Page 62 of The Hermit on the Hill

"Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked Marcus. "Or something to eat? Before we go see what Sam has to show us?"

"I'm good, Jenna. And I've already seen it. You two go ahead."

I felt sick and more alone than I'd ever felt before.

Sam took my hand and led me down the hall, through the dining room, and up the back staircase to the second floor.

"I am not having sex with you while Marcus is in the house."

Sam stopped, turned around, and stared at me. "What?"

"I'm not comfortable having sex with you when we have a guest. Clearly, you and Marcus are very close, but if you are hoping to…" I threw up my hands, at a loss for what the hell he might be thinking. "Have a throuple with him, I have to tell you, I don't think I can do it."

Sam's eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You and Marcus. You two are obviously very close and then you lead me up here to the bedroom to 'show me something' he's already seen?" Yes, I did use air quotes. "Well, I'm just not into sharing."

"Sharing?" Sam frowned. "Wait, are you saying you think Marcus and I are a couple?"

The utter disbelief in his tone was cluing me into how far off base I might have been. "You two are always running off together and talking in low voices. What was I supposed to think?"

"That he's my friend?"

I glared at him, because I had no other way to explain or defend what I'd thought.

Sam laughed and pulled me into his arms. "Trust me, baby. I have zero interest in sharing you with anyone, but especially not with Marcus. His boyfriend might object and I can assure you, Marcus has never found me even remotely attractive."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yes, his very serious boyfriend." He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and let me go. "Come on, I've been dying to show this to you."

He reached for the doorknob of the guest bedroom across the hall from Brittany's room and next to the master, but stopped and turned to face me. "Shit, I forgot. How'd your interview go?"

I'd interviewed for a position as a history teacher at the local high school that morning. "It went great until I informed them I'm pregnant. They made nice for a little while longer, but their, 'We'll be in touch when we make a decision,' sounded like a no to me."

His expression turned fierce. "What the hell? They can't refuse to hire you because you're pregnant."

"But they can refuse to hire me because they've already filled the position, or because I'm overqualified, or because they don't think I'd be a good fit. There's no way to prove it's my pregnancy that's the issue."

"That's not right. They can't do that."

"They can." I rubbed his bicep and ran my hand under his short sleeve. "It's all right. I'm going to call Cody and see if he still wants me to work in his tasting room."

"You'd be bored out of your mind."

For a moment, I was too stunned to speak. Amazed that he knew me so well. "Probably. But it's a job. I need to pay the bills until I find something better."

Sam rested his hands on my hips, leaned in, and nibbled my lips. "I'll pay your bills. You want to be a stay-at-home Mom, that's what I want, too. Let me take care of you."

I wanted so badly to lean into that offer, but I stepped out of his reach instead. "And what happens if we don't work out? We're still testing this relationship. What if we decide we can't stand living together in a few weeks?"

"Is that what you think will happen?"

"I don't know, Sam. That's the point. I need to be able to support myself right now."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but he gritted his teeth and turned back to the door again. He pulled it open and spread his arms wide. "Ta da."

I stepped past him into the room. The guest bed was no longer there and, in its place, was a crib. A crib with a mattress and a bumper and sheets already on it. A mobile installed above it. There was a nursing chair in one corner, a changing table and small dresser in another.

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