Paige twirled spaghetti strands around her fork, surreptitiously watching Tristan as he put a grape in his mouth. She’d seen another side of him tonight, and she couldn’t help but want to… swoon.

Yes, swoon.

He’d been wonderful with Julian. He clearly loved Jade’s child and Julian loved him back. That kind of interaction wasn’t something that could be faked. She couldn’t help but feel excited that her son would have a great daddy.

Son? This had to be the fourth or fifth time that she’d called her baby a son. Not that she’d prefer a boy over a girl—she didn’t care what the gender of her baby would be—but she just had this feeling it was going to be a boy.

She glanced at Tristan again. Did he have a preference? Well, she didn’t feel comfortable enough to discuss things like that with him yet.

She was still wrapping her head around Tristan’s dispute with her parents. One thing for sure, there had to be a good reason for all the apparent misunderstandings. Her parents weren’t the type to falsely accuse anyone of deceit.

She knew one factor that could be blocking a resolution, though. Her dad’s pride. Larry Shipton had become successful because his pride wouldn’t let him give up or accept second best. But that same pride could also cause her father not to listen to advice or admit mistakes. She knew him well.

It looked like it was up to her to talk to her dad and convince him to have a discussion with Tristan. Hopefully, this issue wasn’t as bad as it appeared.

She let out a loud breath. Something told her it wouldn’t be that simple.

“You okay?” Tristan asked.

“Yes. I was just thinking about something.”

“So when can we do the paternity test? Not that I still think you’re lying. I just want to get any uncertainty out of the way.”

She smiled. “We can do it any time now. I’m ten weeks pregnant—from yesterday, actually—and I should have enough fetal DNA present in my blood for the test to be accurate.”

“Ten weeks, huh?” Tristan said, his lips tugging up.

“Yes. Due on the twentieth of April.”

They grinned at each other and Paige hid her thrill. He really wanted the baby!

“I’m going back to Canberra tomorrow to continue my two-week break there and to attend a friend’s engagement party,” she said. “We can get a clinic to take our samples so it’s all documented and legal, so can you wait until I’m back next Monday for that?”

“Okay.”

“By the way, I’ve already sent my blood sample yesterday for a baby gender test. I don’t trust those home kits and I wanted an accredited lab to do it. The results should come within a week.”

Tristan lit up. “Oh, great! You’ll let me know as soon as you know, right?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at Tristan’s excitement. “Yeah.”

“And if you don’t mind, I’d like to go with you to any medical check-ups.”

Oh, that was so sweet. “Sure.”

“And I’d like to go shopping with you for baby things too, even if it’s only for small items.”

Her mouth dropped in surprise. He’d want to do that?

“Do you need anything from me right now?” Tristan queried, his tone soft.

Her eyes welled up. He was being too nice, and the blasted hormones were making her unusually emotional, damn it!

“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked in alarm.

She shook her head, sniffling.

“You have to be honest with me, Paige. You’re having my baby and I can’t—”

Paige started giggling. She couldn’t help it. Stupid hormones.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy that you know this is your baby.”

Tristan narrowed his eyes, but his lips curved up. “So do you need anything from me? Anything at all?”

“Are you always this nice?”

“Only to the mother of my child,” Tristan quipped.

Tears suddenly rolled down Paige’s face. Oh my God. What was wrong with her? “Thank you,” she croaked.

“And your answer to my question is?” Tristan asked in the gentlest of voices that further tugged her heart.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she managed to whisper.

“And you’ll let me know if you need anything, won’t you?”

She merely nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“Good,” Tristan said with a warm, swoon-inducing smile. “We have to make sure you’re always okay.”

We? What was he trying to do? Worm his way into her heart?

She snorted mentally. Tristan being nice wasn’t about her, it was about his baby growing in her belly.

What a pity that the father of her unborn child wasn’t also her life partner. Truth be told, she’d had a crush on Tristan since seeing him at the Safety in Nightclubs conference, where he’d talked about prioritising patrons’ safety against drug dealers using nightclubs across Australia. She’d been struck by the determination, passion and fun in his delivery—and by how incredibly gorgeous he was.

Since she’d missed talking to him at the event, she’d decided to visit his club after hearing from another attendee that Tristan would be hanging out there.

And those three straight nights they’d “dated” in Brisbane had been fabulous. Tristan had been attracted to her too. Their sizzling chemistry couldn’t have been just a product of her imagination. They’d been so hot for each other that they couldn’t get enough on that third night.

She shifted on her seat, the memory stirring up feelings of arousal. The man who’d given her the best sex in her life was sitting right in front of her. And, damn it, what was happening to her that she was so easily turned on these days?

“Dessert’s all yours,” Tristan said, winking at her.

“Why, thanks. You do know how to please a pregnant woman.”

Tristan laughed just as a staccato knock interrupted them. He went to open the door.

“We need to start the program, and we need you,” a man said to Tristan.

“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” Tristan closed the door and turned around to face her, raking his hair. “I’m afraid I need to get back to the party, Paige. There’s so much more we need to talk about, but…”

“It’s okay. Tonight’s not a good thinking time for me anyway. Let’s meet again some other time.”

“Good idea. What’s your number?”

She pulled out her phone and they exchanged contact details.

“Thank you for coming tonight and telling me this news,” Tristan said quietly.

He looked truly grateful that she found herself tiptoeing and kissing him on the cheek. “I want to thank you too. Even though there’s still a lot for us to discuss, I’m grateful you want to be part of our baby’s life.”

“I can’t imagine agreeing to anything less.”

Paige found herself unable to look away from Tristan’s gaze. A feeling of déjà vu filled her as she stared back, her heart pounding hard and her nerve endings tingling—especially those on her boobs and down her crotch.

Wasn’t this how they’d gaped at each other in his Brisbane club—before they’d ended up kissing like there was no tomorrow and… conceiving a baby?

The staccato knock was back and she jumped at the sound.

Tristan exhaled heavily, running both hands through his hair and looking as bothered as her—hot and bothered.

She cleared her throat. “I better go and get some rest since I fly out early tomorrow.”

Tristan nodded and they walked out of the room.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Tristan told the guy who’d knocked before he led her to a back door, avoiding the main area where the party was happening.

She pushed her disappointment away. What was she expecting? That Tristan would introduce her to everybody before she left? As what? The woman he’d accidentally gotten pregnant?

She shook her head at herself. What on earth was going on with her? A brief time with Tristan and here she was, having ridiculously romantic notions about him.

“Did you drive?” Tristan asked.

“No. I’ll call an Uber.”

To her delight, Tristan waited outside with her as they made small talk. Seriously, this was surreal. Tristan had been so mad at her earlier that she was blown away by his current demeanour. This was the Tristan she’d enjoyed being with in Brisbane—before he’d found out who she was.

Her ride arrived and she climbed in.

Tristan bent down by the open door. “Take care, Paige. Enjoy your break in Canberra.”

“Thanks, Tristan. I’ll talk to my parents and update you. Good night.”

Tristan flashed her a sweet smile, seemingly hesitating to leave before shutting the door and turning around.

She craned her neck to watch him trot back to the club as her car drove away. She couldn’t believe how this night had turned out. It was much better than she’d dreamed.

She relaxed on the seat…

“Miss?”

Paige awoke with a start and looked around. The car was already parked in front of her apartment building. She thanked the driver and went home.

She took a quick shower and hopped in her bed. But her short nap had invigorated her somewhat and she was finding it hard to fall asleep. She picked up her phone from her bedside table and started surfing the net for more pregnancy-related stuff.

A new text message interrupted her research.

She grinned, her heart suddenly racing.

She let out a sigh as she held her phone over her thumping heart. How sweet of Tristan to text. It reminded her of how considerate he could be—in and out of bed.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relish the memories of that life-changing night…