Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“What?” she asks, catching me checking her out.
“Nothing. You look gorgeous today. Different from the day at the park… More done up.”
“Oh.” Her teeth bite down on her bottom lip and a slight blush creeps across her neck and cheeks, giving her creamy complexion a little bit of color. “That’s because I have to go to work after I leave here. The day you saw me I only had school.”
I nod. “So, where do we go from here?” I ask, getting us back on track. “I want to be in this baby’s life.”
She smiles softly, and I’m thankful it seems she’s done trying to convince me otherwise. “My doctor’s appointment is next week. You could go with me if you want. I guess we could start there.” Her teeth go back to gnawing on her bottom lip, and I have a feeling she has something else she wants to say.
“What?”
“Well, it’s just that…for right now, I’d like to keep this between us. I’m still in my first trimester and I’ve already had one scare…”
That has my attention. “What do you mean a scare?”
“I had some bleeding.” She waves it off like it’s not a big deal. “Anyway, I just think it’s best if we don’t tell anyone yet, in case something happens or if you change your mind.”
She has got to be kidding me right now. It seems to be one step forward and two back with her. I swallow down my anger, not wanting to upset her, especially knowing that she’s had issues with her pregnancy and her accusation stems from something personal—which I’ll get her to talk about soon enough—and take a deep, calming breath.
“I’m going to tell my family. We’re close and I don’t keep things from them. But as far as posting it or announcing it for the world to know, I won’t do that until you’re okay with it.”
She sighs, in what looks like relief, and I mentally shake my head. So. Damn. Different. Most women would want to be shouting that shit from the rooftops. Using it to gain exposure. But not Sophia. She wants to keep it on the down-low.
“Thank you,” she says, standing again. “I have to get to work, but I’ll message you the information for next week.”
I spot the logo on her shirt: Emerald’s. Where do I know that name from? And then it hits me. It’s a high-class gentleman’s club. She works at a strip club?
“Is that where you work?” I ask, nodding toward the name on her shirt.
She stiffens, then grabs her coat to put it back on. “Yeah.”
“If you need money…”
Her eyes light on fire and I know right away it was the wrong thing to say. “Don’t you go there.” She points her finger at me. “I’m a bartender and I have no problem paying my own damn bills. You want to be in this baby’s life, fine. Good. But that does not mean you have any right to judge any aspect of my life, including where I work. Got it?”
I raise my palms in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that. You said you had a scare, and this baby is mine too. I just want to help in any way I can.”
“I don’t need anything from you,” she says, snatching up her coffee and pastry she never ate from the table. “I’ll see you later.”
She turns her back on me and exits the coffee shop, leaving me sitting here speechless and in shock. I consider going after her, to talk to her, to make sure she makes it to work okay, but stop myself. Sophia Davis is independent as fuck and I’m going to have to remember that if I want to make any progress with her.
Which makes me wonder… What progress do I want to make with her? Sure, I want to be able to talk to her about our baby, and I definitely want an active role in our baby’s life. But before I found out she was pregnant, I wanted to find her and get to know her, and not as the mother of my baby, because I didn’t know she was pregnant. I was hoping to find she was still single and we could get to know each other. And I still want that. Only now it’s going to be that much harder because I’m going to have to convince her I want her for her and not because she’s pregnant with my baby. Fuck, do I have my work cut out for me.
I step outside and the snow is falling hard. White shit covering the ground everywhere. I groan, hating this damn city. It’s why, even though my parents live here the majority of the time, I live in LA full-time—where it’s warm and there’s no damn snow and I can drive my own vehicle. Looks like I’m going to have to get used to it, though. I’ve refused to buy a place here, only staying at hotels or with my family when I visit, but now things have changed, and I’m going to be here more often as long as Sophia and my baby are here, which means I’m going to need to look into buying a place.