Lost & Found by Kelly Jamieson

her head, she needed to do something about it. Now.
    She turned on her computer. She’d researched sperm donation but not how it worked when you used the sperm of someone you knew.
    She sank into her chair and covered the mouse with her hand, propping her chin on her other hand.
    She heard the knock at her door and jumped. Her eyes flew back to the computer screen. “Uh…hang on.” She quickly closed the window. “Come in.”
    “Hey.” Nate stood in the door, looking big and gorgeous in his jeans and close-fitting T-shirt. God, he was a hot guy.
    She gulped. That wasn’t an appropriate thought.
    “Hi.” She smiled brightly.
    “I was wondering about joining a gym,” he said, taking a step into her office. “I still feel kind of puny after being sick.” He may have been sick but he was a long way from puny, with lots of muscle definition under that T-shirt.
    “Uh…you want to work out?”
    “Yeah. I lost a lot of weight—I’d like to bulk up a bit.”
    He’d always been an athlete. Being fit and strong was important to him. She blinked. “You look really good.” Shit.
    “Uh…thanks.” He shoved his hand through his hair.
    “Well, um…Derek has a gym downstairs. Not a lot of stuff—a universal gym, a bench, some weights, a treadmill. You’re welcome to use it.”
    “Hey. That’s great. Since I don’t have a vehicle.”
    “You can use my car anytime. Well, if I don’t need it. Tomorrow I’ll be out all day doing presentations for one of my clients, but otherwise you can use it.”
    “I should think about renting a car, maybe. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be here.”
    “Yeah, I guess you could do that.” She still sat perched on the edge of her chair and she drummed her fingers on the arm.
    They looked at each other. The damn glasses hid his eyes so she had no idea if he was feeling as tense as she was. His posture gave away nothing, although she thought he did look a little stiff. Her eyes dropped to his crotch, then skittered away.
    Jesus. What was wrong with her? Last night had obviously stirred up some hormones or something.
    “I’ll go check it out,” Nate said, and disappeared.
    She slumped back in the chair.

Lost and Found

Chapter Ten
    After dinner, which Krissa threw together haphazardly, too distracted to care about what she cooked or ate, she dragged Derek into their bedroom. Nate gave them a funny look and she realized he thought she was so horny she was taking Derek in there to jump him. She almost laughed. If he only knew how mechanical their sex life had been lately.
    “What?” Derek asked as she pushed him down to sit on the side of the bed. She sat beside him, turned sideways to face him, legs crossed.
    “Okay,” she began, practically vibrating. “I have an idea. About having a baby.”
    His face darkened. “Oh, Krissa. I thought we were done with that.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes.
    “I know. But just listen. I can sort of understand not wanting to adopt. But a sperm donor would mean half the baby’s genes are mine. Half me, Derek. Wouldn’t you love a baby that was half me?” She pleaded for understanding with her eyes fastened on his.
    “I don’t know.” He looked away, put his hand to the back of his head. His mouth straightened into a grim line. “I don’t think so.”
    “What if…” she paused, swallowed. “What if the sperm donor was someone we knew? Someone we loved? Wouldn’t that make it better?”
    He frowned, looked back at her. “What are you talking about?”
    She rose up onto her knees, grabbed his arm. “I’m talking about asking someone we know to be the sperm donor. If it was someone close to us, that would be the next best thing, wouldn’t it?”
    He just stared at her. She waited.
    “I’m…I’m talking about Nate, Derek.” She bit her lip.
    His eyebrows shot up. “What the…?”
    She nodded, kept her eyes on him. “He’s your best friend. He knows about us. He’s the only one who does. You love him like a