Page 86

Rhett
Waking up with Scarlett Wright wrapped around me wasn’t the worst thing in the world, that’s for sure.
Such a rare thing for us, since the sex between us was still casual, unplanned and utterly without commitment. Ridiculous, since she was carrying my babies. But we liked it that way, I guess.
Except maybe I liked this more. Fuck. Even worse, it was the pregnant belly that did it for me nearly as much as everything else.
With every day that went by, and the bump grew, I found myself more and more fascinated by it, and by her. Even with all the shit she had going on, there was a glow about her that drew me in.
Carefully, so as not to disturb her, I shifted onto my side, so I was facing her. Drinking in the sight of her messy hair and peaceful expression made my heart squeeze so tight in my chest I could barely catch my breath.
As if sensing my movement, Scarlett hooked her leg over my hip, snuggling even closer with a contented murmur. “Morning.”
Her voice was husky with sleep, and she didn’t open her eyes, just snuggled in. Too adorable for words. Without really thinking about it, I let my hand drift down to her belly, lightly brushing my fingertips over the soft swell.
“Mm, that’s nice.”
“Belly rubs? What are you, a dog?” I teased.
One eye cracked open as she chuckled. “Sometimes my skin feels a bit tight, and sensitive. So that feels good.”
I rubbed her belly, gently caressing the taut skin. Doing my best to ignore how natural and normal this actually felt. Almost like we were a real couple. Then I felt it - a tiny movement against my palm that made me freeze. “Was that...?”
“Mmm, it was. A little baby flutter.”
The babies. Our babies, moving inside her. The reality of it struck me with breathtaking force.
With a soft smile, Scarlett covered my hand and moved it around until she found more movement.
“Does it…does it happen a lot?”
“Not too much right now. Or if it does, I don’t feel it so much. They are a bit bigger than bell peppers at the moment, so I think it’s only when they are in particular positions that I can feel it. Even then, I think you can only feel it because there’s two in there, so it’s a bit squishy.”
It was all so normal, so sweet. Like any loved-up couple looking forward to starting a family. Except that we weren’t that. I’d told her, explicitly, that I did not want that sort of life. That I wasn’t cut out for that life. And fuck knows, I didn’t have it in me to giveher what she deserved. So why was I feeling all…this. Whatever the fuck this was.
I never thought I’d be the fatherly type, but seeing Scarlett all peaceful and content, it was making me feel things I wasn’t used to. Stuff I didn’t know how to deal with.
The way she was looking at me, her lips curved in a sweet smile and her eyes glowing, it was messing with my head.
I could practically see a whole future with her, and that scared the crap out of me. I’d spent so long keeping people at arm’s length, protecting myself. But Scarlett was breaking down those walls, making me want things I never thought I’d want. A real relationship, a family. It was all too much, too fast. My heart was racing, and my palms were sweating just thinking about it. I wanted to run, to get as far away from these newfound feelings as possible.
Get out, now. Before you fuck this up.Wise words. I definitely needed to get the hell out of here before I did something to ruin this whole situation. These feelings were way too much for me to handle.
I gently pushed Scarlett’s leg off my hip and pulled my arm from under her pillow, easing out of bed. “I guess I should head off.”
“Head off? You can’t stay for breakfast, or something?”
Jesus fuck, I couldn’t take the tone of confused hurt in her voice. It cut at me, but it didn’t change anything. “Uh, I just remembered I have this...work thing. I gotta head in early. You know how it is.”Smooth, asshole. Real smooth.
She frowned, clearly not buying my lame excuse. “Work? It’s a Sunday morning.”
“Right, yeah. Well, you know, my brothers, they don’t exactly have normal business hours.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed, frantically searching for my discarded clothes.
Scarlett sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist. “Is everything okay? You seem a little...”
“Everything’s fine,” I interrupted, maybe a bit too quickly. “I just need to get going, that’s all.”
I could feel her eyes on me as I pulled on my shirt and pants, my movements hurried and uncoordinated. God, I must have looked like a total fucking idiot.