If she didn’t, then Gavin would surely kick her out. She didn’t see him around the cabin often, only when he needed to sleep. She couldn’t interrupt that man’s sleep schedule with a crying baby. Gavin seemed to be going through something, and while she didn’t understand, she didn’t want to make his healing process any harder than it already was.
Except when he asked her how to find Nellie. His obsession with her friend struck Isabella as strange. Nellie had asked both Isabella and Evangeline to keep her whereabouts a secret, so Isabella gave him a non-committal shrug every time.
When he came roaring into the kitchen, she quickly covered her newspaper before looking up at him.
“Still not going to tell me?” Gavin asked.
Isabella have him her usual shrug. Gavin’s upper lip curled. She wanted to ask him why finding Nellie was so important to him, but he stormed out of the room before she could say anything.
Her shoulders dropped, tension flowing out of her as her muscles relaxed. She uncovered her newspaper and pulled it closer before circling another option. There weren’t many apartments in town that she could afford, but every now and then she came across a studio that seemed nice.
The sound of bags hitting the floor startled her and made her yelp.
She spun in her seat and found Dillon staring down at the newspaper on the table. A look of betrayal twisted his countenance. His chest inflated, like he would say something. She watched him quickly deflate, shake his head, and stalk out of the room.
Her gaze dropped to the bags on the floor. Thinking they were groceries for dinner, she picked them up and started to unpack them. It became very apparent this was not what she thought when she pulled out a pack of rabbit snacks.
“Oh,” she said under her breath.
She found a bottle of rose bubble bath, a pair of fuzzy socks with rabbits on them, and a bag of peanut butter candies, too. No man under this roof would want anything to do with these items. Which could only mean Dillon had bought them for her.
The newspaper now under the gifts seemed to accuse her of treachery. She scowled down at it while her heart tried to make sense of what had happened.
She gathered the gifts in her arms and padded back to her room to put them away. When she found her door open, she didn’t hesitate. Just as she thought, Dillon waited for her inside. He crouched near Persimmon’s cage with a finger through the grate for Persimmon to sniff.
“I didn’t know you’d be leaving,” Dillon said without turning around.
Had anyone else gone near Persimmon during an argument like this, her heart would have raced. Tommy would have used the rabbit against her, used it as a hostage. Right now, she suspected Dillon hadn’t come to her room for any nefarious purposes, but to instead to find comfort in Persimmon’s company.
Isabella closed the door behind her so no one could eavesdrop on their conversation. “Gavin agreed to let me live here, but he made that decision without knowing about…you know. He won’t want to deal with a baby in seven months. They scream and cry and Gavin doesn’t seem like the kind of person who can handle that.”
Dillon stood upright. Without meeting her gaze, he came to embrace her. His forehead rested against her shoulder. She held him, one hand on his back while she threaded her fingers through his hair with the other.
“I can’t ask you to stay,” he said.
Though he said he couldn’t ask her, the words carried a tone that almost seemed to beg for him. Her heart couldn’t handle the desperation coming from him. The need he expressed called to a similar need inside herself.
She’d ignored it all week, trying to tell herself that she didn’t need a man. Yet, every time she came across Dillon in a hall or in the kitchen, she had to fight to keep from reaching for him. Nothing felt as good as the moments when he held her like this. When her body pressed against his, and she could feel his strength, she felt at ease.
She couldn’t change her situation, though. The baby would come, and she would have to have a home set up for them.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she whispered to Dillon. “I love it here. I love the mountain view. I love making food for you and the other guys. I love being able to see you every day. But out of respect for the others, I’ll need to find my own place soon.”
Even though she spoke of leaving, her fingers tighten in Dillon’s shirt. As he straightened, he lifted her with him. Her feet left the floor. He cradled her against him, so steady that she had no fear of falling.
He brought her to the bed, where he turned and sat. She adjusted, one knee on either side of him so she could wrap her whole body around him. Though she told herself she needed to remain just friends, she couldn’t help but want to break her own rules.
“I remember the first time I saw you,” she said. “I’d walked Evangeline to work that morning and stood outside the shop, so I could watch you through the window. You didn’t see me, but I certainly noticed you. You’re so much taller and wider than the others. I had eyes for you and you alone, but I didn’t think you would notice me.”
Dillon’s fingers pressed into her flesh, a tight grip that told her he never wanted to let go. “I saw you. I would have chased you down if I hadn’t overheard you mention a boyfriend.”
Isabella lurched back. “You heard what I said outside the shop?”
Dillon nodded.
Then another voice joined, shouting from another room. “We have great hearing!”
Dillon growled Gavin’s name under his breath. Isabella fumbled out of Dillon’s grasp She paced back and forth several times before yanking the door open and shouting back to Gavin.
“How much have you heard?” Her voice echoed down the hall.
When no answer came, she nervously picked at the curls over her shoulder. Gavin was going to kick her out for sure. She hadn’t found a new place to live yet. She never should have kept her pregnancy a secret. Transparency would have saved her from this moment.
Just as her fear and anxiety were about to get the best of her, Dillon pulled her into his arms. She released a breath and drew in a fresh mouthful of air.
“I have nowhere to go,” she said into Dillon’s skin.
“You don’t have to go anywhere unless you want to,” he assured her.
She didn’t know how he could be so sure. This wasn’t his house. He didn’t get to say what happened here.
Dillon must have heard her heart start to thump again because he pulled back and cupped her face, so she had to look at him. He gave her a sweet, reassuring smile.
“We would never let anything bad happen to you. You’ll never be homeless.”
“You can’t promise that.” She hated how whiny her voice sounded.
“I would promise you the world and find a way to follow through,” he told her.
The hurried beat of her heart shifted from fear to desire. Before she could move into him, Dillon’s lips descended upon hers. His hands slipped lower until one rested on her neck and the other explored her narrow frame. She tilted her head back to give him full access. His tongue pushed past her lips and drew a moan from her.
She needed his touch, needed the way he made her feel. Ravenous for affection, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and tugged him closer. He responded with his arm around her lower back.