She dropped her eyes to the floor, counting to ten as she tried to control her temper. What she really wanted to say was, “Oh, so now you’re ready to talk?” When she looked back up, she noticed something strange. His pants were several inches too short. He was wearing his usual work attire of cargo pants and a company shirt, but none of it appeared to fit. His muscular chest, arms, and shoulders were always visible, but the shirt he was wearing outlined every taut inch of his upper body. Come to think of it, the pants were also formfitting. Heck, she had to pull her eyes away from his crotch. Those pants were like a spotlight on his impressive length. Oh God, she was staring. Gage was giving her a knowing grin, but she couldn’t tell if Dominic had noticed, thanks to his sunglasses. “I . . . er . . . have to get to work. Maybe we can talk this evening.”
Dominic raised a hand, rubbing at his temple as if he had a headache. “I don’t know what time I’ll be back. We’re going to Charleston as soon as Mac picks us up.”
“Charleston?” Gwen hissed out before she could stop herself. “You seem to be going there an awful lot lately.” She couldn’t remember Mac going that often when they’d been dating.
“We live for that place,” Gage joked before pointing to Mac’s car pulling up out front. “Gotta go, bro. You know how cranky McKinley gets when we keep him waiting.”
“I’ll call you tonight unless it’s too late when we get in. I really don’t know. But we need to talk.” They stood staring at each other for another moment. It felt weird not to at least touch in some way as they usually would. Dominic finally gave her a brief smile before walking off, still rubbing his head. I bet Kandi can make him feel better today, Gwen thought cattily. Maybe the other woman liked her men to wear clothes that were too tight. There was no way Dominic would be working a stripper pole in those pants, though. The seams would blow out within the first ten seconds.
Gwen kicked her foot against the tile floor in the lobby. This was the second official day of knowing she was pregnant, and so far, nothing had changed. She didn’t feel any different and she had no idea where things stood with the father of her baby. Yeah, her life was going so well. It made her long for the days when her hardest decision was what flavor of Ben & Jerry’s to buy for her evening at home.
* * *
“Dom, either you packed on twenty pounds overnight or your clothes seriously shrank in the wash, man.” Mac grinned as he looked at Dominic’s too tight shirt.
Gage, always one to volunteer too much information—except for his relationship with Shannon—stuck his head between the seats of Mac’s Tahoe, saying, “He got wasted last night and passed out at my place. We didn’t have time for him to go home and change this morning.”
Mac shook his head as if not believing what he heard. “You got drunk? And on a school night? That’s not like you. What’s up?”
“Well, Gwen is . . .” Gage began until Dominic put his hand up in the other man’s face.
“Mind if I talk here, Chatty Cathy?” When Gage waved a hand for him to go ahead, Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose before saying, “Gwen’s pregnant.”
Mac darted a look his way before pulling out into the Myrtle Beach traffic. “But I thought you said that she wasn’t. Didn’t you tell me that?”
“He did, but then shit got real yesterday outside his apartment and he had a bomb dropped on him,” Gage piped in again.
Dominic’s head was killing him and his body felt like a bus had hit him. He was ready to kill someone, and Gage was setting himself up to be a perfect target with his loose lips. “Shit got real all right, when I saw your boy back there sucking my neighbor’s face.”
Mac’s hands twitched on the steering wheel, causing them all to yell in alarm before he quickly righted the Tahoe. “Gage, what the hell man? You caused this mess? Please tell me you didn’t hit on Gwen!”
As Gage bristled indignantly in the backseat, Dominic continued, “Gage has been involved in a secret little affair with our neighbor, Shannon. As in the single mother, with two kids.”
“Maddy and Megan’s mom?” Mac blinked. “Gage, that’s who you’re in a relationship with? That’s just—well, hell, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Messed up?” Dominic offered. “Can you imagine the shit that will come out of their mouths now with Daddy Gage in the house?”
“Hey listen, you nosy assholes,” Gage snapped, sounding seriously pissed off, “that’s my girl and her kids you’re talking about.”
“Actually, we’re talking about you and not them,” Mac pointed out. “Come on, brother, we all sprout the F-word like it’s our national anthem. Plus you’ve screwed your way through most of the women in South Carolina and more than your fair share overseas. How are you managing to keep your mouth PG-rated and your dick in your pants?”
“It’s not as if I’m incapable of being faithful to someone,” Gage defended. “I’ve just never found anyone who I wanted to be with—like that. But Shannon, she’s different. She makes me want to be better. She . . .”
Dominic opened his mouth and pretended to gag. “I swear to God, if you say she completes you, I’ll have Mac pull over and throw you out of the car.”
“Just because your life is a mess, big papa, don’t take it out on me. Shannon and I have it together more than you and Gwen do right now.”