room. Usually he wasn’t the type of man who paid a lot of attention to furniture and decor, but he stopped on the threshold, a little taken aback by the stylish scene before him—the designer armchair and ottoman, the sleek sofa, the single vase on the mantel.
“This is nice,” he said.
She shot him a look and he knew she’d detected the surprise in his tone. Although why he should be surprised he didn’t know. He didn’t know Charlie, certainly not enough to have formed an opinion about how she might live. Yet she’d surprised him with the lean, stark lines of this room.
“Grab a seat,” she said.
She took the armchair, which left him with the couch. He sat on the edge of the cushion and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, marshaling his thoughts before he opened his mouth and stuck his foot in it for the tenth time that day.
Charlie didn’t say anything. She simply waited him out, her expression perfectly composed.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “There’s a bunch of stuff I could say that would only sound like excuses, so I’m going to stick to that. I acted like an asshole this morning.”
“You were shocked.”
“That doesn’t mean it was cool to blame you. Hell, they were my condoms, and we both laid down on that bed.”
She shifted as embarrassed color washed into her cheeks. “It was an accident. That’s all.”
She had long, slender fingers. He watched as they brushed the leg of her trousers nervously. For the first time he became aware that her feet were bare, the high, elegant arches visible beneath her cuffs.
As though she was aware of his scrutiny, her toes curled into the floor and she shifted so that her feet were sitting neatly side by side.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his gaze returning to her face. “Both my sisters had killer morning sickness when they were pregnant.”
“I’ve been fine.”
“You said you’ve got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow?”
“That’s right.”
The tension in the room was palpable and he reached up to loosen his tie.
“Look, Charlie, I’m not really sure what the etiquette is in situations like this. I mean, this isn’t exactly something I’ve had to deal with before.”
For the first time emotion showed on her face as her eyebrows rose incredulously. “And I have?”
“No! That’s not what I meant.” He leaned forward, hands extended in a pacifying gesture. God, he was such an idiot. Why did he keep saying the wrong thing? “I just meant that we’re in the dark here. Floundering around. Both of us.”
She looked at him for a long moment. Then the corner of her mouth lifted a fraction of an inch. “I prefer flailing to floundering, if you don’t mind.”
His shoulders dropped a notch. “There’s a difference?”
“I have no idea, but I hate seafood, so the flounder reference kind of creeps me out.”
“Noted. From now on, it’s flailing all the way.”
Her eyes were warmer now. Less wary. “Would you like something to drink?”
“That would be great, thanks.”
She rose, the movement unconsciously graceful. “Coffee? Tea?”
“Don’t suppose you have brandy?” he joked.
“I have wine.”
Even though he would kill for a soothing shot of something, he shook his head. Alcohol was not going to make this situation any better.
“Coffee would be great, thanks.”
She left the room, her bare feet silent on the polished boards. He pulled his tie free, removing it, and opened the top button on his shirt. He could hear her moving around in the kitchen and he stood and walked to the window. There was no view to speak of, only a corner of the neighbor’s roof and a bunch of treetops. He turned back to the room, his gaze once again skimming the clean, modern lines of Charlie’s furniture. This was nothing like his own place, with its mishmash of hand-me-down furniture and haphazard housecleaning. Charlie’s apartment looked and felt as though she’d put a lot of effort into making it just so, as opposed to his place, which was essentially a crash pad and a glorified walk-in wardrobe.
Charlie returned, carrying a small wooden tray with a single cup of coffee and a matching milk-and-sugar set.
“I wasn’t sure if you took milk,” she said as she put the tray on the coffee table.
“You’re not having one?”
“I’ve already had one today.” She made a gesture toward her stomach and he realized she was abstaining for the sake of the baby.
“I didn’t realize you can’t have coffee.”
“It’s one of those things the jury is still out on.”
They both sat again.