Page 94 of Babies for the Big Shot

Nick bolts to his feet, scanning the room as if we’re under siege. “What the…”

He doesn’t finish. He’s already yanking on his discarded pants from the night before, no underwear in sight, and hastily shoving his arms into the nearest button-down—inside out and still halfway unbuttoned, but at least not naked.

I gape at him, clutching the throw blanket to my chest. “Seriously? You got dressed?”

He gives me a sharp look. “I’m not meeting whoever that is with my dick out.”

Fair.

There’s a second of silence. A breath. A blink.

Then a voice.

“Saaaara?”

Laura.

“Oh my god,” I whisper. “I forgot. Breakfast.”

Nick blinks at me, confused, trying to piece together what I’m saying. I clutch a throw pillow to my chest, breath quick and tight.

“I told her to come over. Yesterday. I was spiraling, thought I might be followed and… shit, she has a key.”

He sits up just as Meatball explodes into the room, barks once in greeting, and launches himself onto the couch, wriggling into Nick’s lap as if he’s claiming his birthright.

Nick grunts. “What the…”

“Meatball, no!” I lunge for him, but he’s already got his paws on Nick’s shoulder, tongue dragging across skin with disgusting enthusiasm.

And then, because the universe is cruel, Laura walks in.

She’s holding a bag of croissants and a cold brew so massive it needs both hands. Her cheeks are flushed from the sun, sunglasses perched in her hair, all effortless glow and caffeine-fueled purpose.

“Hey!” she calls brightly.

She stops.

Dead.

“Oh,” she says.

Her eyes flick across the room—Nick, disheveled and practically shirtless, Meatball proudly draped on top, and me, hunched under a blanket as if I just crawled out of a haunted house.

She blinks. “Holy crap. It’s him.”

I want to become a lamp.

Meatball lets out a loud belch, then drops onto Nick’s chest with all the weight and certainty of a creature who knows exactly who he owns.

Laura just stares.

“I… this isn’t… this is not what it looks like,” I say, which is a lie and also the most suspicious thing anyone can say while half-naked under a couch blanket.

Why am I defending myself? I can do what I want… right?

Nick looks mildly concerned. Possibly for his life. Possibly for mine.

Laura steps in, slow and smug, every move dripping with certainty. Her eyes gleam as she says, “So, I’m guessing you finally got him alone to tell him about the baby?”