Page 103 of The Baby Bargain

"You cook a lot?"

"Yeah." His chuckle is knowing. "It's less food than it looks like."

"You're a…" How do I sayyou are super freaking hot and I want to pounce on you again, so please take this as a compliment, when I say you're clearly a man with a high bodyweight who needs a lot of calories. It's all muscle. It's a lot of muscle. It's not that you're fat. Do you even have any body fat? I'm concerned about your health with your incredibly low level of body fat, but not concerned enough to stop staring at your abs."I, um… I know." Okay, there's no good way to say that. "I cook a lot too."

"You've expanded beyond Southeast Asia?"

"Uh, sorta." My heart twists at the memory of Phillip teaching me to make pho. The way he laughed when I tried to sip the broth right away.We need to let it simmer, sweetheart. Otherwise, we won't enjoy the full depth of the flavors. "I do pasta also."

"You miss him?"

"No…" My stomach drops. "Yeah. Sorta. I think I missitmore."

"The sex?"

My cheeks flush. "The companionship. The stability. Knowing someone was waiting at home for me."

"You live with your dad."

"Yeah, but he's away half the time. I usually went to Phillip's place after work. God, the last few months, I'd be there alone for hours." I force my gaze to the fridge. Chase's eyes are too intense. It's impossible to transition away from the subject of my ex-boyfriend. The one who dumped me because he didn't want a future with me. "Water is good."

"Sure." He fills two glasses. Drops both on the table.

I take a seat. Press my palms to the wood. No touching him. Or myself. Nothing that will make this complicated. "He's busy. He's a resident now. But that started a while ago. I think…"

"It's easy to take shit for granted." He turns to the stove—he's warming dinner in a pan. "We all do it."

"Maybe that's it." I take a long sip of water. It soothes my throat, but it does nothing to ease thethump-thumpof my heart. "At first, I thought it was a sudden thing. That the only reason why we ended was my ultimatum—"

"You asked him to—"

"Yeah." I swallow another sip. "I told him I'd had my IUD removed and I needed to get pregnant right away."

He chuckles.

"What?"

"Most people don't act that fast."

"I didn't really have a choice."

"Even so…" His laugh is easy. "Most people don't know what they want that clearly."

I guess that's true. Sorta. "He knew. He knew right away that it wasn't what he wanted."

"You sure about that?"

"He broke up with me. I told him I needed to do it now, then, three days later, he broke up with me."

"Doesn't mean he was sure."

What?

"You told him why?"

I nod. "You and Phillip are the only people who know."

"You trust him?"