Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“I don’t know.”
CHAPTER 17
Devyn
It felt wrong to tell someone such monumental news over FaceTime. But what choice did I have? Two days later, my laptop was open on the coffee table, and my knee bopped up and down from nerves. I felt like I might throw up. Robert had just arrived in Italy and was going to be there filming for the next four months. At least I had some good news to lead with on the call, so I wouldn’t have to jump into things too fast.
“So, I got a call from Stephen Solomon yesterday.”
“Oh yeah? Rumor is he’s a shoo-in for best director for that Vietnam movie he has coming out in October. Guy’s on a roll the last few years.”
“I’m glad you’ve noticed. Because a few months back, he and I had lunch. He told me about a new drama he was hoping to make. It’s a book to film, and the novel was an Oprah Book Club pick. I pitched you for the lead role, but he wasn’t ready to discuss casting quite yet. Yesterday he called and said he’d just finished reading the final screenplay.” I paused for effect. “He agrees that you’d be perfect for it.”
“Holy shit, really?”
“Yep. He wanted to know if you’d be interested in reading the script.”
“Hell yeah.”
I smiled. “I’ll let him know and give him your address in Italy.”
“Text me the name of the book after we hang up. I want to read that, too. I’ll order it to my hotel from Amazon.”
“You got it.”
We talked about work for a while—how things were going there, an upcoming project he’d start once the current one wrapped, and his interest in going to one of this year’s award ceremonies. I’d already requested tickets to all of them for him, so he’d just have to wait and see. When we came to a lull in the conversation, Robert smiled at me funny.
“What?” I asked.
“We make a good team, don’t we?”
I’d had no clue how I was going to segue into telling him about the pregnancy, yet somehow he’d just rolled out the red carpet for me. My palms felt sweaty as I tried to formulate the right words to use.
“So…I, uh, have some other news I need to talk to you about.”
“Yeah? Is it good news? Because I’m not sure I want to ruin the high I’m feeling right now with anything crappy.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I honestly don’t know how you’ll feel...”
Robert’s face fell. “Shit. I was joking. But you look nervous, so now you’re scaring me. What’s going on, babe? Is there a problem with one of my upcoming jobs?”
“No, everything is fine workwise.”
“Then what is it?”
I held my breath before spitting it out. “I…I…I’m pregnant, Robert.”
He said nothing. I waited, but after a solid minute I couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“Say something, please.”
He swallowed. “Well, I didn’t have that on my bingo card for this year.”
“I’m sorry to tell you this way, on a video call. But I wasn’t sure when we would see each other again.”
He raked a hand through his hair and went quiet. Eventually, though, he nodded.
“You know what, Dev?”
“What?”
“You caught me off guard, but I can’t say I’m upset about it.”
“You’re not?”
He shook his head. “I always imagined I’d have kids someday. I just assumed that day was still far in the future. But I’m thirty-four now, not exactly a spring chicken. And like I said, we make a good team.”
Wow. Definitely not the reaction I’d expected. I covered my heart with my hand, feeling enough relief to make my eyes water. “Oh my God. It’s like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
Robert smiled. “My girl’s having my baby.”
My.
Baby.
Oh shit.
No wonder that had gone so well. I hadn’t dropped both shoes at once.
“Robert, I…”
“Did you pick out an obstetrician yet? Would it be weird if you went to my sister’s husband? Andrew’s practice is over in Calabasas. He’s delivering their third early next year.” His smile widened. “Holy shit. Our baby is going to have a cousin born the same year. That’s pretty cool. I grew up with a ton of cousins, and the holidays were always so much fun.”
“Robert, hang on…”
“When are you back in L.A.? I’ll call Andrew and set up an appointment. I have to look at the filming schedule, but I can probably fly home for a day to go with you if we do it on a weekend. I’m sure Andrew will come in to see you, even if he doesn’t have office hours. And we could—”
“Robert!”
He stopped abruptly. “What? If you don’t want to see Andrew, if that makes you uncomfortable, I can ask him for some names. I’m sure he has plenty of qualified colleagues he can refer us to.”
“Robert, I need to tell you something else.”