Page 29 of Be My Baby

“Do you need to talk about it?”

She shrugged one delicate shoulder, her smart, bright pink shirt sliding partway down her arm. “What’s the point? It bombed.”

Max couldn’t help the disappointment that washed his blood in unexpected sadness. He blinked sightlessly then focused on the bottle in his hands.

Sad. Yes. He was sad.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise what Millie was telling him, even in such a public place as this.

It hadn’t worked.

He drew a deep breath and smiled at the person standing on her other side, taking their order. He poured the beer and glanced at Millie again, the current customer chatting happily with someone to Max’s left, ignoring him completely.

He was fine with that. It gave him time to watch Millie, gauge her mood. It wasn’t difficult to see—she looked miserable.

“Hey, Si?” Max stepped up to his brother and tapped his shoulder. “You and Gabe cover for a few minutes. I’m taking a break.”

Simon raised his eyebrows and looked at the busy bar area, incredulous. “A break.”

Max bit back his grin. Being the boss had its perks. “Yes. I’ll be back soon.”

Simon shrugged and shook his head, then went to the next person trying to get his attention. Max moved over in front of where Millie sat playing with her still-full wine glass.

He leaned in to get her attention. She looked up. He jerked his head toward the rear of the bar area. “Come with me?”

She nodded and slid down off her stool, rounded the bar and followed him toward his office.

Max closed the door. He turned and wrapped his arms tight around Millie. She tensed, her hands flat to his chest, then relaxed and slid her arms around his waist to press to his back. She laid her head on his chest and let out a long breath.

“I know it was only the first time, and I know statistics say it’s not unusual for it to take more than a few goes, but I’m sorry, Mil. I know how much you wanted it to work,” Max murmured.

She gripped him tighter and rubbed her face against his chest. A shudder went through her. “Thank you.”

She was always so contained, so efficient and strong. For her to let him comfort her like this meant she was struggling. That thought only made him hold her tighter. They stood there for a few minutes, the ticking clock the only sound in the room. Max pressed a kiss to the top of her head and leaned back to try to see her face and gestured to a chair.

Millie disentangled herself from his arms and sat in the spare office chair next to his desk in that careful, sexy way she had of doing seemingly… everything.

Deliberate. No wasted movement. But sexy as hell.

She crossed a leg over her knee and Max had to look away. Her skater-style skirt had slipped to reveal a smooth length of shapely thigh almost right up to the bottom of her hip. He shifted on his chair, his clothes suddenly too tight. He glanced up at the wall. He should’ve put the air conditioning on in here.

“I don’t want to sound clinical, considering, but I’ve been doing a little research of my own and I keep coming across the same information from all the reputable sites.”

Millie entwined her fingers on her thigh and tilted her head. “Which is?”

Max sat back, picked up a pen to fiddle with, and kept his gaze firmly on her face. He’d soon see what she thought of his next words. She wouldn’t be able to disguise her initial thoughts and he’d know if it was out of the question pretty quickly.

“All of the evidence, statistics, whatever you want to call it, basically points to the same thing. That if you want the best outcome for possible pregnancy, the best way to achieve that is for the sample to be placed via natural methods.” He cleared his throat at her questioning brow furrow. “That is to say, the sample should be inserted via di—” He cut himself off and shook his head, then gestured at his hips. “By a penis. Via sex. Ejaculation.”

Heat flooded his faced and he couldn’t hold her gaze. He stared at a point on the wall beyond her shoulder. Why the heck was it so difficult to talk about something as natural as sex?

Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m trying to knock her up and it sounds like I just want to get in her pants?

He almost cringed at his own thoughts.

Colour washed over Millie’s cheeks. Her mouth fell partly open as her eyes widened.

“You want to have sex with me?”