Maybe Never by Nia Forrester Page A

wanted back in his office. When he went back, Tracy was there, wearing sweats and a t-shirt, looking like she’d gotten straight out of bed and come over in a cab or something. As soon as she saw him, she stepped forward, arms open and Brendan walked into them.
    She just hugged him and said nothing, because she knew him, and knew he felt awful. Leaning into her and smelling her coconut-scented hair had relaxed and comforted him, and when she tried to pull away, he held her tighter. When finally they released each other, Tracy had gone over to his desk and unwrapped a plate of food she’d brought with her and made sure he ate it. Then she pulled out an afghan and stretched out on the sofa opposite his desk, curling into one of the cushions.
    I’m here if you need me , she said before closing her eyes.
    It was the only thing she said.
    But it was the perfect thing, because they were still both angry from their fight and talking would have done them no good. In that moment, her letting him know she was there if he needed her was the first time that Brendan allowed himself to admit that he might. The difference in the feel and mood of his evening was dramatic, just knowing that she was there, within reach.
    The fact that Tracy needed him was a given. Brendan loved that about their relationship, took pride in the fact that the woman who seemed to need no one, needed him. That night, he realized that he needed her too. It was something he hadn’t had to reflect on too much, because she was always there, not just meeting his needs, but anticipating them.
    For a moment, he stood with his key out and poised at the front door of the townhouse, prepared to open it. For one irrational second, Brendan considered that it might not work, but it slid into the lock as effortlessly as it always had. The inner door was unlocked and Brendan shoved aside a moment of irritation. If he’d told her once, he told her a million times to lock both doors . . .
    “I would have locked it before I went to bed.”
    Tracy was standing at the top of the stairs to the second level which were immediately opposite the front doors, and had obviously read the irritation on his face. Brendan looked up at her. She was wearing black leggings and a white tank without a bra. Seeing her in such close-fitting clothes now, he detected the difference in her figure, the tiny mound that was beginning to form at her abdomen, her larger breasts. Brendan’s breath caught.
    Pregnant . Tracy was going to have their baby.
    “You want to come down for a sec?” he asked.
    Tracy seemed to hesitate but finally nodded and made her way down toward him, but slowly. Brendan took several steps forward so that when she was at the third step from the bottom, they were eye-to-eye. Tracy stopped. They looked at each other.
    “Hey,” he said, his voice quiet and hoarse.
    “Hey,” she returned.
    Brendan leaned in and pressed his lips briefly to hers, and Tracy answered his kiss by leaning in momentarily and kissing him back. As she did, Brendan lowered a hand and placed it on her stomach. For a few seconds they were both motionless and then Brendan finally let his hand fall away.
    “I thought I felt her move last night,” Tracy said unexpectedly, almost as though it was news she couldn’t contain in spite of herself.
    “ Her ?” Brendan said, a smile in his voice. “So you’ve decided we’re having a girl?”
    “It just feels like a girl,” Tracy said, blushing.
    “Yeah? And what it did feel like, when she moved I mean?”
    “Like a wave, little ripples inside me.”
    “You should have called me.”
    Tracy shrugged but she looked away from him so Brendan knew she’d considered and rejected it. “It was just a few moments. Nothing to get all excited about probably.”
    “But you were,” he said. “Excited. So you should have called me.”
    Tracy shrugged again, and seemed uncomfortable. The wave of protectiveness he generally felt about her enveloped him again in an