Page 75 of The Moment He Saw Her

“Nice. I can’t wait. Want me to put the food together for you guys? It can be my gift to you.”

Birdie started crying then. Sighing, he went around the desk and hugged her gently.

“Those emotions getting a bit big for you, sweetheart?”

“I’m just so h-happy,” she whispered.

“I know. You need to stop now because if my big brother finds out I made you cry, I’m in serious trouble.”

She snuffled out a laugh and then got up to go to the restroom.

“I’ll tell JD you’re here, Ryder.”

“Okay. You want me to drive you home after?”

She rolled her eyes. “Sawyer is coming. I’m not sure why I can’t drive myself.”

“Because we love you,” Ryder said, which made her sniff again. Her belly was big now, as she was due in eight weeks, and Birdie wasn’t a big person. She was carrying a little human who he’d loved like he did Ally.

Sitting, Ryder stared at the painting on the wall opposite. There was no accounting for taste. Seriously, art was definitely in the eye of the beholder. It looked like something Ally had puked up as a baby.

“Nina’s room will be the dirtiest, Libby!” Ryder heard JD say. “Think of a toddler who pulls all their toys out and never puts them back, then double it, and you have her.”

“Harsh!”

That voice was Nina’s.

“And yet so true.” Ryder knew that was Cill’s voice. She was the Gnat’s masseuse.

“You’d think I’d be worse, seeing as I have hair all over the place, but Nina still wins the award, Libby.” That voice belonged to Jessie, the hair stylist.

What the hell was going on, and was there another Libby in Lyntacky other than his Libby? Well, not his, but the one he knew.

Getting to his feet, he walked through the doors that led to the rooms where everyone did their thing. He saw her back down the end of a hallway and followed as she disappeared.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

She spun from whatever she was sweeping and looked at him. “My heart just about stopped, Ryder. I didn’t know you were there.”

She’d changed her top. This one was a soft white baggy sweater, which she wore over her jeans. Her hair was pulled up in a messy knot on her head.

“And I repeat, what are you doing?”

“Working,” she said.

“You’re employed by me, and you’re doing Dee and Red’s books. How much more time is there in a day for you to work?”

“My work for you won’t suffer, Ryder, and I’m only doing this two nights a week. I’ve nearly finished Dee and Red’s books.”

“You’re sweeping the Gnat’s floor in a white sweater that looks like it costs a month’s worth of wages?”

Like she had when he’d spoken about her comment on his wet chocolate molds, he thought she looked nervous again, seeing as he’d mentioned money. What the hell was this woman’s deal?

“I thought you were going to meet up with Lea and Klaus?”

“I did. I moved my bag there, and they gave me a key,” she said quickly. “So you won’t have to worry about me being in your space anymore. Thank you for having me in your house again.”

She looked really nervous now, and who could blame her after the make-out session they’d had last night.

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