AudreyI gave myself one last look in the mirror, nodding as though that was some sort of pep talk. I threw the test in the trash and washed my hands. Then, I opened the door. “I’m pregnant,” I announced.Trish gave me a big hug. “Oh Audrey,” she said. She looked like she had a million questions. She tactfully didn’t ask any of them, though, waiting for me to say more.I slumped into a seat in the living room. “I’m pregnant,” I repeated. I looked around at them. “I think I’m going to keep it.” My hand came up to protectively rest against my belly, not that I was showing any signs of the pregnancy there yet. When it really came down to it, there wasn’t a question in my mind.I hadn’t prepared to have a baby yet. I wasn’t married, and I wasn’t settled down. This would shake my world down to its very foundations. At the end of the day, though, this baby had been created out of love. This baby was mine and Jesse’s, the culmination of all those years of friendship and more. I could never g

AudreyI rubbed my eyes and yawned hugely, looking at my phone again. Still nothing from Annabelle. She was supposed to be here to pick me up at the Fayetteville airport. I couldn’t help the prickle of irritation that I felt at the fact that she was late. Granted, I hadn’t given her much warning that I would be coming back.That said, I had just finished up 23 hours of travel time, including two layovers, to get back here, and I was exhausted and cranky. Not to mention the fact that I was dying for a shower and a fresh change of clothes. Fortunately, my nausea hadn’t been too bad on the flight, although I had brought my own snacks rather than trying to eat what the airline dished out to me. I’d stuck to water as well. That seemed to help.Still, I couldn’t help feeling the complete opposite of a glamorous ballerina right now. Normally, I dressed semi-professional for flights, in slacks and a nice shirt. When I’d gone to put on my slacks, though, I found that they weren’t at all comfor

Audrey“Have you at least given Jesse a heads-up already?” Annabelle asked. “It is his, right? Not some French dude’s? I mean, it’s okay if it’s some French dude’s, but Jesse’s going to be heartbroken.”I shook my head. “It’s his. But I haven’t told him yet. I wanted to tell him in person,” I said, even though I knew that part of my delay was just that I was having a hard time getting the courage to do it.“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Annabelle said. She paused. “You probably don’t want to tell him in the middle of his work day, huh?”“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “To be honest, I really need a shower and a night of good sleep first.” I glanced over at her, wondering if she would argue with that. I knew that Jesse had a right to know. It wasn’t like I was going to try to keep this from him. I just wasn’t ready for that conversation yet. Surely, she would understand that.Fortunately, Annabelle was nodding. “Yeah, let’s get you home.” She started the car. Was it just my imag

AudreyI had been nervous about how my reunion with Jesse would go. Would there still be that lingering anger that had driven us apart over my last few days in North Carolina? I knew that he had apologized for that, and I of course had forgiven him. Still, there might be an awkwardness that hadn’t been there before.He could have realized what I had been telling him all along, that dance was the most important thing to me and that he couldn’t factor into those decisions. He could have decided that he was better off with someone else. Because hell, he sure deserved someone else. He was a good guy, and he deserved someone who was going to put him first.He didn’t seem to be thinking along those lines, though, as he kissed me. The kiss was heated, his soft lips moving firmly against mine. He took control of the kiss, plunging his tongue into my mouth and tangling his fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck to guide me into a slightly different angle so that our noses weren’t mushed to

JesseI tried not to think about the inevitability of her return to France. She might be done with the Global Travelling Dance Academy of Performing Arts for now, but I knew her well enough to know that it wasn’t forever. She’d be back eventually. Sooner rather than later, probably.I pushed those thoughts aside, though, reminding myself of what she had said to me the last time she was here: Can’t we just enjoy the time that we have? That was what I wanted to do now. Although I also intended to have a serious conversation with her at some point about our future. There was no way in hell I was letting her go off back to France without me again. No way in hell.For now, though, we’d keep things light. “Have you had lunch yet?” I asked her as I slid into the driver’s seat of my truck.Audrey shook her head. “Nope, and I’m starving,” she admitted. “This whole jetlag thing is hell on my body, let me tell you.”“When did you get back?” I asked her. “Just today?”“Yesterday, actually,” Audre