Little Secrets: The Baby Merger

“Any preference for dinner?”

“Something fast and hot.”

“Chinese okay, then?”

“Perfect.”

A few blocks down, he pulled into the parking lot for a chain restaurant he knew always had good food.

“Looks like this is us.”

He rushed around to her door and helped her from the car and they were seated immediately.

“A drink?” he asked Sally when the waiter came to bring their menus.

“Just water, thank you.”

Probably a good idea for both of them, he thought, and gave his request for the same to the waiter. “Do you mind if I order for us?”

Sally shook her head, and he turned to the waiter and requested appetizers to be brought out to their table as soon as possible and ordered a couple of main entrées to share, as well.

Her lips pulled into a brief smile. “You really are hungry, aren’t you?”

Sally slipped out of her jacket and put it on the seat beside her. He looked at her across the table, noting again the imprint of her lacy camisole beneath her blouse. “You could say that,” he replied with a wry grin.

Oh, yes, he was hungry for a lot of things, but only one of his desires would be satisfied by this meal tonight. To distract himself, he also shrugged off his jacket and undid the cuffs on his shirt and began to fold them back. He looked up and saw Sally’s gaze riveted on his hands. Even in the dim light of the restaurant, he saw the rose pink stain that crept over her cheeks and her throat. Was she remembering exactly what parts of her body his hands had touched last night? Did she have any idea of how much he wanted to touch her again?

As if she sensed his gaze, she shook her head slightly and stared off into the distance, watching the other diners. Then, with a visible squaring of her shoulders, she returned her attention to him.

“Okay, so what was so important that you couldn’t tell me at work?”

Kirk shifted in his chair. “It’s about last night—” He paused, searching for the right words.

* * *

Sally felt her cheeks flush again. Did they really need to hash this all out? She’d much rather they just moved on.

“We covered this already,” she interrupted. “Yes, it’s awkward that we’re working under the same umbrella after spending last night together. It happened, but it won’t happen again. I’m sure we can be grown-up about it all and put it very firmly in the past. It doesn’t have to affect our working relationship, such as it will be, and I’d prefer we just forget about it entirely.”

She ran out of breath. Kirk eyed her from across the table.

“Are you quite finished?”

“Finished?”

“Your commendable little speech.”

“Oh, that. Yes, I’m done.”

“Great. I’d like to agree with you. However, we have a problem.”

Sally looked at him in confusion. Did he think he couldn’t work with her? She knew he’d mentioned redundancies in his announcement today. Surely he didn’t mean to dismiss her from her job? Could he even do that? Was that what this dinner was about? Cold fingers of fear squeezed her throat shut.

“A problem?” she repeated.

“The condom broke.”

Five (#ud21084c4-72d8-5523-992a-7f6b13db02e6)

Of all the things he could have said, that was the last she’d expected. Sally felt the tension inside her coil up a few more notches. The condom broke? It kind of put her fear of redundancy in the shade, didn’t it? She became aware that Kirk was watching her intently, waiting for her reaction. She forced herself into some semblance of composure. He’d seen her at her absolute worst already today—she couldn’t afford to appear that weak to him again.

“Is that all?” She smiled tightly. “For a second there, I thought you were about to give me notice that you were terminating my job.”

“You thought I was going to terminate you? Hell, no. But seriously, Sally—the condom. You have to let me know if—”

“You really have nothing to worry about,” she interrupted him. She didn’t want to hear him verbalize the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Didn’t want to believe that pregnancy was a possibility, even though children were something she’d always desperately wanted. But not until it was the right time and, more importantly, with the right man. Certainly not with a man who would hide his identity and sleep with her while knowing exactly who she was.

“I’m on the Pill,” she continued. “We’re fine. Absolutely, totally and utterly fine.”