Ready or Knot (Knotted Paths #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,41

had me all kinds of confused. “Okay.”

“Is there... is there a chance you could be pregnant?”

My stomach sank. Pregnancy in the brothel had never meant anything good. “Pregnant?”

“I wouldn’t normally ask, but... we cats have sensitive noses. We tend to pick up on pregnancy earlier, just by scent.”

“You... you think you scented pregnancy on me?”

“Maybe. It’s very faint. I mean, you could have hugged someone who was pregnant recently, and I’m picking up on that.”

I wiped my suddenly sweaty palms on my shirt. “I haven’t hugged anyone today.”

“Maybe you want to get that checked out. Just in case. And I’m not saying this because I’m nosy—well, maybe a little—but I want to make sure you’re safe. If you are pregnant, you’ll probably want to switch to another class. One with less impact. Maybe Tai Chi. I teach that in the afternoons.”

“Tai Chi.”

“Yeah. So... right. Just let me know, okay?”

I walked out of the gym, feeling absolutely numb and yet completely overstimulated at the same time. Pregnant? I’d have to hide it. I’d have to—

No. I wasn’t in the brothel anymore. I was safe. I wasn’t alone in this.

Jordan and I hadn’t had a chance to talk about kids yet. Did he even want them?

Did I want them?

I’d never had to consider that question before, and now it dominated my thoughts.

I didn’t have long to figure it out, either.

18

Jordan

As I pulled in to The Haven Center, my phone buzzed. I pulled into a parking spot before checking it.

Wyatt: can we get lunch somewhere else today

Me: Sure. I just pulled up. Want to meet me here?

Wyatt: be right there

I pulled out of the parking spot to wait in front of the building, jumping out to give him a hug when he appeared. “How’s your day?”

His hug wasn’t as tight as normal. “Um, it’s been fine, I guess.”

He looked a little pale, too. Was he sick?

“You don’t sound certain.” I opened the car door for him.

“I mean, nothing bad happened. We did practice neck holds again and I didn’t pass out.”

“That’s great!” I hurried around to jump in my side of the car. “Was it different because you weren’t expecting it, or...?”

“No, Luis kind of eased me into it. He started like he was holding an invisible cushion around me and we went through the steps, and then he got closer and closer.”

I pulled away from the building. “Do you have anything specific you want to grab to eat?”

“Not really.”

“What about some deli sandwiches? We can grab them to go and find a nice park to sit in.”

“Sure.”

He really wasn’t himself this afternoon. “How do you feel about it? Class, I mean. Good? Not good?”

Wyatt stared out his window.

“Wyatt?”

He turned toward me. “Huh?”

“I asked how you felt about it. Are you sure you’re okay? It’s fine if you’re having a delayed reaction to it. We can go curl up in the blankets at my house and watch TV. Order some delivery?”

He pulled his legs up onto the seat, curling in on himself. “No, the practice didn’t upset me.”

“Did... something else upset you?”

I darted glances at him. He was worrying me. He picked at a frayed string on the knee of his jeans.

“Luis said I smelled like pregnancy.”

My head whipped around. He looked so tiny. So fragile. How could he... Well of course we...

Eyes wide, Wyatt grabbed at the door and threw his feet to the floor. “Jordan!”

“What?” Cars crossed the road in front of me, and I was barreling right at them. “Shit!” I slammed on the brakes, stopping a few feet after I should for the red light, my breath shallow, my heart racing.

My brain couldn’t decide whether to react to almost dying in a traffic accident or what Wyatt had said. My hands locked on the steering wheel. My feet mashed the brake to the floor.

“He didn’t say I was pregnant. I might have been around a pregnant person or something. But... but I might be.” The last few words were a whisper.

I pried my aching fingers from the steering wheel. “Wow.”

Wyatt pulled his feet up again, and the light turned green. I wasn’t ready to move and deal with the rest of the world yet, but there were cars behind me. I had to go. Just drive. God, how was it possible to focus when... I was going to be a dad?

“I’m sorry, I know we didn’t talk about this and I didn’t think it could happen so quickly. I mean, we haven’t had sex that much. And it would