After my wild and crazy fit last night, Nic is the last person I expect to see in the shop today. What I really want is to finish up the day’s work, flip the sign on the door, and hide in a nest of comfy blankets and eat ice cream with pretzels. At least my weird cravings have settled a bit, the desire for salty pickles at least giving way to pretzels, which seems a bit more normal with the sweet, creamy ice cream.

But right at six as I go to turn the sign over, here he is again. Nic walks in like he’s stepping on eggshells, visibly making himself smaller and less threatening somehow, and I can’t decide if I like that he’s deferring to me somewhat or if I hate it because that’s not who he really is.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare him down. No way am I letting him off the hook after the bullshit he tried to pull last night.

“What?” Nic looks at me calmly, no sign of the fight we had, his voice even. “Can we talk, Rose? Not like yesterday. We need to have a real conversation.”

I know he’s right. If nothing else, we need to do this so that we can move forward and he can move on, if he’s doing what I expect.

“Fine, come on.”

Just like last night, we walk to the back room. I settle into my chair and Nic grabs the same chair he used last night and flips it around, straddling it as he faces me. Probably a bad omen, but we need to just get this done.

He looks at me for a moment, like he’s gathering his thoughts. “First, I want to apologize. I didn’t intend to sound so . . . mean last night. I was just in shock, I guess.”

I nod, wanting to get this over with. If he’s here to say he doesn’t want any part of things, then I can deal with it. But I don’t want to drag the whole fucking thing out. “Fine. Just so we’re clear, I didn’t do anything to the condom, and I’m sure it’s yours because you’re the only guy I’ve slept with in . . .” I pause, chastising myself for not just stopping at ‘it’s yours.’ Jeez, what a way to sound like a desperate baby-making wench. “Let’s just say it had been a while.”

Nic nods, giving me a hint of that same amused smirk that made me want to fuck him three times in one night. “I know. I mean, I figured. It had been a while for me too. Work. I love it but I hate it.”

There’s a tender note in the room as we both let that sink in. Somehow, in this weird roll of the dice that is the universe, two people who were running long dry streaks met, clicked, and in a single torrid night of passion that obviously made a memory for both of us, we kindled the life that’s now growing inside my belly.

I continue, setting aside the philosophy lesson for later. “And contrary to what you seem to think, I’m not some conniving shrew who wanted to lock you down. That’s why I left you alone. You didn’t ask for this then, and I don’t need you now.”

Nic’s voice is gravel, his eyes going flinty as he figures out his reply. “Why didn’t you at least tell me? I would have liked to be given the choice.”

I shrug, not knowing exactly how to explain it all. “I did call. In fact, it took a little work to track you down. I found your number, called your office to speak with you, and left a very precise message with your conscientious-sounding assistant. She said you were out of state, but she’d give you the message. I didn’t hear from you, so I figured you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Nic shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling. “I swear I never got a message. I did go out of town . . . well, I’m always out of town, actually, but I went off-grid for a few weeks. I got back and had tons of messages but nothing from you. There were some IT problems at the time. Things might have gotten lost.”

I fall off my high horse a bit, the honesty in his voice telling me he’s not just giving me a line of shit to try and assuage my feelings. “You didn’t get my message? You didn’t just ditch me as a random one-night stand in a place you never planned to visit again?”

Nic leans forward, taking my hands in his and looking into my eyes. “Rose, that night we shared was amazing. When you were gone the next morning with barely a Thank You note, I just figured it was a one-night stand that would never be topped. And when I never heard anything, it just confirmed it. I’ve spent the past five months trying to get you out of my mind, and I haven’t been able to. I did come here for work, but I was hoping to see you again.”

I smile, a little bit of ice around my heart melting. “It was hard making that call. Really, you didn’t want this so I’m not going to be angry. I didn’t ask you to get me pregnant. If you’re out, it’s okay, no hard feelings.”

Nic smiles back at me, a dimple popping deep into his cheek. “You’re pregnant with our baby.”

“Yep, that’s how it works. Unless it’s an immaculate conception.”

He squats down so fast I think he’s going to fall to his knees, and I worry for a second before he smiles more, bringing his face close to my tiny baby bump. “My baby.” Sitting back on his haunches, a huge smile breaks across his face as he shakes his head, looking up at me with an innocent wonder that makes him look not only handsome and sexy, but young too, like some impossible figure who’s wise and youthful at the same time. “I have no idea what to do, what to say, what to think . . . but I want to figure it out. Together.”

I smile back, wanting to reach out and take his hand, but I stop myself. We’re not there yet. “That sounds great, Nic. Because we don’t even really know each other. We’re about to be parents and I don’t know you.”

Nic hums and nods. “All right, so we may be doing this backward, but I want to know you. You’re going to be the mother of my child, after all. So, Rose, how about some dinner?”

I laugh a little. This is just so damn ridiculous that it’s the only reaction I can have. “You mean like a date?”

He nods, reaching forward and taking my hand, another little spark jumping between us as he does. “No, not like a date. A date. That’s what people usually do, right? So let’s date, get to know one another.”

It’s a little crazy, and he’s right, we are doing this backward. But it sounds like the best idea I’ve ever heard in this moment.

“Ok, Nic, let’s go. But it’s gonna have to be a pretty awesome one. My last date ended up pretty incredible.”