having a baby.”
He couldn’t stop himself from reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “I prefer friends having a baby. And I’m sorry I didn’t consider you’d take it as anything other than a gift.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I had just had a really rough day and you didn’t deserve to be my whipping boy.”
Now was not even the time to crack a joke about her, a whip and his backside, so he used his free hand to shove a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth and chewed until the urge passed. “You need to understand that I think of you as family now. All the Kowalskis do, actually. If Lisa needed a new dryer, we’d make sure she got one. If Terry’s car broke down, we’d chauffeur her around until it was fixed. And if you need a cellphone, we buy you one. No strings. Definitely no leash.”
When the waitress returned with the coffee pot, he squeezed Beth’s fingers before letting go of her hand. He would have preferred to keep holding it, coffee and breakfast be damned, but it was pretty obvious at this point he had to tread very, very lightly around Beth. If he got pushy, she’d shut him down totally.
“I’ll try,” she said when they were alone again. “To do better at understanding where you’re coming from, I mean. Your family’s so…devoted and generous, and I need to learn how to appreciate that.”
“Good.” Then a very, very horrible thought popped into his head. “But, umm…when I say we think of you as family, I don’t mean you’re like my sister or anything.”
“That would be pretty weird, considering the whole baby thing.”
“The baby thing, sure, but also the fact I’m still thinking about that second date.”
“Oh.” He loved the way she blushed. “I haven’t changed my mind about having that kind of relationship with you. Since I’m pregnant, it’s not a good idea.”
“I haven’t changed my mind, either.” He grinned at her over the top of his coffee cup. “And I’m a pretty patient guy.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes, but deep inside, he didn’t find it quite as funny as she did. If she really didn’t want to be involved with him while she was pregnant, it was going to be a long wait.
Eight months. Eight months of cold showers, tossing and turning, and walking slightly bowlegged. Oh, and then another two months, at least, before she’d even think about feeling sexy again, based on what Mikey and Evan had said about their wives.
Holy shit, that was a long time. If thinking about box scores was a good way to keep your mind off sex, he was going to be the freaking Rainman of baseball statistics before the ten months—almost a whole damn year—was over.
Then she smiled at him—a real smile that made her dark eyes crinkle—across the table and every ERA and RBI stat he’d ever known flew out of his head.
If she didn’t change her mind about letting him back in her bed, there was a damn good chance the kid she was carrying would be his only one because his balls were going to explode.
Chapter Nine
Kevin waited until the bar traffic slowed before telling Paulie he was taking a break and heading upstairs. He knocked on Beth’s door and had to quickly stifle a grin when she pulled it open. Sweats, crazy hair and chocolate smears in the corners of her mouth only six weeks in? Between his sister and his sister-in-law, he’d witnessed five pregnancies and he knew it only went downhill from there.
“I wasn’t really expecting company,” she said, but she stepped back and let him in. “I would have brushed my hair, at least.”
“Isn’t that tousled bedhead thing the style these days?”
“Only if you do it on purpose.”
The chocolate was killing him. He wanted to kiss her. Run his tongue over her lip and lick the chocolate away. “I…uh…oh, I came to invite you over for Thanksgiving.”
“You can roast a turkey?”
“No. But my mom cooks a mean Thanksgiving dinner, which is why we all go there every
He couldn’t stop himself from reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “I prefer friends having a baby. And I’m sorry I didn’t consider you’d take it as anything other than a gift.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I had just had a really rough day and you didn’t deserve to be my whipping boy.”
Now was not even the time to crack a joke about her, a whip and his backside, so he used his free hand to shove a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth and chewed until the urge passed. “You need to understand that I think of you as family now. All the Kowalskis do, actually. If Lisa needed a new dryer, we’d make sure she got one. If Terry’s car broke down, we’d chauffeur her around until it was fixed. And if you need a cellphone, we buy you one. No strings. Definitely no leash.”
When the waitress returned with the coffee pot, he squeezed Beth’s fingers before letting go of her hand. He would have preferred to keep holding it, coffee and breakfast be damned, but it was pretty obvious at this point he had to tread very, very lightly around Beth. If he got pushy, she’d shut him down totally.
“I’ll try,” she said when they were alone again. “To do better at understanding where you’re coming from, I mean. Your family’s so…devoted and generous, and I need to learn how to appreciate that.”
“Good.” Then a very, very horrible thought popped into his head. “But, umm…when I say we think of you as family, I don’t mean you’re like my sister or anything.”
“That would be pretty weird, considering the whole baby thing.”
“The baby thing, sure, but also the fact I’m still thinking about that second date.”
“Oh.” He loved the way she blushed. “I haven’t changed my mind about having that kind of relationship with you. Since I’m pregnant, it’s not a good idea.”
“I haven’t changed my mind, either.” He grinned at her over the top of his coffee cup. “And I’m a pretty patient guy.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes, but deep inside, he didn’t find it quite as funny as she did. If she really didn’t want to be involved with him while she was pregnant, it was going to be a long wait.
Eight months. Eight months of cold showers, tossing and turning, and walking slightly bowlegged. Oh, and then another two months, at least, before she’d even think about feeling sexy again, based on what Mikey and Evan had said about their wives.
Holy shit, that was a long time. If thinking about box scores was a good way to keep your mind off sex, he was going to be the freaking Rainman of baseball statistics before the ten months—almost a whole damn year—was over.
Then she smiled at him—a real smile that made her dark eyes crinkle—across the table and every ERA and RBI stat he’d ever known flew out of his head.
If she didn’t change her mind about letting him back in her bed, there was a damn good chance the kid she was carrying would be his only one because his balls were going to explode.
Chapter Nine
Kevin waited until the bar traffic slowed before telling Paulie he was taking a break and heading upstairs. He knocked on Beth’s door and had to quickly stifle a grin when she pulled it open. Sweats, crazy hair and chocolate smears in the corners of her mouth only six weeks in? Between his sister and his sister-in-law, he’d witnessed five pregnancies and he knew it only went downhill from there.
“I wasn’t really expecting company,” she said, but she stepped back and let him in. “I would have brushed my hair, at least.”
“Isn’t that tousled bedhead thing the style these days?”
“Only if you do it on purpose.”
The chocolate was killing him. He wanted to kiss her. Run his tongue over her lip and lick the chocolate away. “I…uh…oh, I came to invite you over for Thanksgiving.”
“You can roast a turkey?”
“No. But my mom cooks a mean Thanksgiving dinner, which is why we all go there every
Similar Books
