party. I remember feeling funny and kind of lightheaded, and the next thing I knew, I woke up and my clothes had been messed with.”
A chill settled over Gryf.
“Please tell me you went to the police, Lydia.”
She shook her head. “I just wanted to put it in my past and forget about it, but then about two months later, I realized I’d missed my period. I didn’t think much of it until it happened again. I took one of those home pregnancy tests and discovered I was pregnant.”
“And how did you end up living on your own in this place? You don’t look very old.”
“I’m twenty-one. I was living at home and going to college for a degree in
marketing, but when I told my parents I was pregnant, they kicked me out. Wylen over at the Cherry Tree Motel gave me a place to stay for a few days while I figured things out, and I got a job at the coffee shop…everything else just kind of fell into place.”
His heart stuttered. “Coffee shop?”
“Espress Yourself.” She smiled faintly. “I don’t think I’m cut out for it though.
I’ve been there about two weeks, but I’m terrible at my job. I can’t even brew a decent pot of coffee, much less make all those fancy drinks.”
Shit. He was the asshole boss who was wearing her out and making her sick.
Scott had mentioned a new barista, but Gryf had never suspected it would be Lydia.
Now that he knew, he would have to do something about her hours, and make sure she got extra breaks to get off her feet and rest. If he could think of a way to put her behind a desk, he’d do it.
“There’s, um, something you should probably know.” He winced. “I own
Espress Yourself.”
Her eyes widened and her face paled. “Please, don’t fire me. I can learn the job!”
Gryf shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about being fired, but I am going to talk to Scott about your hours and making sure you have time to rest. And don’t even think of arguing with me. You need more rest now that you’re pregnant. You’re so busy trying to earn money to pay for this place that you aren’t taking care of yourself.”
Lydia scowled at him. “What do you know about it?”
“I know your eyes have dark shadows under them from exhaustion. I know you
said your feet were hurting earlier, and I’m guessing your back hurts too. You haven’t been to a doctor, even though I’m sure Scott offered you the insurance package. I also know that even with the insurance, a doctor visit will cost a good bit.”
“What do you want me to do, Gryf? I need my job to pay the bills, but it isn’t enough for anything extra like doctor visits. I have no idea how I’m going to afford this baby when it’s born, but I’m going to do my damnedest to give it a good home.”
Gryf set his plate down and reached for hers then gripped her hand. “I know
you’re working hard and you’re doing your best. I’m not trying to take away from your accomplishments. What I am trying to do is offer some assistance. If you won’t take my help as a male who is interested in dating you, then perhaps you’ll take the assistance from your boss?”
“You still want to date me after everything I’ve told you?”
“Lydia, nothing you’ve told me puts you in a bad light. If anything, it makes me even prouder of you for what you’ve done with your life. You lost the only home you’d ever known, after finding out something both horrible and wonderful had happened to you, and here you are, standing on your own two feet.” He squeezed her hand. “You’ve done a lot, but you need some help, Lydia. You can’t keep going at this pace and you really need to see a doctor, if not for you, then for the sake of the baby. Don’t you want to know that everything is okay with your baby?”
Tears gathered in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. “What do you expect
from me?”
“Nothing. If you don’t want to date me, then I won’t ask you out again. But I’m really hoping you want to see me as much as I want to see you.” Gryf knelt at her feet.
“Lydia, I know you don’t know me, and you have no reason to trust me, but I’m hoping you’ll let me help you. Not because I feel responsible since you’re my employee, but because I want to take care of a beautiful woman who has struggled long enough.”
Lydia fell into his arms, crying softly against his chest. Gryf ran his hand over her hair and offered whatever comfort she would take. When her tears had dried up and she hiccupped softly, he pulled away and tipped her chin up. There was hope in her eyes, something he hadn’t seen before now. Was it hope that they might have a future together, or just hope that everything would finally be all right? Either way, he knew he was responsible for that look, and it pleased him greatly.
“If you’re done eating, before we start on the chocolate cake and sparkling grape juice, I think we should take you to see a doctor. I know their offices are closed tonight, but we can make a trip to Urgent Care for now. Maybe they can recommend someone.”
She nodded. “I’ll need to change.”
“You do that while I clean up our dinner dishes. When you’re ready, I’ll drive you to the Urgent Care and we’ll see what they have to say.”
Gryf busied himself with scraping their plates and then washing them. He didn’t see a dishwasher so he washed them by hand and then dried and put them away. By the time he was finished, Lydia was dressed in yoga pants and a different tank. He took her by the hand and led her out to his car. When they pulled into the parking lot of the Urgent Care, Gryf noticed they were closed. The sign on the door said they’d closed at eight, so they’d just missed them. He wasn’t about to take Lydia home without her seeing a doctor though. Without a word, he drove straight to the hospital.
Lydia glanced his way when the pulled up to the Emergency Room. “This is too
much, Gryf. It’s going to cost a fortune to be seen here.”
“You let me worry about that.”
Lydia sighed, but followed him inside. The lady at the triage desk took her
information and Gryf’s credit card then sent them to the waiting area. Gryf watched the minutes tick by and after two hours they were finally called back. He was livid they’d had to wait so long.
He waited patiently while they took her vital signs and made some notes. When the doctor came into the room, Gryf moved closer to Lydia. He was a little too young and a little too good looking for Gryf’s comfort level. He wasn’t sure he wanted the man around Lydia, even if he was there to help her.
“What seems to be the problem tonight?” the doctor asked.
“She was lightheaded and she’s not getting enough rest. She’s also pregnant and hasn’t been to a doctor before now.”
“Hmm. Well, despite the baby bump, let’s get some blood for a pregnancy test, just so there’s an official record of it and not just one of those home tests. Do you know how far along you are? When your last period was?”
Gryf felt his cheeks warm at the intimate questions, but didn’t move from
Lydia’s side.
“I’m four months,” she said. “I don’t know the exact date of my last period, but it was sometime in February.”
The doctor nodded and made some notes. “Well, there are some other tests that an OB would normally have done by now. We’ll get you set up for an ultrasound and get a little more blood for a few tests just to make sure the baby is doing well. When you get a doctor lined up, they can get a copy of your records from us.”
“Thank you,” Gryf said, holding out his hand.
The doctor shook it and hurried out of the room. It wasn’t long before a nurse came in and took Lydia’s blood, then another nurse arrived to take her for the ultrasound. Gryf wasn’t sure if she wanted him to tag along or wait in the room, but she reached for his hand.
He didn’t know what to expect, having never seen an ultrasound before. The
small figure on the screen looked perfect to him, but he didn’t know what to look for.
>
The technician showed them measurements and pointed out the little feet and hands.
“It looks like you’re about eighteen weeks. Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” The technician looked at them expectantly.
“You can tell already?” Lydia asked.
The technician smiled and nodded.
Lydia looked up at Gryf and squeezed his hand. “Should we find out?”
We? He liked the sound of that and nodded.
“You’re having a girl,” the technician said.
Lydia smiled so big he thought her face might crack. If she was happy the baby was a girl, then he was happy for her. And if he was ever blessed enough to be part of her life, and the baby’s life, then he would be thrilled to have a daughter. Violet was still waiting to find out what she was having, but maybe her baby would be a girl and the cousins could be raised together. Assuming things progressed that far with Lydia.
By the time they were allowed to leave, Lydia had a prescription for prenatal vitamins, which they filled at the hospital pharmacy, and then Gryf drove her home.
She looked exhausted when they entered her apartment and he knew she wouldn’t be up for chocolate cake and grape juice. She collapsed onto the sofa as Gryf closed and locked the door.
Sitting beside her, he pulled her feet into his lap as she leaned back against the armrest. He removed her shoes and started massaging the arch of her left foot. She groaned and sank a little further into the sofa. He could feel the tension in her feet and was willing to bet that same tension was present in her entire body. He knew there were massage therapists on Earth, but did they have some who specialized in pregnant women? He’d have to look into it.
Gryf massaged both her feet, and when he was finished, he saw that she was
asleep. With a smile, he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the short hall to the bedroom. The room was sparsely furnished with a full-size bed, that was really just a mattress and box spring on the floor, and a dresser that looked like it had seen better days.
He eased her down on the mattress and pulled the threadbare blankets over her legs. Gryf didn’t like the idea of leaving with her unable to lock the deadbolt on the door. He resigned himself to a sleepless night on the couch. But a crick on the neck was well worth it if Lydia was safe and cared for, he’d suffered much worse for far less.
Chapter Five
Lydia stretched the next morning and looked at the clock on the dresser. She
shrieked and jumped out of bed when she saw that she was an hour late for work. Her phone wasn’t on the dresser so she ran to the living room, hoping she’d shoved it in her purse. The sight of Gryf on her sofa brought her to a screeching halt. He looked so damn uncomfortable, and so adorable at the same time. Why had he stayed all night? It wasn’t that she minded him being here, but it was odd.
Trying not to wake him, she pulled her phone from her purse and quickly called Espress Yourself, although she supposed her boss was technically sleeping on her sofa.
She shook her head as she waited for someone to answer.
“Espress Yourself.”
“Carrie? It’s Lydia. Is Scott around?”
“Sure. Hang on.”
She heard Carrie taking the phone to Scott’s office and a moment later he came on the line.
“Lydia, is everything all right? I was worried when you didn’t show for work
this morning.”
“I overslept. I had a date and got a little lightheaded so he took me to the
emergency room. It was after midnight when I got home so I didn’t hear my alarm go off. But I can get ready right now and head in,” she said in a rush.
“Maybe you should take the day off to rest, Lydia.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
“If you’re sure you want to come in, we could use the help,” Scott said.
“Just give me time to shower and get dressed and I’ll be there.”
She hung up, watched Gryf sleep for another moment, then gathered her clothes and took a shower. The hot water felt great and her feet didn’t hurt as much today as they had for the last two weeks. She probably should have mentioned the ache in her lower back while she was with the doctor last night, but with any luck it was a temporary thing and wouldn’t last the entire pregnancy.
By the time she’d knotted her hair into a bun and put on a little make-up, she was almost two hours late for work. Gryf was still asleep when she left the apartment, locking him inside with a note that she’d gone to work. She didn’t know how late he stayed up after she fell asleep last night, but he obviously needed to sleep. It had been sweet of him to take care of her.
Espress Yourself was busy when she walked through the door. She quickly put
her things away and clocked in before taking her place behind the register. Carrie shot her a relieved look. Lydia rang up the next customer and cleaned the counters between purchases. The next few hours passed rather quickly and she stilled when she saw her next customer.
“You didn’t wake me up this morning,” Gryf said, as he removed his sunglasses.
“I had to get the apartment manager to lock your apartment so your things would be safe.”
“I thought you could use some sleep after taking care of me all night. You have to be exhausted.”
Gryf smiled. “I’m fine. How are you feeling? You should have stayed home from work today.”
Lydia’s cheeks warmed as she glanced around, not too pleased to note that all of her coworkers were watching with avid interest. Just what she needed, everyone gossiping that she was sleeping with the boss. She straightened her spine and stared Gryf in the eye.
“What can I get for you?”
An eyebrow arched as he watched her with an amused expression. “Give me a
large mocha with two extra shots of espresso. I find myself in need of caffeine.”
She stared at the register then looked up at him. “You own the place so I guess I don’t need to ring up your order. I’ll see if Carrie will make it. If I make it for you, you’ll never be able to drink it.”
He outright smiled at that and she turned to give Carrie the order, but the barista was already making it. Carrie kept glancing her way and Lydia could tell that she was dying to find out how she’d met Gryf and what exactly had happened last night. Carrie had become a good friend over the past few weeks and Lydia knew she’d tell her everything as soon as she had a chance.
Carrie finished Gryf’s drink and handed it to him, but he didn’t seem to be in a big hurry to move along. Lydia wasn’t sure what to say to him so she busied herself with straightening things behind the counter. Eventually, Gryf took the hint and went into the back office with Scott. She breathed a sigh of relief and sagged against the counter.
“So, the boss and you, huh?” Carrie asked. “I told you the two of you would be perfect together.”
“Don’t marry us off just yet. We had a date last night that morphed into a trip to the ER, but that’s all. He fell asleep on my couch after putting me to bed. It’s no big deal.”
Carrie smirked. “He came here to see you this morning. I haven’t seen Gryf come in during the morning shift in a long time.”
Lydia wasn’t going to read too much into it. Just because Gryf showed up this morning didn’t mean anything, right? He was a nice guy and probably had just wanted to check on her. That didn’t mean he was going to start confessing his undying love.
And if he did, after just one date, she’d probably run like hell.
When Gryf left, she did her best not to make eye contact, but he wasn’t budging it seemed. She looked up and saw that smile on his lips that made her want to kiss him.
He leaned his elbows on the counter and appraised her.
“I believe we still have chocolate cake and grape juice at your place. Now, I can let you have both pieces of cake and schedule a date for another time, or we can have another stay-home date tonight.”
“Two dates back to back?” sh
e asked. “People will talk.”
Gryf laughed. “I think they already are.”
“I was going to order a pizza for dinner tonight. You’re welcome to join me,” she said.
“I have a better idea. There’s a great little diner not far from here. Why don’t I pick up their special and bring it over for dinner? I guarantee you’ll love anything they make. I think I gained ten pounds after I discovered that place.”
“You want to hang out at my place again? I thought you didn’t like my
apartment.”
“It’s not that I don’t like your apartment; it’s that I don’t feel you’re safe enough there.” Gryf’s lips thinned. “It’s not a good neighborhood, Lydia; you have to know that.”
“I may know that, but it doesn’t mean I can afford anything better.”
Gryf grumbled under his breath. “Do I seriously pay so little that my employees can’t afford a place to live in a safe part of town? Because if that’s the case, I may have to look over the books and see if I can give everyone a raise. No one should work as hard as all of you do and not be able to take care of themselves and their families.”
“I’m not complaining. I’m making more here than I could anywhere else.”
Gryf straightened. “Didn’t you say your degree was in marketing?”
“No, I said I was working on a degree in marketing, but I lack a year of finishing.
I have a portfolio that I started, but I haven’t learned everything yet. I’m sure there’s a lot they cram into that last year.”
“Why don’t you get your laptop and come to my house for dinner tonight? Dress however you want. I want to see what you’ve come up with and then I’ll show you a few things Espress Yourself has done to date. I’d like to hear your ideas on what we could do differently, and if I like them, I may hire you to do the marketing for my small chain. I have three stores right now, but I’d like to eventually expand to five.”
He wanted to hire her to do his marketing? It would be a huge step in the right direction, but she was also nervous. It was one thing to create marketing campaigns for a class, campaigns that would never see the light of day, and another to make something that everyone would see. What if she created something for him and it failed miserably? They weren’t playing with pretend money.
Lydia And Her Alien Boss Page 5