Page 209 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Wait. They would be allowed American citizenship, right? I may have been English by birth but I held an American passport also. Crap. Where was my cell? I needed to Google this.

When Dante walked back into my hotel room a short while later, the grin had taken up permanent residence on my face.

“Why are you grinning like that?” he asked as his features tightened in uncertainty.

“Like what?”

“Like a crazy person,” he replied, slowly shaking his head and heading back towards the chair and desk by the window. “A crazy crack addict, if I’m honest.”

“Ha ha,” I thought my grin was visibly pleasing. “Real funny. Listen, we need to talk.” This time I would ease into the issue of Bri’s crush. It would be done with verbal poise and- “Bri’s crushing on you.” Darn it. I did it again!

“What?” Dante exclaimed, but he avoided my gaze. “Um, I don’t-”

“Oh my God.” I slid off the bed. “You knew. Youknowshe’s crushing on you.”

“What? No,” he denied with haste as he logged back on the laptop. “Are you hormonal? Pregnant ladies act crazy. Do you have pregnancy brain? That’s a thing, right? Hey, did you read the book I got you? It has all these interesting stuff on multiple births. I’m going to measure your waist again today. When is your next mid-wife appointment?”

Narrowing my eyes, I stalked towards his seated form. “Don’t pull that crap with me, Dante Palmer. You knew she likes you. What are we going to do about it?”

Dante grimaced, the simple action signalled the end of his ‘naïvely unaware’ act. “I was hoping I could keep ignoring it.”

“Aha.” My hand shot up into the air and Dante jerked at my shout. “So you admit to knowing.”

Eyeing me from under unamused eyebrows, Dante shrugged. “She’s been friendlier than usual these past few months. I don’t know, sweet cheeks. What can I do? She’s one of our principals andwe can’t afford to lose her. She’s great on stage.”

I nodded in agreement. Bri was one of our best principals.

“If I ignore it,” Dante shrugged again. “Maybe it’ll go away.”

Patting my stomach I gave him a supportive smile. “I thought that.”

Dante’s face softened as he glanced at my stomach, then he shook his head. “That’s different. You can’t ignorebabiesgrowing inside you, no matter how hard you tried,” Here he scowled at me before his gaze returned to my tummy and a sweet smiled tugged the edges of his mouth up. “I don’t know if I can keep it secret from the guys much longer. I’m crazy excited.”

“D,” I clutched my stomach, worried at the eagerness pouring off his face. He looked like a kid in a candy store, over-excited and feral. “I’m only about 20 weeks. I don’t want anyone else knowing yet. What if something goes wrong?”

His excitement disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if a magic wand had been waved. “When’s your next appointment?” he asked, chewing on his lower lip.

“A few days after we return to London.” I advised. “I’m due for a scan soon anyway.”

“You’re showing now though,” A frown graced his handsome face. “Not much but it’s there. They’ll be alright and you’re from good stock. Aunt Cleo has got some child-bearing hips, very meaty.”

I blinked at him. “Did you call my auntmeaty?”

“Mhmm, in a good way, a healthy way,” he amended. “A ‘bring healthy kids into the world’ way. Look at your cousins. They’re-”

“Meaty?” I cut him off dryly.

“Yes,” he grinned at me. “A lean, meaty sort of way. You’ll be fine.”

“I guess,” Again I stroked my tummy and Dante beamed at me.

“They’ll be alright, sweet cheeks.” he reiterated firmly. “I’ve started thinking about names.”

“Feck off.” I groused, ‘fudge’ wasn’t a strong enough substitution. I spun on my heels and headed towards my bed. Tiredness came at the oddest times of late.

“I’m your best friend,” Dante retorted. “Shouldn’t I get a say? You know I’m not only going to be their uncle. I’d better be a god-parent too. Have you told Sol and Bret yet?”

“Not yet.” I murmured as I crawled under the sheets. “But I will.”

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