had.
“No, no. I’m not going to be here for dinner, but I wanted to stop by anyway to let you know.”
“You have a hot date?” Rowan teased.
Shakes winked. “Maybe.” They both laughed. Rowan glanced at the door, glad for the distraction. She didn’t want to face who was inside.
“I’m outta here, kid,” Shakes said. She wanted to ask him to stay. To support her in this whole baby thing and with Breck, but she couldn’t make herself do it.
“Okay.”
He wobbled away and back to his truck that she’d somehow missed.
Okay, she shouldn’t be nervous to go into her own house, but she was. She glanced at the Mercedes. Seriously? Why did Breck need to rent something that fancy anyway? Maybe he was a drug dealer! Though that wouldn’t make sense, considering he was friends with Jace.
“Hello?” She clutched a piece of paper in her hand. She, Betsy, and Sidney had come up with a plan. They agreed that she couldn’t just tell him about this baby until she knew a little more about him. That’s what a good, responsible parent would do. So they all agreed on the questionnaire route she had suggested.
Still, she felt bad asking Sidney to keep this secret from Kade. Kade would kill Wilder if he found out. And she didn’t want the man killed unless there was a good reason.
Once she got to know him she would tell him about the baby. If he wanted nothing to do with them, it would be fine. She could do it on her own. She’d done a lot on her own already. “Hello?” Rowan called out again.
“Honey, you’re home!” Wilder walked around the corner, into her entryway with his arms wide and a smile that was even bigger. She had the feeling he’d been waiting for her.
Rowan ignored the way her heart sped up at the sight of his unshaven face, and rolled her eyes. It would be a long couple— “Wait. How long are you staying again?” She knew he told her, but finding out she had a bun in the oven seemed to mess with her brain.
He smirked. “Afraid you’ll miss me?”
It was not going to be easy having this man under her roof. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to kill him or kiss him.
No. No, no, no. There would be no kissing where he was concerned. “No, I’m trying to decide when to throw a party to celebrate.”
He laughed. It was a rich, throaty sound that gave her goose bumps.
“You’re good.” His voice dropped even more. “Though I already know—”
“Stop!” She held up her hand. “Don’t even say it unless you want to be smacked.” Well, there was the first check in the “con” column of his evaluation. Wilder tried to find a way to bring up their one-night stand every chance he got.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. Come on, I bought a pizza and something to drink. I heard you need to put a little more food in your stomach.”
Rowan froze. She did not want to have conversations about her belly with him. “There’s nothing wrong with my stomach.” Though she was starving. Dinner would be the perfect chance for her to quiz him. “Oh no! I forgot I’d just taken food out of the oven when you got here!” She raced toward the kitchen.
“Slow down. You just passed out a couple hours ago. You should probably be careful.”
“It’s gone,” she said when she walked into the kitchen. Nothing sat on top of the stove. In fact, it looked like it might have been wiped down.
“I put it in the fridge.”
“Thanks.” Well, that was nice of him. And unexpected.
“Food’s in here.”
She followed him into her dining room, still not able to believe he was here and she was expecting. “There’s a cat carrier in my dining room.” The scent of cheese and pizza sauce hit her, almost making her ignore the animal.
“I can’t stay if she can’t,” he leaned against the wall.
“Wilder…”
“Breck.”
Ugh. That again. “You’re the one who told me your name is Wilder. Don’t get snippy when I use it.”
He only shrugged. “That was then.”
Rowan sighed. They weren’t