so ridiculous. You do not look like any grandpa I’ve ever known.”
He rocketed off the mattress and tipped me onto my back, my head at the foot of the bed. “Hey!” he barked. “I told you not to say that word.”
“Uh oh. Are you going to punish me?”
His dark eyes narrowed. “I think you know the answer to that.”
* * *
An hour later, we said goodbye at my front door.
He squeezed my hand. “I had a really good time last night. I know it wasn’t right, but I’d do it all over again.”
“Me too.” I hesitated. “I’m trying not to ask if you can come back later tonight.”
“I need to look at flights and see when I can rebook, but I’ll let you know. Don’t worry, I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” I said.
He smiled. “Enjoy your day off. I’ll talk to you later.” After one more quick kiss, he carefully looked up and down the street before hurrying out to his car.
I watched him drive off and breathed a sigh of relief when he made it out of sight without anyone coming out to grab their Sunday paper or walk their dog. Granted, I was a grown woman who was free to have a man sleep over, and it’s not like my neighbors would know who Zach was, but still...the guilt was there.
Shutting the door behind him, I went into the kitchen to make coffee, wincing a little at my sore muscles. As I waited for the cup to fill, I rubbed my butt, which still stung from this morning’s spanking.
Molasses and Muffin sat on the kitchen floor, eyeballing me with their critical-cat faces.
