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“Yeah. Turkey. Everything on it. Are you getting something for Hunter?”

“Yeah. Although when I asked if he wanted something, he ignored me.”

“The new guy comes in tomorrow. He has a huge list of things he wants to get drawn up.

Strategies or whatever. The new girl isn’t cutting it.” Brenda looped a thumb in the air, aimed at the empty desk next to her. “Hunter made her cry yesterday. He wasn’t even being demanding.”

“Yikes. Where was I?”

Brenda waved me away. “Taking your time coming into work. As usual.”

“I don’t work here, FYI.”

“Excuses.” Brenda leaned toward her computer, back to work.

I smirked and headed out, going to the sandwich shop down the street. Ten dollars for a sandwich

was ridiculous, but they were good and it was close. As I was leaving our building, I heard, “Oh,

Olivia!”

Confused, because I didn’t recognize the voice, I stopped and looked around. An older lady was

strolling toward me. My stomach dropped when I realized who it was.

“Oh, hi, Mrs. Carlisle.” I licked my lips and glanced at the doors I’d just come out of. Would it be weird if I darted back inside to hide?

My next glance went to my pregnant belly. My top was strained and kind of tight. I was a walking

secret reveal.

“It’s so nice to see you,” Hunter’s mom said as she stopped in front of me with a smile. She held a

Nordstrom bag.

We weren’t very close to the shopping area. She’d come to this building specifically.

“Are you going to duck in to see Hunter?” I asked, playing it cool. That involved brushing back

my hair and controlling my shifty eyes. I wasn’t doing a good job with the eye bit.

“Yes. In part. Are you headed out?”

“Oh.” I vaguely pointed down the sidewalk. “I was just going to get a sandwich. He’s in there,

though. If you want to say hi…”

“I wouldn’t want to bother him. I could use some lunch.” Only a Carlisle could make inviting

herself along when she wasn’t wanted still seem gracious.

I hesitated, wanting to say no and having no idea how. Then I couldn’t, because she took my arm

like we were longtime friends and gently tugged me in the direction I’d been heading.

Now I knew where Hunter got it.

“I haven’t seen you in quite some time. I was worried that something might have happened,”

Trisha said with a light tone.

“Oh no. Nope. We’ve just been busy.”

“Yes, my son always is. He makes time for you, though, I hope?”

“Yes, he does. Or tries, anyway. He has given his notice and is about to switch jobs.”

“I know. I heard. Is this the right way?”

I’d stopped paying attention. “Oh. Uh…” Could I be any less eloquent? “This way.” I turned to the

left at the intersection.

“I was surprised. He’s built his life around that high-powered profession. I figured something big

must’ve come up.”

I couldn’t tell if she thought that was a good thing, or a bad. “He just figured that he didn’t want to keep up the hours,” I stammered.

“Uh hmm.”

We walked for a moment in silence, which felt like she was yelling, “I’m onto you!” My muscles

were all quivering with nervousness. Beads of perspiration collected on my forehead.

Why hadn’t she commented on the ring, currently a few inches from her arm wrapped around

mine? Or the obvious baby bump announcing her grandchild? Should I have brought it up? Because I

wasn’t gonna!

“I’ve tried to get Hunter and you over for dinner,” Trisha said in that light tone. She pointed at a coffee shop. With barely a nudge, we were walking into it and waiting in line.

How did she
do
that?

“Yeah, we’ve just been so busy.”
And he’s afraid to see you.
“Hopefully we can come around

soon…”
When he straps on a pair of balls and faces his fears…

When we got up to the cashier, Trisha ordered a mocha, and then asked me, “Would you like a

herbal tea or something?”

An herbal tea. Because I wasn’t supposed to have caffeine.

She knew.

“I’m fine. Really. I was just going to get some sandwiches…” I smiled at the cashier. Within that

smile was a plea for help.

Trisha paid and steered me toward the area to wait for her beverage. “I was worried. He was so

eager to have me meet you, and then he fell off the face of the earth. But I see you two are still going strong…”

I could hear the light question in her voice. She wanted me to admit my status. Clearly she wasn’t

a believer in outing people.

Her bad. I didn’t care how awkward it got; I wasn’t going to give Hunter away any more than the

obvious signs she already saw. And he put those there. It wouldn’t be my fault.

“Yes, we’re doing well.”

“Him leaving his job—big changes. How is he coping?”

She got her coffee and tried to steer me toward a table. Another wave of nervous perspiration

broke out. I felt like a trapped animal.

“Oh. I…need sandwiches…” I stepped toward the door, feeling like the rudest person alive by

ignoring that polite tug of hers.

“Of course.” Her hand looped more securely through my arm. We might’ve been chums who’d

known each other forever.

How the hell could I get out of this? It felt like my skin was crawling with how awkward I felt.

Surely this was worse than waterboarding. Where did she train for this social torture, in a prison

camp?

“Did I hear right in that you’ve left his employ?” she asked as we neared the sandwich shop.

I nearly groaned with the size of the line. “I did, yes.”

“I saw the game you were working on. It was doing extremely well. And well positioned in the

market. Your company seems well set up. Someone experience must have helped, since your other

business partner lost control of his first business, correct?”

I ground my teeth. She’d done her research, and she knew damn well that Hunter was one of those

business partners. God help Hunter. This woman did not like the cold shoulder. And this was just the information she was bringing up! What did she know that she was too polite to mention?

Hunter hadn’t learned what he knew from his dad; he’d learned it from this woman. And I wasn’t

sure that he’d surpassed the teacher yet.

“I pretty much just deal with the coding and design,” I said with a shaking voice,
willing
the line to move faster. “Bruce handles everything else. I have my hands full.”

“Yes. And you’re doing a remarkable job. How is living with my son?”

I choked on my spit. She was starting to get bolder. “Good. Really good. I had to move in after

Blaire ruined my flat. Or…you know, his flat. That I was living in.”

“Yes. She’s under house arrest—”

Trisha cut off as I stepped up to give my order. Sandwiches tumbled out of my mouth but I wasn’t

really paying attention. Her gaze had dipped to my stomach. A look of pleasure took over her

expression. When she glanced back up, her eyes were twinkling in a knowing way.

Damn it!

I looked like an alcoholic trying to recover, judging by how badly my hands were shaking. I paid

and stepped to the side, about ready just to run. Just sprint out of the store, the sandwiches be damned.

Hunter was going to kill me.

“May I see the ring?” Trisha asked with a slight smile.

“Oh. Um.” She probably thought I wasn’t educated with my guttural, one-syllable comments.

“Yes, sure.”

I held up my hand for her inspection. She took it and bent over the ring, her smile growing. When

she let go, her eyes were slightly glistening. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“Thanks.” Should I say
you’re welcome
?
What was she thanking me for?

“I’ll leave you to your sandwiches. Please tell Hunter that I’d love to talk to him soon.”

I blinked at her back as she strolled away.

What just happened?

I got the sandwiches and made my way to the office in a fog. I had no doubt now that she knew

everything that was going on in Hunter’s life. Maybe she’d heard about us from the party the night

before, or God knew where, and now she’d verified it all.

So what would she do with the info?

I put Brenda’s sandwich on her desk.

“I don’t see any writing saying ‘no mayo’…” She quirked an eyebrow at me.

“I just ran into Hunter’s mom.”

Brenda’s eyes widened. She smirked. “How’d that go?”

“He hasn’t told her the news.” I eyed his door with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“So I should expect a very messed-up sandwich? Since you clearly ousted him. Why not just wear

a shirt that says, ‘Baby in here.’ And that ring is massive. You walk lopsided with that thing weighing down your hand.”

I scowled at her, unable to help my smile. “The ring isn’t
that
big.” She scoffed. “But yes, she definitely knows. It’s not like I could’ve hidden it.”

“You better go tell him before she calls to congratulate him. He doesn’t like those kinds of

surprises.”

“Thank you, Professor Obvious.”

“You’re welcome. And then you better go home, because when he realizes you messed up his

sandwich, he’s going to be pissed.”

“I’ll have the ability to fire you, you know. Bear that in mind…”

Brenda laughed and unwrapped her sandwich. Apparently she wasn’t worried.

I edged into Hunter’s office. I took a moment to marvel at his handsome face and his broad

shoulders before I just threw it out there. “I just saw your mom. She knows everything.” His head

snapped up. “Like…everything. You switching jobs, organizing the company—I’m pretty sure she

knows your daily schedule. She’s kind of terrifying in a really soft sort of way.”

Hunter entwined his fingers and stared down at his desk. “I’ve ignored her last couple of calls.

This was bound to happen.”

“She was stalking me, wasn’t she? She was waiting for me to come out of the building.”

Hunter rose from his desk. “Probably. I’m sorry about that.”

“I didn’t tell her anything, but…” I pointed at my stomach.

“I know.”

“And…” I pointed my ring at him. “She came out and asked about living with you. But I didn’t

admit you were involved in the business. I tried to keep your secrets, Hunter.”

He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me close. “Thanks for trying. She’s good at finding

out about my life. She doesn’t like me getting too far out of her reach.”

“You couldn’t have mentioned that before? That’s something I would have liked to see coming.”

He ran his lips across mine before stepping away to stand at the windows. He looked out in

silence. I could see the tension working into his shoulders. He was probably thinking about the last time he’d told her about knocking up a woman and then proposing. How badly that had gone was

probably rolling around in his head.

“At least she’s happy about it,” I said in a qualifying tone. “That’s something, at least.”

“She seemed happy?”

“The woman practically pressured me into getting knocked up. She didn’t even know me then and

she wanted—” I cut off when Hunter turned toward me quickly. Those sexy, smoldering eyes were

trained on me. “What?”

“What did she tell you?”

I made a duckbill with my mouth in thought. Did I not tell him that little peccadillo? “It was at that party a while ago. Seriously, did I not tell you this? Because I thought I had…” At his continued,

intense look, I said, “Yeah, she hinted I should give you a baby. She showed me your paintings, said you should’ve gotten outdoors more often, and then said you could live again through a baby. It was

pretty clear she was giving me the green light to get knocked up.”

“She said that?” Hunter’s voice was barely more than a whisper. His expression turned

incredulous.

“Yeah. I thought it was weird. And she smiled when she looked at the ring. I think she’s happy,

Hunter. Or else she hides disappointment extremely well. Which…I wouldn’t put past her, now that I

think about it.”

“You’re sure?”

I tilted my head at him in confusion. I’d always thought him not wanting to tell his mother was a

fear thing. Like he didn’t want to admit that he was repeating his past. I had no idea the fear was

linked to him thinking his mother might not approve.

I thought back to the meeting of only moments ago. To her smile, her delight, and the glossy eyes.

No, she was definitely a happy grandma.

“I think you should tell her,” I said softly, going to him and running my hands up his chest. “Let her experience being a grandma from the beginning with her only son. She’ll definitely take it better than my mom did.”

His look still intense, he glanced behind me. Then, without a word, he was striding away toward

the door.

“I didn’t mean
right now,
” I said.

He leaned out the door and said a few words, but I didn’t catch them. A moment later, he stepped

back inside and closed the door. Then locked it.

A thrill went through me.

His pace back was slow and stealthy, like a predator about to take down a sure meal. His eyes

raked over me. In that commanding voice I craved, he said, “Get on your knees.”

Chapter Thirteen

My knees cracked against the floor I dropped so fast. My sexy systems roared to life, wanting him

to take me with a desire so intense I couldn’t think straight. My breath came fast as his powerful

strides brought him closer. He stopped right in front of me and undid his pants. His large manhood

bobbed out.

“Suck my cock.”

I reached for him in fervor, loving this. Loving when he commanded me like this. It was so sexy

and naughty. He’d mostly stopped doing it once I got pregnant. I’d missed it.