Baby Be Mine(Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1)(120)

“Hey, are you okay? You should rest. You should have rejected my offer to come out to lunch today.”

“It’s only morning sickness.” She laughed, the jingle of her voice doing crazy things to his heartbeat again.

“Stop laughing, Avocado. You’re sick, for Christ sake. Here, sit down.” Hunter led her to the seat beside him.

“Why did you ask me out anyway, Hunter?” Clarice asked, feeling a sense of empowerment all of a sudden.

Well, after that episode of pretending to be Max’s blind grandpa, Hunter was so agitated he had to call Clarice to meet up for lunch, just to ask whether she’d confessed to his cousin yet. Thank God she hadn’t.

When Clarice didn’t hear Hunter reply, she leaned in closer to him and asked again. “I said why did you ask me out? Shouldn’t you be somewhere else, trying to chase up some woman or something?” Dear heavens, this had to be her fluctuating hormones again. Otherwise, she wouldn’t behave like this. “Just because you’re the first one to know I’m pregnant, you’re not under any obligation to look after me, you know.”

As if her behavior wasn’t strange and embarrassing enough, Clarice turned to Hunter then and leaned forward until her nose almost touched his. Then she spoke softly, which to Hunter’s ears sounded so seductive it made his heart drum so wildly it almost leapt out of his chest. “I am pregnant with another man’s child, you know. You shouldn’t be staying too close to me. People might suspect you’re my… you know, tick-tock, tick-tock.” Then she laughed like a silly schoolgirl and moved back to her seat. Heavens, she really was crazy today.

Hunter could only blink randomly at Clarice’s strange behavior. He knew exactly what she meant, but damn his past life. Right now, Clarice was more important.

Shit, did he just admit the avocado was the most important thing in his life right now? Yes, he guessed he did. And it felt like a heavy weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. As to the reason he thought of Clarice as his most important, he knew it was a responsibility a father of a child has when looking after its mother, but he was sure that wasn’t the only reason. For now, though, he was willing to stay by her side.

Hunter turned his gaze to look at the woman sitting beside him again. Why did she agree so suddenly to see him again? She looked tired, really, really tired, like a little kid fighting a nap.

He released a deep sigh and went to pay for their meals, knowing full well that Clarice would not be eating any more of the fruit he ordered for her. Maybe he should do some more research on what kinds of food were best suited for pregnant women. Clarice needed to eat healthy for their baby to grow up strong.

After Hunter paid for their meals, he helped Clarice into the car.

Once inside, Clarice held a faraway look on her face. She stared into the far distance, her eyes not seeing anything.

“Maybe I should tell him,” she said to Hunter quietly when he got into the driver’s seat.

Hunter shook when he heard this. God, please no, not yet. He hadn’t decided yet what was wrong with him. He wanted to spend a little more time with her first. In fact, he needed to confess to her that he was the father to their baby, not his cousin, before she she told Anton.

“When?” was all Hunter could say. “When would you tell him?”

“At the pre-conference ball next week.”

No! No! It was only a few days away. That wasn’t enough time to compose himself. He needed to confess to her now. Right now. Otherwise, he would never be with Clarice. He could feel his heart pounding and his ears ringing.