Lucy Ellis - Mistresses - Just One Night - Never Stay Past Midnight / A Dangerous Solace / One Secret Night

Elise took the bag and tipped the contents into her hand. A two-pack of over-the-counter stick tests.

Of course. It made perfect sense. And Levi was always thinking.

The lines in his face were etched deep, fixed with strain. Reaching out, she smoothed a hand over his arm. “Are you okay?”

Stiffening beneath her touch, Levi took a cool step back. “I guess we’ll find out in the next few minutes or so. Though the pharmacist said a negative result on one of these sticks doesn’t guarantee you aren’t pregnant.”

She’d heard that before from Ally when she’d been trying to get pregnant and had to pee on six different sticks over two weeks before she’d finally gotten the positive result. There wasn’t nearly the wiggle room if the reading was positive.

Stuffing his fists into the front pockets of his jeans, he nodded at the boxes. “Look, why don’t you take the first test?”

“Sure,” she answered, nerves once again turning her stomach against her.

She peered across the canyon opening between them. Levi looked hard and unyielding. Utterly unavailable to her.

Wrapping her arms around her middle, she tried to assure herself she was just being sensitive. Emotions were running high, and she was reading more than she should into what was probably a completely normal reaction.

Levi was as overwhelmed as she was. Once they got the results—once they knew where they stood—he’d be able to respond the way she’d come to expect him to.

Picking at the outer packaging, Elise headed down the hall to the bathroom, only realizing that he’d been following her when she muttered a curse at her inability to get past the cardboard and Levi reached over her shoulder and grabbed the box.

He planned to follow her into the bathroom.

They’d shared a lot of things over the past month, but this wasn’t one of them.

Stopping him with a palm at the center of his chest, she shook her head. “Just give me some privacy and I’ll be right out.”

The lines between his brows dug deeper, the angles of his features going harder as if he were bracing to object. But then his eyes met with hers and he took a step back.

The two minutes Levi had been standing on the far side of that bathroom door felt like the longest of his life. But then the door swung open and Elise stepped tentatively out. Over her shoulder, he spied the slim white stick of plastic resting on the side of the bathtub, looking about as innocuous as a bomb about to detonate.

Elise raised her hand toward him, but then let it drop and stepped past. “It says to wait three minutes. We can set the timer on the microwave.”

Holding up his left arm, he answered, “I set one on my watch.”

“Well, then, I’d like to get a glass of water.”

He didn’t want to leave the doorway. Didn’t want to let that little stick with its tiny window out of his sight. Hell, he hadn’t even wanted to let Elise take the test without him there to ensure she did it correctly. Not because he didn’t trust her to be honest with him, but because it was just too damn important.

Elise was staring at him expectantly. Waiting for him to follow her back to the kitchen, he assumed. Fair enough. Rationally, he knew his presence wouldn’t impact the results or timing of the test. And yet forcing his feet to move proved nearly impossible.

With a nod, he followed her back to the small table and chairs. “Sit down, Elise. I’ll get you some water.”

The legs of her chair scraped over the floor behind him as he ran the tap a second before filling a glass. The kitchen was too small. Cramped. Outdated.

Turning back to Elise, he set the water in front of her. “You’ll have enough money to move. Buy a little house or something. If that’s what you’d like.” Although a part of him thought a building with a doorman might be safer. Maybe something down in Streeter-ville, like in the 680 building on Lake Shore Drive. There was a market, coffee shop, salon, security, parking—

Gray eyes gone wide with confusion blinked back at him. “What?”

“This apartment is fine for you, but if you’re pregnant, you’ll probably want something bigger. Safer.”

A nod.

Good. He didn’t want to have to argue with her about it. Only as the seconds ticked past he almost wondered if arguing wouldn’t have been a step above the silence.

He didn’t like it.

They’d eaten at this table a dozen times. He’d laid Elise back and treated her body like dessert on it at least twice. It was always with the laughing and the talk with them. But not now.

A frown pulled at Elise’s mouth as she traced the beads of condensation on her glass. “What did you mean, I’d ‘have enough money to move’?”

If the woman sitting across from him had been anyone other than Elise, he might have waited to get a lawyer involved before having this conversation. But with her, he just wanted to be straightforward—alleviate whatever concerns he could. She wasn’t mercenary. His finances had never been a topic of discussion. Hell, she probably didn’t have a clue what his worth was.

She’d been trying to build a life for herself and all her plans were about to change. She needed to know she’d have some security.

“I mean that I’ll take care of you. Both.”

Relief swirled in those soft gray eyes and Elise leaned forward, her hand moving to cover his. “You say it like it’s a done deal. We don’t even know if there is a ‘both.’”

Elise squeezed his hand, but Levi was too numb to feel. Still, watching the way her fingers worked through his was a comfort. She’d be one of those mothers who couldn’t stop touching her kid. The one with so many kisses, the little guy would have to beg her to stop before they got to school and she embarrassed him in front of his friends.

He’d seen those kids. Rolling their eyes and making their protests as they tried to stiff-arm their way out of the kind of hugs he’d never known.

Eyes drifting to her glass of water and the bananas on her counter, he knew she’d be a good mom. There would always be food in the house and—

“I could just be late. I’m probably just late.”

“I’ll give you the money for the studio up front.” He had it, and the last thing she’d need was to worry. “You’ll be able to hire another instructor to replace you. If you’re up for it, maybe you can teach a class for expectant mothers, and then work the front with your mom or help out with the childcare you were talking about providing. It’ll keep you involved and social. Help you build a network of other mothers.”

“Levi, wait,” she said with a small laugh that somehow eased the worst of what was eating him. “I know you like getting everything all fixed up, but you’re getting ahead of yourself. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together.”

Together .

Levi looked at Elise across the table, watching him with a combination of trust and tenderness in her eyes. And suddenly he was angry. None of it belonged there.

He knew what she was thinking. Knew how far off base it was.

“Elise, you’re never going to have to worry about money. But that’s all I’ve got to give you.”

The little smile on her lips faltered. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not the kind of guy you’d want in your kid’s life. I’m good at two things. One got us to where we are right now. The other is developing clubs I sell for a lot of money. I can give you financial security. Real financial security. And if your needs change, if you need more than what we’ve arranged, I’ll only be a phone call away.”

Elise stared at him blankly, then shook her head, pushing away from the table. Her voice sounded cool, forced, as though it was taking everything she had to keep from screaming. “I think I’m misunderstanding. It sounds like you’re not planning on being around … at all.”