The Playboy Bear's Baby: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

overdue to start her period. Overdue. “Oh hell.”
    “What?”
    “My
chest is sore.”
    “Ha
ha. You shouldn’t joke about things like that.”
    “I’m
not kidding.”
    “But
you used protection when you with Gray, right?”
    “I…”
She thought back to that night, to the spontaneity and passion. “No. We didn’t
use anything.”
    “Shit,
girl. You know better than that.”
    “Yeah.”
She’d always been careful about birth control. In all the time she’d dated
Richard, they’d never once had a slip up. She rested her hand on her stomach
and tried to imagine it growing round and extended. “What the hell am I going
to do?”
    “Well,
first you need to find out if you really are pregnant. Don’t freak out until
you know for sure.”
    That
was easy for her to say. She yanked her hand away from her belly and rested it
back on the arm of the chair. “I’m not freaking out. I’m not pregnant. I can’t
be.”
    “That’s
the spirit. Just stay calm until I get there. I’ll stop at the pharmacy on my
way over and pick up a test for you.”
    “You’re
a lifesaver.” Mara breathed deeply and tried to slow her pounding pulse.
    “Nah.
I’m just an awesome friend.”
    “Yes,
you are.”
    “Okay.
Hang tight. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so.”
    “I’ll
be waiting.” Mara disconnected the call and set the phone down on the end table
by the chair. She got up to get herself a stiff drink and paused with a bottle
of rum in her hand. Alcohol and pregnancy didn’t mix—not that she truly
believed she was carrying Gray’s child. Just to be on the safe side, she’d have
to wait until after she got a negative result before she indulged.
    She
sat the bottle down and grabbed a diet soda out of the fridge instead. While
drinking her soda, she paced back and forth across the kitchen, and walked over
to the window to look outside. She stood there, blindly staring outside, while
her mind raced over all the ways her life would change if she had a baby.
    A
loud rat-a-tat-tat on the door jarred her out of her reverie and sent her
racing through the house to let Sara in. The sooner she took the test, the
quicker she could put her worries to rest. “Hey,” she said. “Come on in.” She
stepped back and held the door open.
    Sara
walked into the living room. “You look like you’re freaking out.”
    Mara
shut the door. “Nope. I’m fine. I’m sure this is all just a waste of time.”
    “Mm
hmm.” Sara dangled a small white bag from her fingertips. “So you wouldn’t mind
if I returned this little tidbit to the store then?”
    “I
wouldn’t go that far. I mean, I might as well give it a whirl since you went to
all the trouble of buying it for me.”
    “Nice
reasoning.”
    “I
thought so.”
    “Catch.”
Sara pitched the bag through the air.
    Mara
caught it. “Thanks for this. Let me know what it cost you and I’ll repay you.”
    “Don’t
worry about it. Just go pee on the little stick so we can find out how screwed
you are.”
    Mara
snorted. “You definitely have a way with words.”
    “You
aren’t the first person to say that.” Sara flopped down on the couch and
stretched out. “Now quit stalling and go do your thing. I’ll be right here
waiting when you’re done.”
    “Anyone
ever tell you how bossy you are?”
    Sara
grinned. “All the time.”
    Mara
reached into the bag and pulled out the box within. She turned it over in her
hands and read the simple directions on the back. They were pretty much fool
proof. All she had to do was pee on the stick and wait three minutes. There
weren’t even little lines to decipher. The device would say pregnant or not
pregnant. It didn’t get much clearer than that. “All right. I’ll be back in a
minute.”
    “I’ll
be right here,” Sara replied.
    Mara
hustled into the bathroom and did what needed to be done. She set the test on
the side of the sink while she washed her hands and forced herself not to look
at it. Drying her hands took