Bennett (On the Line Book 2)(9)

“Hey, James,” Charlotte said, sounding weary. “Can we have some privacy?”

“Yeah, when I finish cooking my bacon.”

James scanned me from head to toe. Suddenly his eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his head.

“OMG! This is him, isn’t it? This is your baby daddy! Stop denying it, Charlotte, because I know from the way you blow chunks every morning that you’re knocked up.”

I furrowed my brow and looked at Charlotte. “Did he just say OMG?”

“Yeah. This is my roommate. He’s a bit . . . quirky.”

“You guys want some bacon?” James asked.

“No.” Charlotte sighed. “We’re going to my bedroom.”

“Oh, got it. You gonna bump and grind? No worries about getting pregnant anymore and all?” He grinned at me and gave a thumbs-up.

“Shut the hell up,” I said. “Go eat your bacon.”

Charlotte led the way to her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind us.

“Why do you live with him?” I whispered. “Tell me you were never involved with that jackass.”

She glared at me and hissed back in a whisper, “Of course not. Gross. We’re just roommates.”

“But why?”

“Money,” she said. “I went to law school with James’s sister, and when she said he needed a place to live, I said yes because I needed the money.”

“But you’re an attorney.”

She scoffed. “I’m an assistant state’s attorney, Bennett. The money’s not that great, and I have huge law school loans to pay off.”

“Oh.”

Her expression was defeated as she sat down on the edge of the bed where we’d gotten ourselves into this situation.

“I don’t know that I’ll let him stay once the baby comes,” she said. “I think that would be a bit much.”

I buried my face in my hands as it all hit me again. She was pregnant. We were having a baby together. I wanted to flip my shit, but I couldn’t with her right next to me. That could wait until I was alone.

“One step at a time,” I said. “We’ll figure things out, okay? For now, I think you need some sleep.”

“What about you?”

I glanced at the other side of her bed. “I could lie down with you. I’ve gotta leave for a road trip at four AM.”

“You don’t have your car here.”

“I’ll get a ride.”

I pulled back the covers on her bed, and a fresh, clean smell drifted out from the pale pink bed sheets. Charlotte kicked her shoes off and climbed in, still wearing her clothes.

“Don’t get a ride from my brother,” she murmured.

“Ah, no. Definitely not.”

“We can’t tell him.”

I sighed and kicked off my own shoes. “He’ll find out eventually.”

“I can’t think about it right now. I haven’t even told my mom yet.”

I took my shirt off and tossed it to the floor. After I’d reached for the button on my jeans, I glanced at Charlotte.

“You mind if I take these off?”

She laughed and met my eyes. “A little late for that question, isn’t it?”

My cheeks warmed as she looked me up and down. I could tell she liked what she saw. “I just mean . . . I’m not trying to get with you right now or anything.”

“Yeah, that’s not even possible. I’m completely exhausted. My misdemeanor call was huge today, and I hardly even got to sit down. So much walking up and down the courthouse stairs because the elevator’s broken.”

I climbed into bed beside her and she switched off the bedside lamp.

“Have you been to the doctor?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m definitely pregnant.”

“I figured, but . . . is everything good? With the baby and all?”

“Yes. I’m reading a book about pregnancy, and it says some people think the sicker you are, the healthier your baby is. If that’s true, this baby’s in great shape.”

I could hear how worn down she was in her soft, sleepy voice. I wanted to reach out and hold her, but I kept my hands to myself.

“I’m sorry you’ve been sick,” I said.

There was a pause, and I thought she’d fallen asleep, but then she spoke.

“Thanks, Bennett.” Another pause. “For everything.”

“I’ll be gone ’til Sunday afternoon on my road trip. Will you text me? Let me know how you’re doing?”

“Um . . . sure.”

“What?” I asked, not liking the uncertainty in her voice.

“Can you leave me your number?”

With a single note of laughter, I asked, “Didn’t I do that already?”

“I . . . threw it away.”

I blew out a breath and rolled my eyes up toward the ceiling. So I wasn’t just having a kid with a woman I hardly knew, I was having one with a woman who hadn’t planned on talking to me ever again after our one-night stand. Great.

“Yeah, I’ll leave it again.”

She said nothing, but my mind was turning as I lay in the darkness. A baby. With Liam’s sister. And her words from earlier sounded over and over in my head.