Move (Club Kitten Dancers #1)(19)

And I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

I try practicing my speech for Aidan a few more times, but it’s pointless. Eventually, I’m just going to have to go tell him. He has a right to know. I understand he’s not going to want to marry me or even date me, but that’s okay.

This isn’t about me.

It’s about our baby.

I glance over at the little white plastic stick one more time. It could be wrong, but I know it isn’t. Five more are in the trashcan and they all say the same thing: Mia is pregnant.

Knocked up.

Expecting.

Has a bun in the oven.

My brother is going to kill me when he finds out. That’s why I have to tell Aidan first. Aidan knows how to deal with Richard. They were roommates in college, after all. If anyone can help Richard calm down and see reason, it’s Aidan.

Part of me is horrified that Aidan is the father. I know all about the men from Honeypot, Colorado. I’ve heard all the rumors and I’ve heard more than enough from Richard to know sleeping with Aidan was a bad idea.

There’s another part of me, though, that’s relieved it’s Aidan. Aidan is a good man. He’s not going to abandon his child. It’s not the shifter way.

There’s no doubt that Aidan is a shifter. I don’t know what kind. I’ve never had the guts to ask. It’s kind of rude, isn’t it? Just going up to someone and asking, “By the way, what kind of animal are you?”

Still, maybe he’ll tell me now.

Maybe now that we have this connection between us.

I take a few more deep breaths, then head back into the bedroom. It’s time to pack my bags for Honeypot. I have a shifter to find.

***

Two months earlier



“So, do you come here often?” I turn toward the voice and then I look up.

And up.

The tall blonde hottie smiling down at me is freaking gorgeous with bright blue eyes and perfect teeth, but his sexy face isn’t going to make that line not awful.

“Is that the best you can do?” I say, taking a sip of my beer and looking away. I might look bored, but the truth is that I’m completely overwhelmed. When my brother said he was inviting a few of his college and grad school buddies to town to celebrate his 30th birthday, I had no idea just how many of his friends were this good looking.

The man laughs and takes a sip of his beer, but doesn’t leave.

“I suppose that was a bad one, wasn’t it?”

“Uh-huh,” I nod, looking around the bar. It’s a local one I’ve never been to, but that’s not a surprise. I’ve never been much of a drinker. Even going to an out-of-state college couldn’t change that.

Now I’m living in my hometown, working nights at a local diner while I look for something better.

Only, it’s been two years since I graduated, and “better” hasn’t come along yet. Sometimes I wonder if it ever will. At least I have my own place: a little apartment that’s all my own. I don’t have to depend on my parents for anything, which is the way it should be.

I’m an adult, after all.

I keep telling myself that’s the important thing.

Now, as I’m surrounded by my brother’s friends, I’m wondering why I didn’t leave Morris Creek and never come back.

Maybe moving back home was the wrong choice. Maybe it was the easy decision. It certainly worked out for Richard, though. My big brother moved back to Morris Creek, too, only he had a good reason.

He had a job offer.

Now Richard is the town psychologist. Yep. My big brother is the local shrink. Perfect for me, really. I have to work even harder to keep my many issues hidden, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to psychoanalyze me at every turn.

“So, how do you know Richard?” The man asks me, and I realize he’s still looking at me intently.

“I have a boyfriend,” I say, then I hop off my barstool and walk away. It’s only a few steps before I bump into someone. “Oops, excuse me,” I murmur, and start to move past him, but the man laughs.

“That was harsh,” he says. I look up at him.

Fuck me silly.

It’s another tall blonde – how many of them are here? – but this one has the brightest green eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. They look like emeralds.

“I…what?”

He jerks his head toward the bar, where the man I left behind is already sipping a fresh beer.

“You shot him down pretty hard.”

“Oh, well…” My voice trails off as I take in this green-eyed beauty. He has to know he’s completely gorgeous, right? “I’m not looking for anything serious right now.”

Sexypants takes a step forward and looks down at me.

“You’re in a bar, sweetheart. I don’t think he wants to marry you.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I say, only my voice seems to have dried up, and it’s hard to get the words out. Why is he standing so close to me?

“Tell me what you meant, then, darling.” He’s leaning down to my ear now, whispering the words. I should move. He’s being too forward. I should move and leave, but I can’t, and I don’t really want to.

“I don’t want to sleep with him,” I manage to whisper. He probably can’t even hear me over the noise in the bar. My heart is beating a million beats per second. Everything tells me this is a bad idea. I’m talking to a stranger who obviously knows my brother, who is here to celebrate his birthday, who is here having a good time. He’s only here for fun.