Page 54 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

He looked around the place. “Will your flatmates be here? I don’t think they like me.”

She grinned. “No. They spend most nights with their men. It will be just us.”

He heaved a sigh. “Sounds wonderful.” He rose to his feet, crossed to her, and leaned down, kissing her forehead. “This will work. We’ll make it work.” He stepped back. “And you can tell Summer I’ll be happy to come to the wedding next week.” He paused. “Who’s she marrying?” Was it going to be some criminal? Summer looked sweet, but she must have been in prison for something.

“A guy called Nik Masterton. He’s a billionaire.”

“Really? Good catch.”

“On his part, maybe. He’s lucky to have her.”

…

Darcy sat at the table for a long time after the front door slammed closed behind him.

The day had been a rollercoaster. It was only early afternoon and she was exhausted. Too much raw emotion.

He’d pissed her off good and proper when he’d stormed into her class earlier. But she was honest enough to admit that maybe she’d been primed and looking for an excuse to be pissed off.

She was scared.

She was coming to love Lulu, to feel a bond she hadn’t suspected could exist. They were so alike, it was scary at times. And she didn’t want to risk anything getting in the way of the budding relationship with her niece. Part of her suspected that this thing with Matt was exceedingly risky. He’d done a great job of talking away the downside. He’d made it sound so easy. They’d have sex until they didn’t want to have sex, and then they’d be best buddies and everything would be lovely. It all sounded very civilized and sensible. Which was all well and good except…

She wasn’t a particularly sensible person.

And while on the surface, Matt appeared organized, she guessed there were a lot of emotions simmering underneath. From what he had said about his childhood, she was guessing he’d locked his emotions away when he was very young. That didn’t mean they would stay there.

They were two totally different people. What if Matt decided he was no longer interested in sex with her, while she was still desperate to jump his bones? It would hardly make for a comfortable relationship. And while she’d never considered herself the jealous type, last night she’d had an almost overwhelming urge to rend the perfect Diana limb from limb. Or at least mess up her perfect hair and makeup.

Matt clearly didn’t see their relationship lasting long term. Neither did she. Really, she didn’t.I do not do long term.So presumably, at some point, she was going to have to come face to face with another woman. Whatever he’d said about the last two years, he didn’t come across as the celibate type. So no doubt there would be others in the future. Hell, by that time, he’d probably be thinking of her as his good mate Darcy, and she’d still be thinking about him naked. He’d probably ask her to babysit, and she’d have to, and she’d probably explode.

If she were sensible, she’d step back now. Before she got in deeper. Because she reckoned Matt’s dick might just be addictive.

But—had she mentioned that she wasn’t a sensible person?

Besides, her life had been such a pile of crap lately that she deserved something nice. Though Matt and nice didn’t seem to be a match. The sex last night wentwaybeyond nice.

Best ever.

So maybe she would give herself a while, just to enjoy this thing between them. But she’d be on her guard, and she would keep her emotions detached. Just keep reminding herself of what an anal dickhead he was. With a temper. And the cleverest mouth and fingers and…

Shut up.

She glanced up as Regan and Summer came into the room.

“You shagged him,” Regan said, plonking herself down on the seat opposite. It wasn’t a question. But how the hell did Regan know? Yeah, she might not have come home last night, but neither had Regan or Summer, so that wouldn’t have given her away.

“Did we not warn you about sleeping with him? He’s Steven’s brother, remember?”

“He’s not like Steven.”

“And now you’re defending him. This is serious.”

“It’s not serious,” she said through gritted teeth.

“But you’re not denying the shagging bit?”

They were both studying her, and she resisted the urge to squirm. She told herself that they were just looking out for her. That was part of the pact they’d made before they’d been released. They had each other’s backs. “No.”

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