Free Luck of the Draw by Kelley Vitollo

gone. She had little circles of red on her cheeks that matched her hair and with the hat, freckles, and her excitement, she looked really young for a second.
    “So?” Breck prompted.
    “I have guests coming!”
    He held out his arms for a hug and she surprised him by jumping into them. Breck squeezed her tightly. She fit nicely in his arms.
    Rowan laughed. He wasn’t sure why this was such a huge deal to her, but he liked seeing her like this.
    “Have you not had many guests?” he asked when he set her down. He expected her to look embarrassed, but figured she was too happy for that.
    “I haven’t been open long. When we…ummm…when we met, I was just about to. It’s been slow ever since and I really could use the money.” At that a little shadow of something crossed her face.
    He wanted it gone and the happiness back. “So this is big, then? We need to celebrate. What’s there to do around here?”
    She got the smile back, but it held a little mischief. “Look at you, trying to be a gentleman.”
    “Hey!” He laughed. “I’m always a gentleman. I even offered to buy you a drink the first night we met.”
    “Yeah, to liquor me up!” With that she clipped his hip with hers. Or tried to, but she was much shorter than he was.
    Breck wrapped an arm around her and ushered her toward the stairs. “Go get changed. I’m a gentleman, but I’m not taking you out dressed like that.”
    “You know, I’m a liberated woman. I don’t need you to take me out. Hell, maybe I’ll be the one to take you .” With that, she winked and walked away.
    Breck couldn’t stop watching the spot where she’d stood. The woman could be such a firecracker. He loved watching her spark.
    …
    Upstairs, Rowan texted both Betsy and Sidney to make sure they would be at Lucky’s. Sidney was almost always there with Kade, since the place was busier than ever. Any time she could break away from her sewing, Sidney would be helping out. The exciting part was that Sidney was almost as busy with her own clothing business as Kade was with Lucky’s.
    Though her friends would likely be there anyway, she needed to make sure she’d have backup. A girl couldn’t go out with the father of her unborn baby without her girls in her corner. Especially when said father didn’t know there was a baby coming at all.
    Guilt squeezed around the barrier she tried to keep it behind. She hated lying. Hated keeping something so important from Breck, but she had to believe she was doing the right thing. She needed to get to know him before she just tossed something like this into his lap.
    After a confirmation from both her friends, Rowan jumped in the shower. She dressed in a pair of tight jeans, which were a little tighter than they used to be. She’d need to put them away soon. She added a tank top and her favorite sweater on over it, red with a wide neck so it hung off her shoulders.
    And yes, heels. Sure she’d regret it later—it wasn’t the smartest thing to wear during fall in Washington—but when something good happened, a girl wanted to look good, damn it.
    Breck was again waiting for her when she got downstairs. Unlike when they went fishing, he’d changed this time. He wore black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt that was slightly dressy and yes, hot. Good to know hormones didn’t affect her ability to notice a good-looking man when she saw one. And Breck was definitely that.
    He’d shaved and she found herself missing the stubble on his jaw, but he hadn’t bothered with his hair and she liked that. The tousled, dark-haired look was definitely her favorite.
    She wasn’t sure her mind should be heading in this direction at all, but for tonight, she wanted to just have fun. Be herself instead of the mopey person she’d become the past two days.
    “I was right earlier.” Breck finally said. They stood about ten feet away from each other, her eyes on him and his on her.
    “About what?” Rowan tried to play off the fact that her