What the . . .

He clicked back into the book she’d been reading, flipped back a few pages, uncertain where he’d picked the device up, and left it next to her bag and hat.

“I might have to take up reading again,” Victor said, staring at Dylan.

Dylan offered a sad smile.

So many questions came at once. Shannon was considering a baby, which was obvious. Skipping the syringe meant sleeping around, trapping a man? No, no . . . single mothers. No dad needed for that. Except in the baby making part of the deal. Kinda hard to have a baby without a man or the implied syringe.

Victor tried to find some kind of incriminating behavior to point the finger toward Shannon working some kind of scheme to get pregnant without the man realizing what was going on.

Except all he came up with was the time she’d spent with him and the gay couple from Portugal.

Which left him.

Only his fiancée had walked out, and here Shannon was at his honeymoon hotel, by accident.

Was she playing him?

Was she playing anyone?

Son of a . . .

There was really only one way to find out.

Shannon skipped back onto the beach ten minutes later, much happier than when she’d left.

“Is everything okay?” Victor asked.

“Everything’s great.” She sat on her perch, waved a hand at the server on the beach. “I’m up for a Bloody Mary, anyone want one?”

“I’ll take one,” Erasmo said.

She looked at Victor.

“I’m good.”

“Dylan?”

“Too early for me.”

“How’s Avery?” Victor asked.

Shannon grinned and bit her lip. “Much better.”

“What’s so funny?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

The waiter approached, cutting off the conversation.

As Victor watched Shannon sipping what he would call a vacation cocktail or something given a name that made it okay to drink before noon, he completely ruled a pregnant Shannon out.

Her playing him, however, was still on the table. He had two days to figure out her game.

If there was one thing Victor had come to realize, it was that she was up to something.

Nothing could dim her mood. Even Avery grumbling around their room and checking her stomach’s profile in the full-length mirror while in complete denial.

Like clockwork, Avery’s transient stomach issues disappeared as the morning ran on, leaving her tired but hungry around two.

“We’ve been using protection.”

“Apparently not all the time.”

“I knew going off the pill was a bad idea.” At thirty-three, her doctor had suggested she take a break to test her hormone and thyroid levels. Add to that the fact that she and Liam had talked about having a baby . . . someday. “All your talk about getting pregnant scared me into thinking I wouldn’t.”

“Obviously not your concern.”

Avery paced the room, as she had most of the day. “We just got married.”

“Liam is going to be thrilled.”

“I know that. But he isn’t the one puking. I’m going to get fat.” She sat on the edge of a bed. “Maybe it’s just some kind of parasite.”

Shannon giggled. “Yeah, the nine month kind.”

“This isn’t funny.”

She took Avery’s hands in hers. “You’re going to be a great mom.”

Avery’s eyes opened wide. “Oh my God. I’ll be like my mother.”

“Not a chance.”

“What if I screw up?”

“You’re not going to screw up.”

Avery shook her head. “I’m not ready for this.”

Shannon knew her friend. It had taken her a long time to allow a relationship between her and Liam, even longer to admit it. Then one step after the other, Liam had put them on the fast track to getting married. Now this. “You’re ready. Liam is going to be the perfect father. You have me, Trina, and Lori. Everything is going to work out.”

Avery reverted back to her earlier argument. “I just got married.”

It was going to be a long night.

Victor found Dylan and Erasmo at the space reserved for their party before Shannon and Avery joined them.

He’d barely taken a seat before Dylan brought up their discovery earlier in the day. “What are your thoughts on Shannon’s choice in reading material?”

Victor glanced beyond Dylan to his husband.

Erasmo smiled. “We share everything. He already told me about it.”

Victor looked over his shoulder, didn’t see Shannon or Avery in sight. “Honestly, I’m confused.”

“She doesn’t act like she’s pregnant.”

“I don’t think she is,” Victor added. “She seems a lot more responsible than to be drinking during a pregnancy.”

“That’s what I pointed out,” Erasmo said. “But if she’s reading books on being a single mother, then maybe she’s considering her options.”

Dylan lowered his voice. “We know a lot of same-sex couples, and the women have talked openly about hooking up with a guy long enough to get the job done.”

“One even asked one of us to step in,” Erasmo told him.

Victor’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

They both nodded.

“Some of us have explored the other side before coming out, so it’s not terribly uncommon. And with fertility clinics being slow on the diversity train, same-sex couples haven’t always had the same options as hetero couples.” Dylan sighed. “We said no, in case you were wondering.”

Victor lifted his hands in the air. “Not my business.”

“Do you think maybe Shannon is here to find a guy to do the job?” Dylan asked.

The thought had crossed Victor’s mind more than once. “That’s where I’m confused. If she is, she isn’t going about it very aggressively.”

“She doesn’t seem to be the aggressive type.” Erasmo looked over Victor’s shoulder, lifted his chin. “We could just ask her.”

“Sure, and confess to invading her privacy by reading her book. Women don’t like that,” Victor said.

Dylan smiled. “He has a point, hon. I say we keep this to ourselves.”

Somehow Victor thought invading Shannon’s privacy by watching her skinny-dipping every night might be the bigger sin, but he wasn’t about to go to confession on that one.

“Don’t say anything to anyone,” Avery said as they made their way to the beach barbeque and bonfire that night. As the afternoon moved on and Avery’s morning sickness eased, her denial ramped up. Although Shannon had slipped out of the hotel in a cab and returned from a pharmacy with an at-home pregnancy test, it said to use it in the early morning, so it sat in their bathroom waiting for the next day. “Probably a false alarm.”

Shannon rolled her eyes. Let the woman live her fantasy for another night. By morning, she’d confirm what they both already knew.

The sun had yet to set, but the small fire was heating the warm air on the beach. The guys were already there, reserving seats for the two of them.

“It’s not cold enough for a fire,” Avery said as she sat down.

Shannon scratched at a bite on her arm. “Maybe it will help with the mosquitos.”

“Vicious little shits, aren’t they?” Erasmo said.

Victor moved over, giving her room to sit at the low-lying table surrounded by cushions. “They don’t seem to like me,” Victor bragged.

“Lucky you.”

His eyes traveled the length of her, and he smiled. “You both look lovely tonight.”

Avery flopped beside Dylan. “I should . . . I’ve been sleeping all damn day.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Nothing worse than getting ill on vacation.”

Avery wasn’t amused. “I’m over it.”

The waiter arrived to take a drink order. Shannon hesitated until Avery spoke. “Iced tea . . . wait, no—caffeine. Juice.”

“Orange? Cranberry? Apple?”

“Apple . . . wait, no. Orange.”

The waiter paused. “Any tequila in that?”

Avery looked around at the group and sighed. “No.”

“And you?” He turned to Shannon.

She glanced at Avery, wanting to support her.

“She’ll have a margarita,” Avery ordered for her, removing her choice.

“I will?”

“Yes. Just because I shouldn’t, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

Shannon smiled. “Fine, I’ll take a margarita.”

The waiter walked away.

“We’re glad you could join us,” Dylan told Avery. “Our flight leaves in the morning.”

“This was your last day?” Shannon asked. How did she miss that?

“Work calls.”

“If you’re ever in LA . . . ,” Victor offered.

“I’m sure we’ll make it there sooner or later.” Erasmo put his arm around Dylan’s shoulders. “Our place is small, but you’re welcome anytime—”

“No long goodbyes. The night just started,” Avery snapped, cutting them off. “It’s a small world. Made smaller by airplanes and shit like that.”