He cringed. “And, of course, it’s Clive.”
“Clive?”
“Yeah, the bull. He’s infamous.”
“I don’t even wanna know. He’s not, like, the mayor or some stupid small-town mascot, is he?”
“Clive? No fucking way. He’s more like an agent of mayhem.”
“Good, because moose are assholes.”
“Yes, they are.” He grasped my arm gently, forcing me to move toward the house a little faster.
Despite my natural tendency to fight him at every turn, I let him guide me quickly away from the massive creatures fornicating.
“And really dangerous,” he said. “So let’s get inside.”
As we approached the patio, the unnatural honking and groaning growing more distant, I couldn’t stop laughing. It was all so ridiculous. The outdoor sleepover with my ex-husband, my emotional confessions, and now a moose porno on my property.
I clutched my side, sucking in a deep breath. “What a way to start the day. Watching the sunrise on my fortieth birthday with no one but my ex-husband for company, feeling old and exhausted and ruing the fact that I haven’t had decent sex in years.”
“Excuse me?” He crossed those thick arms, making his biceps bulge.
I rolled my eyes. “We’re not talking about that. It didn’t happen.” Maybe it was immature of me, but there was no way I could keep going if I stopped to think about the night we’d spent together. How it hadn’t scratched an itch so much as awakened a deep well of need that I refused to acknowledge.
He quirked an eyebrow, but I kept going, my rant gathering steam.
“The moose are getting laid, and I’m not.” I shook a fist at the sky. “Thanks, Mother Nature, for reminding me that I’m old and washed up and not getting any.”
Gus pulled me to a stop and smiled. God, I hated his smile. The damn thing transformed his face from ruggedly handsome and intimidating to beautiful. White teeth, round cheeks, and little crinkles around his eyes.
Asshole.
“Put that away,” I hissed, my heart squeezing.
“What?”
“Your smile. I don’t want it, and I don’t like it.”
That only made it stretch farther. He brought his hands up to cover his face, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
“Stop,” I barked. “I can still see it.”
“I can’t help it. You make me smile, Dragonfly.”
Chapter 18Chloe
Nope. This could not be happening. I took a deep breath and tore open another test.
I’d sent Karl to the pharmacy because I was too shaky to drive. I should be at work right now, but I’d told the staff that I was working from home.
That was a lie. Work was the last thing on my mind. What on earth was happening? Everything hurt, I was exhausted, and my period was officially late.
And not the I’m forty and things are getting less regular late either. This was the I’m almost a full month late kind of late. I’d chalked it up to the stress of moving and taking over Hebert Timber. Not to mention how little sleep I’d been getting. But when my boobs started to hurt and I felt barfy, I knew something was up.
“You okay in there, boss?” Karl called from the other side of the door.
I opened my mouth to speak but snapped it shut again before I could burst into tears. Fuck, I was so hormonal.
“Yup,” I finally spit out. How the hell could I explain this one to Karl? Or anyone, for that matter?
I peed again and waited for the lines to appear.
Pregnant? At my age?
This couldn’t be happening. Accidental pregnancy was for the youngins, not old ladies like me. My friends had used advanced science, acupuncture, and special vitamins to get pregnant.
And here I was, knocked up after a wild night with my ex-husband.
God, what was I going to do?
Slumped against the wall of the bathroom, I took in the space. It was large and lovely and had the most beautiful tub right under a window overlooking the lake. When was the last time I’d taken a bath? For that matter, when was the last time I’d taken a deep breath?
Pregnant.
I’d thought about having a child many times over the years. Especially recently. I’d begun to feel uneasy about my future and had considered going to a sperm bank, thawing out the eggs I’d had frozen for my thirty-fifth birthday, and just going for it.
