Page 91 of Wilde Flame

His short, deep grunt caused Draco to stop in his tracks and stare intently. After another few moments, the bull moose started to walk away, and I could feel Draco relax under my seat. We both watched as the majestic animal moved on.

Giving him a light squeeze with my legs, I urged Draco to start walking again. My cell rang, and I reached into my jacket pocket.

It was a call from Lilibeth. I jerked my glove off with my teeth and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Caden. Are you busy?”

“No. Is everything okay?”

“Oh yeah, everything’s fine. I wasn’t sure if now was a good time to talk?”

Draco slowly moved on. It was almost like he wasn’t in any rush to get back to the barn.

“Now’s fine. What’s up?”

“I told my parents this morning.”

Her voice sounded so sad. “I take it things didn’t go well?”

“They went okay. They’re insisting on buying me a house.”

I nearly choked. “A house?”

“My mother doesn’t think I should move in with you.”

“Why.”

“She’s worried I’m going to fall head over heels in love with you and you’ll end up breaking my heart.”

I closed my eyes. “I’d never purposely do anything to hurt you, Lilibeth.”

When she didn’t say anything for a long moment, I asked, “Are you still there?”

“I am. Um, Mrs. Harper, on the other hand, thinks I should move in sooner rather than later…but what would we tell people? Oh—did you tell your parents?”

I closed my eyes and tried to picture what Lilibeth looked like at that moment. Her hair would be tied up in braids or a ponytail. I knew she’d have a flower in it somewhere. “I did, last night. And Mrs. Harper knows now?” I laughed because I probably should mention I’d told my brother as well.

“How did they take the news?” she asked, with an edge of worry to her voice.

“They were beyond thrilled. My mom wants to make up a room in her house just for the baby,” I laughed. “I guess she’s already planning on babysitting.”

“That’s so sweet. And yes, Mrs. Harper apparently has the ability to immediately know a woman is pregnant, go figure.”

I could hear her smile, as well as the relief in her voice.

“Other than your parents wanting to buy you a house, did they take the news okay?”

“Yeah. They’re supportive. I just need to figure out a way to get them off the idea of buying me a place. I left there this morning pretty angry. Is it too soon to blame hormones for my reactions to things? Like last night… I’m sorry I got so upset. You don’t have to stop having fun just because I’m pregnant. And you can still date, Caden. Which my father made sure to remind me of.”

My head jerked back in surprise. “You think I’m going to date?”

“I mean, I don’t know. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I didn’t date anyone before you got pregnant, and I’m sure as shit not going to date anyone now. And I’m certainly not going to be sleeping with anyone, Lilibeth.”

She sighed again and changed the subject. “Okay, um, well, my next client is here. I never thought I’d say this, but all the scents are making me feel sick. I’m glad this is my last one for today.”