My ears buzz as I slip back into the gallery. All around, people talk and laugh, enjoying themselves. Not me. There’s a heavy weight in my gut, and I don’t know what to do about it.

Violet wants a baby.

Who would have thought? Looking at her life from the outside, it seems like she has it all. A business. The freedom of being single. Give me those two things and I’ll spend the rest of my life in absolute bliss.

Except… Thinking about it some more, I see the appeal of having a kid running around. Someone to teach things to. Someone to bring you food and drive you to the doctor when you’re old—that kind of shit.

As I stand by myself in the corner, pretending to be intensely interested in a wood carving, it makes more sense. In some ways, Violet and I are alike. We like to stand on our own, do things however we please. The few times I’ve thought about being a dad, the idea of having a wife clinging to me as well made me want to dry-heave.

For Violet, relationships are probably also unconventional. Her dad walked out on her and her mom a few years before we met, and I saw the effect that had on her. If twenty-nine-year old Violet is anything like eighteen-year-old Violet, she doesn’t trust people easily.

Of course she’d go to a sperm bank before a man. It’s classic Violet.

“Hey,” that familiar voice says.

I look up and find the subject of my thoughts pale, her hands clenched tight together.

“Sorry I disappeared like that. There was a bit of an emergency.”

“It’s fine.” I smile. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah.” She won’t look at me.

“You sure?” I stare at Violet’s face until her eyes come to mine.

“Yes,” she forcefully answers. “It’s just a stressful night. There’s a lot going on.”

“I know.”

Her eyes narrow slightly.

“Can I talk to you?” I ask, heart thumping away.

Since I overheard Violet’s phone call while looking for the bathroom, an idea has been forming in my mind. At first I told myself it was stupid, but now I’m starting to wonder if it’s anything but.

Could be that it’s fucking brilliant.

“What’s up?”

She’s trying to make her voice light and carefree, but failing. Violet was always a shitty actress.

“It’s personal.” I send a purposeful look in the direction of the hallway her office is down.

“Okay…”

With a curt nod, I lead the way and go right into her office. Violet stands in the open doorway, confusion on her face.

“How did you know this is my—”

“I heard your phone call.” I turn to face her, and, somehow, she blanches even more.

“You were eavesdropping on me?”

“Accidentally. I was looking for the bathroom.”

Violet’s mouth falls open, and little noises that sound like the beginning of words escape it, but nothing full comes out.

I step closer, hand outstretched. “Let me be your sperm donor.”

“What?!”

She shakes her head, looking at me like I’m crazy before glancing over her shoulder. A large burst of group laughter travels down the hall. Violet steps all the way into the office and closes the door but stays with her back almost against it.

“Think about it,” I push. “It’s the perfect situation.”

She holds her hands up, silently telling me to shut up.

“I don’t know what you think you heard, Sean, but I’m not looking for some guy to screw.”

“You’re looking for a sperm donor.”

The room becomes quiet.

“Yes,” she whispers.

“And it sounded like it’s not going to work out with whoever you had lined up.”

Violet’s eyebrow twitches.

“A sperm bank in Los Angeles. I, um…I don’t have the time to travel there right now.”

“So let me be your donor.”

Another silence passes, but this one is different. She’s finally thinking about my offer.

“You mean go to a doctor and have it done?”

“Or we just do it the old-fashioned way.”

Her blue eyes grow round.

Now, it’s my turn to hold up my hands and ask her to wait.

“It’s perfect. Just think about it. With me, it’s free. You won’t have to pay a cent. And it’s not like we’re strangers.”

Violet rubs her teeth across her bottom lip. She’s still looking at me like I just broke out of the insane asylum, but there’s something new there, too. She’s softening.

“Why would you do this?” she asks, voice so low it’s almost a whisper.

Do I give her the truth, or some watered-down version of it?

“I…I want to make up for letting us drift apart.”

Violet’s shoulders sag. “Oh, Sean… You don’t have to apologize for that. I didn’t stay in touch with you, either.”

“But I do feel bad.”

I step closer to her, and when I take her warm hand in mine, she doesn’t resist.

Wanting to make up for my fuck-up is only part of the reason. Though I haven’t seen Violet in years, she’s played a part in dozens of late-night fantasies. I’ve always wondered what she’d be like in bed.

And now, the perfect opportunity to find out has fallen into my lap.

“No strings attached,” I promise. “We’ll do it until you’re pregnant. Although I probably won’t need more than one time.” I grin.

She cocks her head. “And why is that?”

“In the army, they called me One-Shot Sean.”

Her eyes bug out of her face. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah.”

“Because you…” Her eyes drift down my torso, making heat ripple across my skin.

“No. I was a good shot behind the barrel.”

“Oh.” She blushes and nails her gaze to the floor.

I was more than a ‘good shot’. I was one of the best snipers out there. But that’s not a lighthearted subject. My time in the service, though it only ended a few weeks ago, is over. I’ve buried it and committed to moving on.

“How about this?” I drop her hand and step back, giving her some space to show her this is still her choice. I’m not pressuring her at all. “We make a bet.”

Violet’s eyebrows slowly rise. “Okay. I’m listening.”

“If I get you pregnant in one shot, you owe me a painting of my choice.”

She snorts.

“You really think you’re that good? How do you know your sperm count is up to par? Or that I’m even that fertile? Even if you’re good at what you do, it could be my most infertile time of the month.”

“I have a feeling that together, you and I can’t help but be successful.”

Violet’s lips part and her breathing picks up. God, those lips…My own burn with the need to take them, but I can’t. Such a ballsy move taken too soon could ruin everything.

“I…” She huffs. “This is a lot to think about all of a sudden. Sean, I decided to go with a sperm bank precisely because I don’t want to deal with a guy. I want to raise my kid on my own, without worrying about someone else being in the picture.”

“You can do that.” I nod. “Again, I’ll just be the donor.”

She bites her lip, and I get distracted with how sexy she looks. God, the things I’m going to do with her soon…

There’s a knock on the door.

“Violet?” a female voice calls. “It’s Kaila. Someone is asking about Spencer’s wood carvings.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Violet calls over her shoulder.

We stay frozen until the footsteps recede.

“Here.” I pull my phone out of my pocket. “I got a new phone; what’s your number?”

She gives it to me, and I shoot her a text right away, adding an emoji of a red-haired baby for good measure.

“Think about it, okay?”

“What do you get out of this?”

“I told you.”

She’s clearly not convinced. “You just want to make up for lost time?”

“And sleep with you once or twice,” I say with a wink.

She silently gasps, and her chest heaves with quick breaths. Though it’s crazy painful, I know this is the height of the conversation, and I need to end it while we’re riding high. It’s the only way to make sure she leaves wanting more.

Reaching around Violet, I open the door. She stays where she is while it swings open.

“Call me tomorrow,” I tell her.

I walk past her, my eyes latched on hers, so close our shoulders brush.

With zings of electricity running through me, I leave the gallery and get on my bike. Once astride it, though, I pause, and just look down at the helmet in my hands.

Everything I told Violet was true. I want the chance to sleep with her, and the chance to make up for lost time. But there’s more, too.

The thought of being married still fills me with horror, but having a kid that I might be able to see part-time? Now that’s something I can get down with. Even if it would be just stopping by on the weekends. I could take him or her to the beach and teach them how to surf, and then, when they got older, I could buy them their first motorcycle.

Scratch that. My mom is right. Bikes are too dangerous. I’m fine with risking my own neck on one daily, but I wouldn’t let my kid do that.

My kid.

I know Violet said she doesn’t want a man involved, but maybe she would change her mind with me. I’m not looking to split parenting time fifty-fifty. Just being around some would be nice. And—though she probably won’t admit this—if she’s going to have a baby, she’ll need as much help as she can get.

Like I told her, it’s the perfect situation. I just need to get her to see that.