Page 32 of Entirely Yours
I walk into the bedroom to call my principal and tell her I won’t be in today. By the time I make it back to the living room, Thea has passed out on the couch, and my heart aches a bit as I watch the cat curl up next to her.
I wake up on a strange couch with a crick in my neck, to the smell of… is that butter?
My eyes pop open, reorienting to this new environment. I sit up and stretch as reality punches me in the gut.
Pregnant. Again.
I can’t believe I have royally fucked up for the second time. Not that Chloe is a fuck up—she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. And I feel immediate guilt at the thought of classifying her as a mistake. Tears pop into my eyes—Iam the fuck up, not her. I’m barely managing one kid, the thought of doing it all over again is terrifying.
Jules says he supports me no matter what, but I don’t really know the man. I thought I knew Guy and look how he reacted.
No, men cannot be trusted no matter how hot they look when they answer the door without a shirt on.
“You’re up,” Jules states, walking out of thekitchen. He has an apron on that somehow makes him even more attractive, which instantly irritates me even more.
“Are you baking?” I ask, noting the flour spots splattered across him.
He pulls his hair from his bun and then reties it—something I’m starting to suspect he does when he’s nervous. “Yeah. I got a little antsy while you were napping. I was going to take the cat to the shelter, but it hissed at me when I tried to pick it up off of you.”
That’s when I notice the black cat curled up at my feet. I had forgotten about it. “You can’t take it to the shelter,” I reply. Though I am slightly terrified of small mammals, I don’t want it to die either.
“It’s a no-kill shelter,” Jules replies, reading my thoughts.
“We should make signs. You can keep him here, right?”
Jules smirks at me, his brow furrowing. “Sure.”
A timer dings in the kitchen, and Jules turns without saying another word. I carefully slide my feet out from under the cat and follow him.
“Holy shit.” The counter is covered in—“Muffins?”
He lets out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah… I got really intoThe Great British Bake Offa few years ago and muffins seemed like the easiest place to start.” He points around the kitchen. “Chocolate chip, blueberry, coffee cake, and in here”—he opens the oven—“is the lemon raspberry.”
Wide-eyed, I stare around the space. “I wasn’t sure which kind you like,” he continues. “Or if you hate muffins, I’ll take them to the teachers lounge on Monday.”
“Who hates muffins?” I ask, picking up one of the coffee cake ones and taking a huge bite. “Fuck, that’s so good,” I say around a mouthful of food. “You really missed out on a great ‘bun in the oven' joke, though.”
I look up to see Jules watching my mouth which causes a furious blush to creep up my neck. No idea why I’m blushing at the man who has already impregnated me, but here we are.
“Sorry, I didn’t even ask if I could have one.”
He meets my eyes. Shrugs. “I made them for you.”
At that very moment, his phone starts ringing, saving me from responding to his sweet admission. He looks down at the screen, and whatever is on there pulls a genuine smile out of him. “It’s my sister, Bex, do you mind if I answer?”
“Oh, of course not. I’ll just…” I point awkwardly toward the other room. Jules answers the phone, grabbing my hand at the same time to keep me in place.
“Hi, BB,” he says.
“JuJu!” A feminine voice comes through the line, but Jules is facing toward me so I can’t see the screen. “Mom said you called in today, everything okay?”
He laughs. “Mom is nosey. Yes, I’m fine.”
“I have a hard time believing that. I can see all the muffins on the counter behind you. Is it that girl you’ve been trying to date?”
Jules locks eyes with me, a soft smile gracing his lips. “You could say that,” he replies.
“What are you looking at? Oh my God, is she there?! Is that why you aren’t at work?” His sister’s voice keeps getting higher with each question.
