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I turn to face him again, and I try to smile. “It’s amazing. Can I have some time to think about it?”

He’s so stoic, I can’t even tell if he’s surprised or not that I’m not jumping at the offer. “Of course. I can hold the deal off for a bit. Why don’t we go take a look upstairs?”

“Okay.”

I try to tell myself that this as a purely thoughtful gift. And extremely generous of him. In some ways, it’s actually a serious commitment to me and the baby, right?

It’s not a bunch of walls Harlan’s putting up between us.

Chapter 23

Quinn

I’m crumb coating a single-tier, ten-inch round cake in Harlan’s kitchen when he pops his head in and says hello. “Don’t let me interrupt you. I was just checking to see if you’re here.”

“I’m here.” It’s Saturday, but I’m not working at Champagne tonight. I told him I’d be here when he came home.

He said he was meeting up with his sister this afternoon, which seems like a rarity. But it is their birthday today.

“I’m just going to shower and get ready,” he says, his gaze dragging over the cute blue dress I’m wearing under my apron.

“Sounds good.”

Once I’ve got the cake completely covered, I pop it into the fridge to let the crumb coat firm up a bit before I add more buttercream and smooth it out.

I step outside to stretch and get some fresh air. I’ve been in the kitchen for a few hours.

To my surprise, I find Harlan on his back patio, still in his suit, sitting on the edge of a lounge chair and stroking the black cat at his feet.

“Why do you pretend you don’t love that cat?” I ask.

I think I startled him.

He gets to his feet. “I’m going for that shower.” He gives me a kiss on the cheek as he passes by. “Don’t let it in the house.”

“You meanher?”

He just gives me a slightly disapproving look, and heads into the house without a word.

The cat meets my eyes.

“Yeah, I saw him loving on you,” I tell her. “Are you trying to tell me he’s not as cold and grumpy as he pretends?”

The cat hops daintily onto the vacated lounge chair, and stretches out in the warm spot.

I go over and stroke her soft fur for a moment. “Good girl. You make yourself right at home.”

I head into the kitchen and do a bit of cleanup, then pull out the cake. As I’m piping on the buttercream and smoothing it out, Dani calls me on FaceTime.

I prop my phone up and keep working so she can see me.

“Nicole says you have tonight off,” she tells me. She appears to be driving. “Does that mean you can come out and play?”

“No, unfortunately.”

“But you look so fab, and it’s Saturday night. Who are you all dressed up for, if not me?”

Damn. I don’t love admitting that I’m dressed up for Harlan, but it is what it is.