Page 61 of Mating of Convenience
It was Laurence. He stepped into the office with a smile so bright he looked like an entirely different omega from the one I’d gotten to know over the past couple weeks.
“What happened?” I asked before he could even sit down.
“My ex decided he doesn’t want custody, since the kids aren’t his.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome news!” I jumped up from my chair and rounded the desk to give Laurence a hug. No wonder he looked so happy! Things were finally heading in the right direction!
“Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without your support!” Laurence wiped at his eyes and I pretended not to notice the unshed tears. As long as they were tears of joy, they were fine with me. I took a step back to give Laurence some space and watched him get a grip on himself. “I also got a job,” he told me. “At the flower shop. I know it’s nothing to be super proud of but--“
“It’s totally something to be super proud of,” I stopped him before he could downtalk his achievements.
He nodded. “Most places weren’t willing to let me work with customers. I mean, they didn’t say that outright, but... you know.” Slowly he lifted one of his hands to his face, as if doing it unconsciously. “I’m not ashamed of this.”
“You have no reason to be.” I sat on the edge of my desk. “I think that scar makes you look really cool, for what it’s worth.”
“Thank you.” Laurence lowered himself into the chair in front of me. “I’m hoping with the job it’ll be easier to find a place to live and stand on my own feet again. I’m really looking forward to that. The kids deserve some stability too. They’ve been driving me insane.” He ran a hand back through his hair.
“Are you going to tell them?” I asked. “About their dad, I mean.”
“I don’t know yet. Probably at some point, but they don’t need any more surprises sprung on them right now.”
“You’re probably right about that. Are you telling your friend, though? I mean, the actual dad?”
Laurence shook his head. “I know I probably should, but I just want to get settled now. I want the kids to get settled too. He leads a busy life, anyway.”
“Oh yeah?” I cocked an eyebrow at Laurence. “You’ve looked him up, haven’t you? Is he in town?”
“I’d really rather not talk about it.”
“Okay then. You know what’s best for you and your kids. You wouldn’t have come here if you didn’t. I’m just glad things are looking up for you.”
“Thank you. How...” Laurence hesitated, but then came out with his question after all. “How are things going on your end?”
On my end? At first, I had no idea what he was talking about, but then Laurence’s gaze darted to my belly.
Oh.
He had to mean my problems getting knocked up. Why had I ever told him about that? And why did he have to ask me about the one thing I really didn’t want to talk about? Part of me only wanted to groan in response, but I got a handle on myself before I could do that. Laurence only meant well, right? “Nothing’s changed,” I said, hoping that would put an end to that topic.
“I was afraid of that.” He rummaged around in his jeans pocket. “Do you know what the issue is?”
“No.”
Laurence nodded, and then he offered me a small tube with pills that he’d found in his pocket. “I don’t know if these will help you too, but it’s how I conceived my twins.”
Intrigued, I turned the tube over in my hand. “What are these?” Some sort of fertility enhancers? I couldn’t find a label or anything.
“Not exactly.” Laurence’s eyes darted to the left and to the right, as if he was wary of this conversation being overheard. “These are heat inducers. My ex got them for me, I don’t know where. I didn’t enjoy taking them when I was with him, but...” Laurence shrugged. “They’re not so bad when you’re really into the person you’re with.”
I stared at Laurence and then at the black market product in my hand that he’d handed to me so casually. “You took heat inducers when you were with your friend?”
He gave me a cheeky grin. “Actually it wasn’t my friend. It was my best friend’s big brother.”
Holy shit, hereallywasn’t as innocent as he looked!
“Be careful with these,” he cautioned. “They’re the fast-acting kind. So you have maybe five minutes to feel a reaction after you take them. They’re pretty strong.”
“Okay, I’ll watch out for that.”
