Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“Holla,” Allie said. “Shitty dicks go straight to the shower.”
“Oh my god.” My face burned as I ran over to the computer and closed out the app. “I don’t…I mean, I was only listening to it because it’s my friend Marlowe’s podcast.”
He grinned, looking like he was on the verge of laughing. “Hey, it’s all good.”
I had to be doing a full-body blush right now. Beau and I had shared a few intimate moments at the doctor’s office, but I didn’t want him to think I was into ass play. Or whatever the kids called it these days.
“Wow, I like your place,” he said, walking into the living room. “It’s so clean and organized.”
“Thanks.”
He walked over to my workspace, a nook in the living room with a sizeable desk, a bookshelf, and several big potted plants lined up in front of a large window.
“This is where you work?”
“Yeah. I don’t need a big office. I like being out here where it’s bright.”
“You said you do legal research, right?”
“Right.”
“So what are you working on?”
I glanced at my desk, trying to remember if I’d left anything confidential sitting out. Really, any paper involving work for a client was confidential, as was the work I did. But I could tell Beau about it in broad terms.
“I’m looking into legal precedents in environmental civil suits.”
“Huh. Is it interesting?”
I shrugged. “It is to me. But I know a lot of people find legal research dry.”
A lot of people found not just my work, but me to be dry, to put it mildly. A few years ago, I’d gone on a couple of dates with a man who told me, while breaking things off, that the tax seminars he was forced to attend were more fun than I was. So I couldn’t figure out why Beau, who had his own fan club, had stopped by my apartment. Unless…
“You can’t have your sperm back,” I blurted. “It’s already…in use.”
He arched his brows, looking amused. “You think I came here to try to get the sperm back?”
I just looked at him for a few seconds before asking, “Didn’t you?”
“No, Shelby. I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
I shifted on my feet, less suspicious than I’d been when he arrived. “I’m feeling pretty impatient, to be honest. I could be pregnant but it’s too soon to know.”
“Have you felt sick at all? Had tenderness in your breasts?”
I lowered my brows and crossed my arms over my chest at the mention of my breasts. Beau just continued to look both amused and unaffected.
“My sister Fiona is pregnant,” he said. “So we all get to hear about that stuff.”
“Oh.” I felt a swirl of joy on his sister’s behalf. “How far along is she?”
He considered. “About halfway, I think. Four months?”
“How exciting. Does she have other children?”
He shook his head. “This is her first.”
“Wow.” I put my hand on my stomach, hoping I was close to having a baby of my own.
“You want to get some lunch?” Beau asked.
I looked over at my desk, where my afternoon of work was waiting. I stuck to my schedule faithfully, so even though I wanted to stay on good terms with Beau, work took precedence.
“I already ate,” I said. “And I have a status update due at the end of the day for the job I’m working on.”
He nodded and looked down at his phone. There were probably at least a hundred other women’s phone numbers in there he could ask out to lunch. I assumed he was scrolling his options, but he surprised me.
“I’m just checking my schedule. Looks like I’ve got a work thing tomorrow and then I’m leaving for a road trip. What about Monday night? Are you free for dinner?”
What did he really want? I was terrible at this dance people did when they wanted something, because I was a direct communicator.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” I asked, anxiety rushing through my veins. “Do you not want to give me anymore samples? Or is there something you want changed in the contract? Because you don’t have to take me out for dinner. You can just tell me. Otherwise, I’ll worry until”
He cut me off. “Shelby. I just want to spend some time with you, that’s all. I’m invested in your dream, too. We should at least be friends, don’t you think?”
No, I didn’t think we should. The last thing I wanted was for Beau to be invested, because that could lead to him wanting to be part of my child’s life later.
“Sure,” I lied. “Dinner Monday night sounds good.”
“Is there any place you really like?”
I shook my head. “We can go anywhere, but I’m not eating raw fish or fried foods or drinking alcohol in case I’m pregnant. I can’t be around cat litter boxes, either, because of toxoplasmosis.”