“So you’ll stay.”
She gave him the stiffest of nods, and then beelined to the bathroom.
* * *
HE’D SAID TOO much about Greg and the assets he’d liquidated after his brother’s death. But other than pointing out the money in Greg’s bank account was most likely hers, Jessica claimed not to want anything from him.
Doubt prickled his insides like a porcupine with raised hackles.
His brain whispered, Don’t believe her. She was in league with Greg.
But there was his heart—the part of him Greg had called soft and sentimental more than once—smoothing the hackles of suspicion: She’s not like Greg.
Duffy changed the sheets on his king-size bed. He used the flannel set his mother had given him for Christmas, the ones he didn’t like because they were too warm. Jess needed something soft and warm tonight. Duffy needed something no one could give him—complete faith in Jessica. He wanted to trust her, but there was Greg and there was a history of lies upon lies, twist-tied with lies.
“I’ll sleep on the couch.” Jess stood in the doorway. Her hands pressed into the small of her back as if it ached. “May I have a pillow and a blanket?”
“No.” Clearly, this woman had developed an independent streak nearly as strong as Duffy’s distrust of Greg. “The pillows and blankets stay in this room.”
“I’m pregnant. Baby can sleep anywhere.” Her smile had a you-should-believe-me quality that Duffy found hard to believe. She hadn’t looked comfortable sitting on the couch. How would she sleep on it?
“If my mother hears I let you sleep on the couch, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Jess hesitated, and then asked in a soft voice, “You’re going to tell her about me?”
“Yes.” He hadn’t thought about it until then, but his parents would want to know. Or at the very least, they should be told. He’d held up on telling them about Jess because he wasn’t sure of her agenda in tracking him down. He was still hesitant about the money, but... “My mom’s going to spoil that kid rotten.”
“Do you think so?” Jessica’s whisper was pockmarked with wonder, thready with hope.
Her reaction made him put on a show of confidence. “Please.” Duffy rolled his eyes for effect. “She points out babies to me like other parents point out good job opportunities.” That much was the truth.
Head bowed, Jess rested her palm on her stomach. “Did you hear that, Baby? Grandparents are in your future.”
For the first time, Duffy understood Jess. She had no parents. She couldn’t remember her baby’s father. She didn’t want to let her child down as her mother had done. What to him was a casual mention of his mother’s involvement was the promise of a special gift to her: family.
He hoped he hadn’t misspoken. He hoped his mother would be excited about the news.
“I’m taking this pillow from the bed for me,” Duffy said carefully. “Don’t get any ideas.”
She blinked at him. But it wasn’t the I’m-remembering-something dazed look he’d seen her get every once in a while. Jess stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. As Duffy, not Greg’s mirror image.
That look registered something deep inside him, something that warmed and eased, something he’d kept locked away and refused to name. A feeling he immediately dismissed.
Because Duffy had sworn off taking on any more responsibility, be it community, friends or family.
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