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)
Robert was leaning against the kitchen counter when I returned. I’d been too shocked earlier to notice how good he looked. The man was movie-star handsome, with blindingly perfect bone structure, sandy blond hair that always needed a cut, a deep year-round tan, and Paul Newman-esque blue eyes. Irresistible charm tied up the package with a big, beautiful bow.
I smiled. “Looks like you’ve had some time in the sun between takes.”
“There are a lot of outdoor scenes.”
The flowers were laying on the counter. I picked them up and plopped them into the garbage can without removing the cellophane wrapping.
Robert raised a brow. “Are you throwing my roses out?”
I turned on the faucet and added water. “It’s the closest thing I could find to a vase.” When I was done, I opened the refrigerator door. “You want something to drink?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“I’m having water.”
“Water? You drink coffee until it’s late enough to switch to wine.”
I frowned. “Not anymore. Caffeine. And wine is out, too.”
“Oh. Shit. Yeah, right. I didn’t even think of that.”
“But I can make you a cup, if you want?”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“I might take a few sniffs, but I think I’ll live.”
Robert smiled. “Okay. Thanks.”
After I brewed a cup in the Keurig, I motioned toward the living room. “Why don’t we go sit.”
“Lead the way…”
I had to move thirteen gifts from the couch to make room for us. “What’s in all these boxes?”
“Baby gifts. I went a little crazy. I don’t like the color yellow, so some of the boxes have two of the same outfit, one in pink and one in blue.”
I was definitely not ready for baby clothes. “Do you mind if I don’t open them right now?”
Robert shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
The room got quiet, and Robert watched me over the brim of his mug as he drank. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. I’m tired, but I think that has a lot to do with stress. No morning sickness or anything.”
“Stress isn’t good for you or the baby. I read it in my new copy of A Dumb Man’s Guide to a Pregnant Woman.”
“That’s actually a thing?”
“Yep. I started it on the plane on the way over. I’m about forty-percent done.”
“Then you might know more than me.”
Robert lifted his chin to the pile of presents now on the floor. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting is in one of those boxes. You’ll catch up.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
He looked down into his coffee mug for a long time before meeting my eyes again. “You know what I’ve realized over the last few days, now that I’ve had a chance for the news to sink in?”
“What?”
“There’s no one else in the world I would want to have a baby with.”
My heart sank. And here I’d been hoping this child belonged to another man. I took a deep breath and blew it out audibly. “You’ve apologized. But I also owe you an apology. I’m mortified that I can’t tell you for sure if you’re the father or not.”
“I’m not gonna lie, that part is not easy to swallow. I let myself stew over it for a day or so, but then I realized you were right. We weren’t exclusive. I saw other people occasionally, so it wasn’t fair to expect you to be monogamous when I wasn’t.”
Wow. The shocks just kept coming. I smiled sadly. “You sound so…enlightened.”
“I spent three grand on therapy over Zoom the last few days.”
Now that sounded more like the Robert I knew. “Well, seems like it worked at least.”
Robert took my hand. “I want this, Dev. I want this baby to be mine and for you to be my baby’s mother.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “You’re going to be a great mom. You have your priorities straight. Like all those times I selfishly tried to get you to fly out to L.A. recently? You made your siblings your priority because they need you. That was the right thing to do. You always do the right thing. It’s not even something you have to think about like I do. It’s just who you are. And I’m hoping I can learn from you, because I want to make our baby my priority, no matter what. I’m not going to be as good at it as you are, but if you have a little patience with me, I promise to try really hard to get it right.”
My eyes filled with tears. “Thank you for saying that.”
Over the next few hours, Robert and I talked. Really talked. I was certain we’d never had a more mature conversation, or as deep. We spoke about his absentee father, my nonexistent parents, and how we both planned to learn from their mistakes, not repeat history. Before I knew it, it was almost lunch time, and I hadn’t looked at my phone or opened my laptop. So when Robert went to use the bathroom, I grabbed my cell.