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“She did great, Declan, thank you for asking. ”
Clearing his throat and obviously uncomfortable to be having this conversation in front of Beth, Declan turned his gaze and finally acknowledged her presence. She got the more formal, “Good morning, Beth. ”
“Good morning, Declan. Ella, I’m going to go check in with Suzy. How about lunch today?”
Ella smiled and agreed immediately. When Beth turned the corner, she saw Ella and Declan still standing in the same spot. Ella seemed to buzz around him like a brightly colored firefly and Declan seemed helpless to look away. Why are you worrying so much about Ella and Declan? It seems like you have more than enough problems of your own to keep you busy for a while. Ella’s a big girl and there is no way Declan would get seriously involved with her. She is way too innocent for him.
* * *
When she walked into her sister’s office, Suzy was ramming papers in her red leather bag and cursing under her breath. Sparing Beth a quick glance when she closed the door, Suzy said, “I have to be across town in twenty minutes and I can’t find my damn phone. ”
Beth smiled as she walked to the credenza behind Suzy’s desk and unplugged her sister’s iPhone. “I think you plugged it in here to charge. ”
“Why can’t they make a phone that doesn’t have to be charged? What’s wrong with a twelve-month Duracell?” Suzy grumbled. “I’ll be gone until after lunch. I’m going to check out the new conference facility for next month. Can you check with the suppliers and see where we are on our orders?”
“Yep, I have it on my list for this morning. You’d better get going. Traffic will be terrible at this time. ”
As Suzy started for the door, she turned and asked, “Did you tell him?”
“Yes, Mother, I did so you can stop worrying. He wants to get married and buy a house immediately. I told him no. ”
Suzy shook her head, clearly trying to process this latest development. “He wants to get married? Are you sure we’re talking about the same Nick here? Oh, hell, don’t say anything else. I’m going to be late and I’m terrified you will start talking about sex and I’m not strong enough for that this morning. We’ll talk when I get back. ” Suzy slammed out the door and then almost immediately flung it back open. In a low but menacing whisper she said, “You’d better not have sex in my office . . . ever!”
Beth chuckled as she walked to her own office. She hoped Suzy’s warning didn’t extend to her office because if it did, she had already violated that one. Maybe after-hours sex didn’t count.
* * *
When Ella tapped on her door at lunchtime, Beth was just hanging up the phone after another exhausting call from Nick. At this point, she would rather him freak out and run than stay in the methodical mode he was currently in. He seemed to have an accidental-pregnancy handbook from the 1960s and he was running through it step by step. Marry the little woman immediately. Buy a house immediately. Plan the next ten years of Junior’s life immediately. She felt weak and dizzy after the last call, and it had nothing to do with morning sickness and everything to do with Nick suffocating her. No matter how much she protested, he just kept going on as if he hadn’t heard her. Was it really so hard for him to imagine a woman not dying to marry him? Um, yeah, you probably are one of the few women alive who wouldn’t jump at the chance.
“Tough day?” Ella gave her a sympathetic smile as she perched on the corner of Beth’s desk.
Dropping her head onto her desk, Beth said, “You have no idea. The man is making me crazy. I just want a moment to breathe, but he is after me constantly. I haven’t even had a chance to come to terms with it myself and he is pushing me relentlessly. ”
Ella patted her back consolingly while making murmurs of agreement. “Grab your purse and let’s walk around the corner for lunch. Getting out of here for a while will help. ”
Beth gave her friend a grateful smile as she gathered her stuff. “That sounds great, but I’m warning you now. If we see Nick anywhere on the way out, be prepared to run for your life because I am not talking about the advantages of breast-feeding anymore today, I mean it!” She heard Ella’s groan of disbelief behind her as they walked to the elevator. “You only think I’m kidding. He’s already tried to talk me into natural childbirth, too. Someone needs to stop the man from doing any more Google searches about pregnancy. ”
Chapter Eight
Nick opened Beth’s apartment door that evening with the key that she had given him a few months back. Since their schedules were often different, it had made sense to be able to come and go as needed. She also had a key to the penthouse where he was staying.
He laid his briefcase down on the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the dining area. He noticed the blinking light on her answering machine that indicated a message. In all of the months that he had been in her apartment, he had never seen a message light blinking on the machine. He knew it was none of his business and an invasion of her privacy, but he couldn’t seem to look away from the flashing light. Maybe it was something concerning the baby.
He managed to pull himself away from the machine without pushing the button to hear the message and walked to the bedroom to find Beth. She was curled up on top of the comforter on the bed sound asleep. She took his breath away. He didn’t know how long he stood in the door just watching her. She looked so young and so vulnerable in sleep. The need he felt to protect her since he had learned she was pregnant was suddenly overwhelming. She looked so small lying there that it was hard to believe their child was nestled inside her.
In between meetings and conference calls, he had spent his day reading everything he could on pregnancy. Truthfully, a lot of it had scared the shit out of him. He had so much sweat on his face at one point that his secretary had asked him if he was feeling okay. He had wanted to yell, “Hell, no, I’m not feeling okay. Beth is carrying a ticking bomb. A million things could happen to her or the baby. Oh, God, I’m having chest pains. Am I too young for a heart attack?” Instead, he had offered her reassurance that he was far from feeling ill and then called Beth for the tenth time to see how she was feeling.
Now, standing here and looking at the beautiful woman resting so peacefully, he once again felt his chest go tight. He knew she couldn’t hear him but he made the promise anyway. “I won’t let you down, Beth. I’ll be the best husband and father that I can possibly be. Just give me a chance to prove it. You will never want for anything. I’ll lay the world at your feet. Just believe in me, please. ”
Nick quietly shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen for a beer. The light on the answering machine was again calling to him. You really should check it. What if there is a family emergency? She would want to know immediately. You would be doing her a favor. Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed a pen and a notepad to write down the message and pushed the button.
“You have two new messages. First message today at four twenty p. m. Hey, Beth, it’s Seth. I wanted to make sure that we’re still on for dinner tomorrow night. Please give me a call and let me know. I’m looking forward to seeing you again. ” The next message was also from Seth leaving his cell phone number in case Beth had lost it.
Who in the hell was Seth and what was with the “Looking forward to seeing you again”? Had Beth been out with this guy recently? Nick felt something completely alien take control of him: jealousy. Maybe they hadn’t formally talked about making their relationship exclusive, but he had assumed they were on the same page. He didn’t date other women when he was involved with someone. Had Beth been dating? She was late coming home from time to time and she did mention going out to dinner with friends but at the time he thought she meant women friends.
Seth’s intimate tone on the message didn’t sound like that of a buddy. It sounded like a guy excited about seeing a woman. Well, she didn’t have any problem letting you know that she wanted you, did she? You may not be the only ticket in town, my friend.
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* * *
Beth rolled over in bed surprised to see how dark the room was. A look at the clock showed that she had been asleep for almost two hours. Despite the nap, she still felt fatigued. The morning sickness was taking a toll on her body. With another quick stretch, she slid her legs off the side of the bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face and straighten her hair.
Looking much more presentable, she walked into the living room and stopped short at seeing Nick sitting on one of the barstools deep in thought. She took a deep breath and allowed herself the pleasure of just looking at him. God, the man was beautiful. She had the urge to rip his clothes off every time he was anywhere near her and now was no exception. Her body tightened with need as she slowly approached him.
As if sensing her, Nick’s head shot up. Beth stopped in her tracks at the look of confusion and sadness on his face. Something was obviously wrong. She reached out to take his hand and he moved his away. She dropped her hand back to her side and asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering her question, he held up a slip of paper and snarled, “Who is Seth?”
Beth drew a complete blank. “Um, Seth who?”
Nick tossed the piece of paper down in disgust and jumped to his feet. “Beth, don’t you have anything a little more original than that?”
Had he lost his mind? Maybe he was drunk. Where was the happy-go-lucky Nick that she was used to? This Nick was cold, angry, and, damn him, a complete turn-on. She wanted nothing more than for him to slam his mouth down onto hers and take her hard and fast. Talking slowly as she might to a child, she said, “I really have no idea what you’re talking about. You aren’t making any sense. ”
Never breaking eye contact with her, he pushed a button behind him and played the messages on her answering machine. When the second message finished, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. A giggle escaped her and then another until she was doubled over laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face. Instead of looking at her in anger now, Nick was just looking at her as if she were insane.
He didn’t say a word as she mopped up the tears that had been running down her cheeks. “Sor— Sorry, give me a minute. ” Beth chuckled once more and took another breath to steady herself. Grinning at him standing there with his arms crossed and frowning at her, she asked, “So that message brought this whole he-man routine out?”
“I’m glad you think it’s so funny, Beth, because I’m still not amused. Who is Seth?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. “He’s just a guy I went out with before, no big deal. ”
“How do you know him and when did you go out with him?”
Still unable to figure out why he would be upset, she replied, “I, um, met him through a dating service and we went out a few weeks ago. ”
Nick turned to face her, his face thunderous. “You’re using a dating service and you’ve been seeing this guy while we’ve been together?”
Suddenly it hit her how bad this whole thing must look to him. True, they hadn’t made any promises, but they had, for all intents, been spending most nights together. Well you wanted to put some distance between you, here’s your chance. If you really want to lose him, you can do it right now. Faking a carefree manner that she was far from feeling, she said, “I never said I wasn’t seeing other people, Nick. I assumed you were as well. I signed up for the dating service months ago. Before you even ask though: Yes, I do know for sure that I am carrying your child. ”
“I wasn’t going to ask that, Beth. I know you wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. Tell Seth and anyone else you’re seeing that it’s over. You’re pregnant and getting married. There seems to have been some confusion about seeing other people while we are dating, but let me clear it up for you. I’m not sharing my girlfriend, and I’m sure as hell not sharing my wife and the mother of my child. Send the memo, princess, you’re off the market. ”
“You’re crazy! I’m not marrying you and you can’t tell me what to do. I’m an adult, Nick. You don’t own me. In fact, I plan to go out with Seth tomorrow night. ”
Nick stared at her, clearly mystified over her refusal to make their relationship exclusive. Someone perfect like Nick could never understand the insecurities that someone like Beth harbored. He was too perfect for her. She would constantly find herself flawed against his perfection. She was pregnant and, God help her, about to start gaining some of her hard-lost pounds back. How would he feel when he could no longer span her waist with his hands? Would he enjoy her breasts as much when they were too large and far more than the current handful? Would he want to kiss and caress her lips as much when there was a double chin below them?