I yawned as I turned my computer on. I had a great time at my cousin’s party, but I was glad to be home and back to work. I was exhausted, though. I yawned again.

Tim caught me. “Hey, you’re still tired?” He came around the desk and bent down to kiss me. “I agreed to not stay last night so you could get some rest. Did you catch up on your DVR instead?”

“No, I went straight to bed.” I knew why I was tired, but I wasn’t willing to tell him that information yet. I needed to put the baby first and see if he was really the Tim I fell in love with.

He pulled me to my feet. “Maybe we should’ve taken today off, too, and spent the day in bed.” He kissed my neck.

“That sounds nice, but we already missed Friday.” I moved my head to give him better access when he went to the other side.

“Hank didn’t burn the place down. I think he could handle another day. We could still sneak out of here.” He kissed me.

Hank cleared his throat. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but you didn’t give me the keys to anything that made fire, so there was never any risk.”

I backed away from Tim and sat at my desk. I was hoping to talk to Hank before he found out. I had planned on calling him the night before, but I fell asleep.

“One thing at a time. If you’re good, you might get them next time.” Tim turned back to me. “I’ll talk to you later.” He bent down and kissed the top of my head.

I hoped Hank would walk out with Tim, but I knew that was wishful thinking. I decided to open my email and get to work. I didn’t want the questions I knew were coming from him. It wasn’t that he’d be out of line. It was because I knew I couldn’t keep anything from him, but I wasn’t going to tell him about the baby when Tim was right next door.

“So, how did it go?”

“I had a great time at the party.”

“I’d say. It looks like you’re having a great time now, too.” He sat down and looked at me with big eyes that said, “Explain. Now.”

“Okay, I guess I just need to get this over with. You’ll bug me until I say.”

“That’s right. I will. I have no shame.” He held his hand up. “Wait.” He got up and shut the door. “Now you may talk.” He hurried back to the chair. “And leave nothing out.”

“I guess when he saw us at Brody’s wedding it flipped a switch in him. He wanted me back. But, he saw you enter my room and I had some silly grin on my face—”

“Uh, if I remember correctly, you were laughing at me. Friends do not laugh.” He motioned with his hand. “Continue.”

“You’re right. I was laughing at you.” I laughed again. “He didn’t know that. He thought I was inviting you in for . . . stuff.”

“Sex. He thought we were going to have sex. What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything. My mom told him you were gay.”

He narrowed his eyes. “She just blurted it out? Like, let’s laugh at April’s gay friend?”

“No, no.” I stood, walked over to the chair next to him, and turned it to face him before I sat down. I grabbed his hands. “My mom would never do that. I guess she’s known that Tim and I broke up. She asked him about it. He told her he thought you and I were dating and he just wanted me to be happy. That’s when she told him we weren’t possibly dating because you’re gay.”

“Okay. I never got that vibe from your mom, but I never thought your mom would out me, either.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is it a secret?”

“No, of course not. I knew he thought we were dating so I did things to make him think it more.” He raised his eyebrows and showed all of his teeth with his big, nervous smile.

“You did what?”

“I thought he should take notice of what he was missing. I never told him we were dating, but I never corrected him.”

“He told you?” I sat back in the chair. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I told him once that if he still wanted you, he needed to fight for you. He went the other way and loved you so much he let you go. I was going to tell him when I knew he’d calmed down enough so I’d want to help him win you back if he wanted. He was going to have to prove a few things first. He scared me for a little while.”

I nodded. “He scared me, too. We had three hours of nothing to do but talk on the way home, so we were able to get some things worked out.”

“What does that mean now?”

“It means we try again. I’m not giving up my place. He still needs to win me back, but I’m not going to fight very hard this time.” I smiled.

“I can see that.” He pointed to the desk where he caught us kissing. “How are things really?”

“He’s almost like the Tim I first met. He still has issues with a few subjects where he gets angry and wants to shut down, but he’s working on that.”

“You know I will always be here for you. Just because I’ll stop dropping by unannounced with pizza or Chinese food doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I hope you are able to work things out. You’ve loved this man for far too long to give up now.”

I moved to his lap and hugged him. “I knew you’d understand.”

Tim walked in and I could hear the air he sucked in trying to keep calm. I pulled away and looked at Hank. He winked and nudged me to get up. He bent down and kissed my cheek as he whispered into my ear, “I’ve got you.”

Tim wasn’t pleased. “I’m standing right here.”

Hank smiled before he turned around. “Oh, yes, you are.” He walked over to him with an exaggerated swing in his hips and placed a hand on Tim’s chest. “If things don’t work out with blondie back there,” he used his fingers as a phone, “call me.”

Tim narrowed his eyes and looked to the side as Hank walked to the door. He turned and blew me a kiss before walking out.

Tim turned his eyes toward me and his face didn’t relax. His eyes were narrowed and hard. His jaw was set and his lips were in a tight line. “He does know we’re back together now.”

I walked up to him and put my hands on his hips. “He knows we’re dating. He’s a very good friend who helped me, Tim. Nothing more.”

“Dating?” He cocked his head to the side. “We aren’t dating. We are back together.”

“I think that’s a little quick. We’ve been not together for a long time. I think we need to ease into this.”

He scoffed. “So, I’m just a date to you?”

“You are more than just a date. You know that. I want to do it right this time.”

“I’ve hurt you. I get that, but you’ve hurt me, too.”

“Which is all the more reason we need to take it slow. If we can’t get over the past hurts, there’s no point in jumping into this.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” He paced the room and ran his hand over his mouth. “You don’t think there’s a future for us?”

“I hope there’s a future for us, but it’s things like this that make me question it. Why are we even arguing? Can you tell me that?”

He raised his voice and motioned to the chair Hank and I were sitting in. “Yeah, because you were on his lap. You were all over him!”

“Please calm down.” It seemed my words were easier for him to hear since we got back from my parents’. His shoulders relaxed and his face softened. It was going to take some time to get all the frustration out of his system, but I was willing to wait for him.

“He’s my friend. I was not all over him.” I walked up to him and squeezed his hips. “So what that I hugged him. He’s gay. He doesn’t care about me like that. You have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

He glanced to my lips before looking into my eyes. “He’s got a dick. I worry.”

I laughed and pulled his face down for a kiss. “Your dick is the only one I want to know about.”

He held my face when I tried to pull away. “Have your friendship all you want with him. I appreciate him helping you when I couldn’t. I don’t appreciate you sitting on his lap. I don’t know if I can handle that no matter if the man is gay or not.”

* * *

I watched Hank as he wrote a few notes in a file before he closed it and looked up, finally noticing me. I smiled. “You’re so focused when you work.”

“I can say the same about you.” He set the file to the side and motioned for me to come in. “You never come over here so this must be serious.”

I shook my head. “Not serious, but I did want to ask you a favor.”

“You want me to cool it with him so you can see where it goes.”

My lips curved up, but not in a true smile and I nodded once. “That’s exactly what I wanted to ask you.”

“I can do that only if you promise me that you will tell me if he reverts back to the asshole he has been. If I’m going to stay away, I won’t be able to read the two of you to know without you being honest.”

“I promise.” I sat down.

“What else is it? Is this his request? Is he forbidding you to talk to me?”

“No, nothing like that. He actually said I could have your friendship, but I’m not allowed to sit on your lap anymore.”

“I understand that. I wouldn’t want my boyfriend to sit on his even though Tim’s a straight man and not interested in gay sex.” He looked at me for a moment and took a deep breath. “May I be honest?”

“Aren’t you always?” I laughed.

He smiled. “Yes, but I usually wait until you’re ready to hear it. Since I won’t have much time with you after you leave my office, I feel the need to say it now.”

I sat up and braced myself. I didn’t like where his conversation was going. “Okay.”

He lowered his eyes. “You’ve touched your belly a dozen times.” He looked at me. He didn’t need to say any more.

I looked down. “I haven’t told him yet.”

His smile was genuine even though it held concern. “Come on. Get up. I need to hug you.” He walked around his desk and pulled me into the biggest bear hug I’d ever gotten from him. “How do you feel?”

“Tired.” I raised my head off his shoulder and looked at him. “And scared. I don’t know what to do. I’m going to keep it, but I don’t know what I should tell him or when.”

“It will become obvious eventually, but I assume this happened the night Briggs died.”

I nodded.

“Then you have time. You can still pretend you don’t know for a little while. Hopefully, that time will give you enough insight to know if Tim has changed or not. If he hasn’t, I’m going to need you to be honest with yourself. This isn’t just about you anymore.”

“I’ve been telling myself the same thing. I have to think of . . .” I rubbed my belly. I didn’t want to say the words out loud and risk someone overhearing. The last thing I wanted was Tim to find out before I was ready to tell him. I had a lot to think about first.