Finding Perfect (Fool's Gold #3)(34)

“You’ll be the first to know.”

They stared at each other. He really was good-looking, she thought. Talk about an excellent gene pool. And those hands. They seemed…large.

Dr. Galloway’s teasing words filled her brain. On a practical level, Pia knew that once she had Crystal’s babies, her dating days were long over. Not that she’d been going out all that much before, but still. There had always been the promise of a great guy. Instead she would be the single mother of triplets.

“What?” Raoul asked. “You’re thinking something.”

It would be asking too much. On some level, it was probably wrong. Still, he was tempting.

“Would you like to come over for dinner?” she asked before she could stop herself. “So we can talk about the pregnancy some more? I saw my doctor today and she gave me a lot of good information.”

“Sure. Want me to bring something?”

“Wine would be nice. If I’m going to get pregnant, then there won’t be any in my future for nine long months.”

They settled on a time and she gave him her address. As he walked off, she stared after him. Between now and dinner, she had several hours to decide if she really was going to ask Raoul for one last fling before she started down the pregnancy road.

The thought of being with him made her feel all squishy inside. Based on what she knew about his past, he had plenty of practice when it came to the wild thing. It would probably be the night of a lifetime. Which was about how long the memories would have to last her.

PIA HAD NEVER BEEN MUCH of a cook. Yet another skill she would need to be a successful mother, she thought as she climbed the two flights of stairs to her apartment. She’d bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, along with a couple of different salads. She would steam broccoli and serve berries over ice cream for dessert. Assuming they got that far in the meal.

The more she thought about asking Raoul for a single night of wildness, the more she liked the idea. Of course that same thought was accompanied by stomach-clenching panic, but that was a problem for another time.

She put the groceries in the refrigerator, showered quickly, then smoothed on jasmine-scented lotion. She kept her makeup light, then chose a simple green dress that buttoned up the front. The scooped neck wasn’t so low as to be obvious, but it hinted at curves.

She’d changed her sheets the previous day, so that was good. She checked the box of condoms she kept around, mostly because she felt she should rather than because of actual need. There were still three inside, and according to the box she had a whole month until they expired. Lucky her.

Now it was just a matter of waiting until Raoul showed up then deciding if she should proposition him. The downside was if he said no, it would be awkward between them and she could kiss the whole pregnancy-buddy offer goodbye. Not that she was counting on it, really.

She had no idea what he thought of her. He probably liked her, but liking and wanting were two very different things. The last thing she wanted was mercy sex. Being pitiful was about the worst outcome possible.

There was also his past to consider. All those groupies throwing themselves at him. They’d probably been a lot more perfect than she could ever hope to be. On her best day, she was pretty, but most of the time she was firmly average.

She spent the next ten minutes making herself crazy by deciding she wasn’t going to ask, then changing her mind. The back-and-forth reasoning was making her dizzy, and she was grateful when she heard a firm knock on the door.

She pulled it open. “Right on time.”

That was as much as she got out. Raoul stepped into her small apartment and seemed to fill the space. He was tall and broad and suddenly there wasn’t enough air in the room.

“Hi,” he said, handing her a bottle of white wine, then leaning in and kissing her cheek. “You look great.”

There were probably words she was supposed to say, but speaking was impossible.

He’d changed for their evening. Maybe even showered. His knit shirt was casually tucked into khakis, but the fabric seemed to cling to every muscle. He smelled clean and sexy and looked so tempting he was probably flirting with breaking the law. Her mouth watered.

“Thank you,” she managed. She thrust the wine back at him. “You want to open this?”

“Sure.”

He glanced around, found the kitchen and made his way there. She followed, then fished the wine opener out of a drawer and handed it to him. She collected glasses and set them on the counter.

“I saw my doctor today,” she said. “We talked about the next steps and I got my physical.”

He turned to face her. “What did she say?”

“That there’s no reason why I can’t deliver Crystal’s babies to term. Apparently getting them implanted isn’t too bad.”

Saying the words made it all seem a little too real, she thought, feeling a bit light-headed. “Two weeks later, I take a pregnancy test.”

His dark gaze never wavered. “You’d have all three done at the same time?”

“She thinks that would be best. Apparently there’s a chance some of them might not survive the thawing process. But even if they all do, three is considered okay.”

He handed her a glass of wine. “You ready for this?”

“No, but it’s not like I’m suddenly going to get ready. I think plunging ahead is the best plan. I don’t want to talk myself out of this.”