“Me?”
“You know, if I was a smart man, I would have run from you the minute we met.”
I tried to twist my hand away.
“You literally vandalized my truck. And you spouted absolutely unhinged things every time we met.” He hauled me in front of him. “But that wild streak of yours was exactly what I needed. I’ve been numb for years, Dahlia. There’s nothing about us that could be called numb.”
“That’s just chemistry.”
“Chemistry only covers this.” He cupped my butt. “I always want to get in this insanely sexy body, and that peach scent of yours makes me crazy. I want it all over me, all the damn time.”
My heart kicked against my breastbone.
“But that was just the start. It’s your mouth and your brain that gets me every time.” He lowered his mouth to mine. His cinnamon scent was faint today, but as usual, it made my mouth water. “Nothing will be boring between us. Ever.” Then he straightened and tangled our fingers again. “You might not believe me about much right now, but you know that’s true.”
“Because we get off on fighting?”
“Everyone has to start somewhere.” He pulled me along with him.
“I don’t know how you’re so calm about this baby thing?”
“Oh, I’m not. I’m terrified I’ll screw something up, but I’m more terrified of letting this kid down. And most of all, letting you down. And I can tell you right now, I’m going to screw up. But I’ll always be there for you.”
The doors of the drugstore opened as we got closer, and he quickly led me down the aisle marked for female products. It always made me laugh that there were just as many contraceptives next to the early pregnancy tests. Was that to make us feel bad about our choices?
The shelves were stocked.
Like seriously stocked.
There had to be a half dozen different kinds. Nolan plucked one of each off the shelf and handed me three and took three. We passed the condoms, and he gave me a half grin. “Don’t need those anymore.”
“What makes you think you’ll be getting me naked?”
His half grin turned into a smirk.
“That is not winning you points.”
“I remember hearing something about a horny first trimester. Or was it the second? I don’t know. I haven’t been around a lot of pregnant women.”
“And who says I’ll be letting you be a part of that horny space and time, pal?”
The woman behind the counter grinned. “Damn right, girl.”
“See?”
Nolan took my pregnancy tests and slid them onto the counter. Then he stood back and skimmed the candy in front of the counter. “No Red Hots, huh?”
“What you see is what you get, sugar.”
He grabbed a pack of cinnamon gum and then glanced at me. “Want anything?”
I moved down to the end of the counter where the drinks were and got the biggest water. “Think I’ll need this for all of those.”
The cashier snickered.
Then I reached down for a large Twix bar.
“Anything else?”
I snatched a People Magazine off the rack.
He laughed and shoved his credit card into the machine. After we were rung out, he saluted the cashier with one of his crooked grins and she wiggled her shoulders. “You guys are cute.”
He gave her a little salute and took the bag. “Thank you, I think so too. She makes me look good.”
What freaking alternate reality were we living in?
But he took my hand again and dragged me after him. He went around the truck and opened the door for me.
“Okay, this is getting weird.”
“Get in the truck, Hellcat.”
I climbed in and took the bag. Having no shame at this point, I reached in for my candy bar and busted it open. I definitely needed chocolate for this weird day.
“Should we go to my place?” I asked.
“We can. Or we can go to mine. It’s closer.”
