Page 14 of A Surprise Baby for the Wolf Shifter

He shrugged. “I don’t know about that.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

A couple fresh beers were placed in front of us. He gripped one of them and placed the opening on the neck to his lips. “Just that I have a feeling there is more to her than you think.”

“Obviously,” I said. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”

“I was surprised you two didn’t take things beyond the first night,” he said.

“That would defeat the purpose of a one-night stand,” I grumbled out and slumped over the bar top. I grabbed the other beer and took a long pull from it.

“Maybe. But she isn’t the one-night type,” Guy said.

I nodded. “You’re the expert.”

“I saw the way you two moved together. It was cosmic. Like you two were in sync with each other. That is a very rare thing. I say you should go for it. See where it leads you. My money is on she wants a lot more to do with you than you are giving her credit for.”

I nodded as I mindlessly rubbed my thumb over the label on my bottle. Maybe Guy was right. What was there to lose? I needed to think things through, and I owed my wolf a run. After knocking back the last of my bottle, I clapped Guy on the shoulder.

“Heading out?” he asked.

“Going for a run. I need to think,” I said.

“Have fun,” he said and wiggled his fingers at me.

I pulled a twenty from my wallet and slapped it on the bar. “Goodnight, Guy.”

I ignored his joke as I walked out the door. Minutes later, once I was on the outskirts of town, I shifted and took off.

5

GEMMA

Once I hung up with Cassidy, I started to formulate a plan. First thing was first, I needed to reach out to my boss. I was going to need to take time off, and she wasn’t going to be happy about it. I needed a good excuse, and since my morning sickness had already gotten me out of work so far, I played on that…only, I wasn’t about to tell her anything regarding my actual condition. That wouldn’t come until I had no other choice.

And that was if I decided to keep the baby.

“Jessabelle speaking…” she said and sighed into the phone.

“Hey. It’s Gemma,” I said.

“Please tell me you have good news,” she said. Her voice sounded strained.

I frowned. I hated what I was about to do, but it was necessary to do it sooner rather than later. I only had a limited amount of time. I only hoped I had a job after all of this.

“Unfortunately, not yet,” I said and gulped before adding, “I might need the weekend off. I still can’t keep anything down.”

My words echoed through the silent air that hung over the line. My breaths stilled and my heartbeats picked up in pace. I thought I might have made my boss’s head explode. Strange how silent it was. Then again, my heart was pounding hard enough in my chest to bleed into my ears, drowning out all other sound. My heart could have drowned out the sound.

I was treading a very delicate line.

Jessabelle sucked in a breath, which caused me to do the same, but I held mine for fear of what she was about to say next.

“Must be serious if you are taking time off. You are aware of the drill. I need a doctor’s note.” Her voice sounded sympathetic this time. She must have bought my story.

My lungs deflated in a rush.

“I’ll get one. I have an appointment today,” I said, lying through my teeth. I did have an appointment, but it was with my gyno. Maybe I could get her to say something vague enough to satisfy my boss and get me the weekend free.

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