Secret Plunge - Jasmin Miller Page 0,2

felt in a very long time.

This is pure desire. Total ecstasy. And I can’t get enough.

The goose bumps start at the back of my neck and go all the way to my toes. Every touch feels like a heated caress. Cherished and treasured. Desired. Ryan makes me feel like I’m the hottest woman that has ever walked the earth, and it feels so damn amazing. A feeling I want to hold on to and store away so I can remember it later on.

The moment we’re naked and our bodies collide in a glorious heap of moans and groans on the bed is when I forget everything around me. The tiny devil on my shoulder has vanished.

This is all me and Ryan.

Together, we create magic.

Very naughty and very delicious magic until the sun comes up.

Two

Harper

THREE WEEKS LATER

“Son of a biscuit eater.” The words fly from my mouth a lot louder than I’d planned, but it feels good regardless.

Tara’s chuckle rings from my laptop speakers. “What was that?”

I shrug. “Practice.”

“Kid-friendly cussing, huh? I think you still have a while until you have to worry about that.” She shifts around on her bed, making her picture move around on the screen.

My stomach rolls at the motion.

Great. Exactly what I need.

She flinches when she sees my face. “Sorry. I’ll stop moving.”

“Thanks.”

After a long pause, she gives me a hesitant look. “And you’re really sure?”

I nod and purse my lips before blowing air past my lips.

Reaching beside me on the bedside table, I grab a handful of pregnancy sticks and hold them toward the built-in camera. “I took five different tests. I think that qualifies as really sure.”

“Shit.”

“Pretty much.”

“And you don’t have his full name or number?”

I shake my head, a wave of heat rushing to my cheeks. “I told you I snuck out the morning after. It was stupid, I know. I didn’t want things to be awkward, and when I saw him lying there in all his naked glory, I . . . I panicked.”

Tara holds up her hands. “It’s okay. Even though it would make this situation a lot easier if you had more info, you obviously didn’t expect this outcome, and I understand why you did it.”

Images from my night with Ryan occupy my brain like they have so often in the last three weeks, but what used to be one hell of a hot memory, is now laced with an unhealthy dose of anxiety. Even with a handful of pee-sticks it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’m pregnant.

Since I got a variety of tests, I’m faced not only with blue lines, pink lines, and a pink plus sign, but I also bought a fancy test that spells it out in all clarity. 2-3 weeks pregnant.

“Harp, take a deep breath. You look really pale.” Tara’s concerned gaze meets me on the computer screen as my eyes tear up.

“How is this happening? I didn’t think I could screw things up even more, but look at me. After everything that happened last year, this feels like the ultimate middle finger in my face. Now I have to raise a child. By myself.”

“You didn’t screw up.” Tara offers me a small smile, but it doesn’t help to tame the frustration in me.

I sniff and wipe at my nose angrily. “How can you say that? Look at me. I’m twenty-four, my husband divorced me, and I had to move back in with my mom because I was fired and can’t afford my own place. And now I’m pregnant and don’t even know the father’s last name.”

The look she gives me is pained, and I can’t decide if it makes me feel better or worse. I know she feels a little guilty because she can’t find the business card Ryan’s friend Beckett—her hookup—gave her with his number.

“I know you had one hell of a year and that it looks bad right now, but I also know you’ll figure things out. And I’ll help as much as I can from over here, I promise. Just . . . try and stay positive, okay? You’re a lot tougher than you think you are.”

I still can’t see anything good in all of this, but I nod anyway. There’s no need to pull Tara down any more than I already have. “I’ll try.”

“Somehow it’ll all work out, I just know it.”

Her comment makes me laugh. “Are you psychic now?”

She chuckles. “No, but . . . I don’t know. I’m simply a big believer in good things