Every time I see him, he looks better than the last time. The way his white shirt is stretched across his chest makes my whole body hum. He moves fluidly, turning towards me and taking a step in my direction so that all I want to do is wrap my arms around him. His lips tug upwards into a smile and my heart thumps. He’s exactly how I remembered. He’s just as broad and strong and manly, just as handsome as the first night. “You want coffee?â€� He asks and I have to smile. “Sure,â€� I respond. It’s all I can manage to say in between shallow breaths, trying to ignore the hammering of my heart against my ribcage. I’m not even sure what I want to say to him. Jess thinks I should tell him, but now that he’s one of our clients I’m not so sure. If he freaks out and pulls out of the contract, how would I explain that to Zach and Harper? I would have lost the firm’s biggest client the day after we signed him. With a baby on the way, I need to make sure my job is as stable as possible. He takes a step back and extends his hand towards the counter, gesturing me to go ahead. I tuck my chin down and walk by him, inhaling silently as I walk by. He smells exactly as I remember – fresh and musky at the same time. I keep my eyes on the menu above the baristas and try to walk without stumbling. He’s so close to me it’s making my head spin. He puts his fist on the counter and looks up at the board, and I slide in beside him. The heat of his body is making my head spin. I can feel his arm against mine, so close to me all I want to do is slide in and rest my head on his chest. “What can I get for you?â€� the young man with a nose ring asks after he places someone’s steaming cups of coffee on the ledge. “I’ll have a large green tea, and,â€� I turn to Lucas. “Americano, please.â€� “Nice,â€� I say with a smile. “That’s my drink!â€� Lucas smiles and frowns at the same time. “Not green tea?â€� “Oh,â€� I respond as I wave my hand. “I can’t have coffee right now.â€� “Why not?â€� Oh shit. Uhhh. Ummm. Because I’m pregnant with your child? “Doctor’s orders!â€� I respond and turn back to the barista and hand him some money to avoid Lucas’s questioning stare. “I’ll get this,â€� Lucas says as he reaches for his wallet. “Please, my treat,â€� I reply, and he nods. “Thanks.â€� We stand in silence until our drinks are ready and then sit at a table near the front window. I stare at the people walking by until I feel Lucas’s eyes on me. With a deep breath, I meet his gaze. “Thanks for meeting me,â€� I say. “No problem. You seem nervous,â€� he says with a slight frown. He lifts his cup of coffee up to his perfect lips and I watch his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallows. I gulp. “Just… surprised, I guess. To see you.â€� And be pregnant with your child. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite,â€� he says with a grin. “What if I wanted you to bite?â€� The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them and my heart starts jumping again. Each heartbeat sends a pulse through my centre as Lucas’s eyebrows raise ever so slightly. He stares at me with those pale blue eyes, trying to read my face. Why would I say that?! We work for him now! I drop my eyes and take a sip of tea. I know why I said that. I said it because the minute I laid eyes on him all I could think about were his hands on my body and his mouth on mine. Sitting across from him is torture. Lucas clears his throat and shifts in his seat. I shouldn’t have said that. I glance back at him and he’s staring out the window. “So, I, uhh,â€� I don’t even know where I’m going with this, I just started talking without thinking. Why does he have this effect on me?! “I’m glad you chose us to represent your clients.â€� His eyes flick back to me and the brightness in them dulls. Shit. I shouldn’t have started talking about work. He nods. “You were the best team. I look forward to working with your company.â€� His voice is empty, like he’s suddenly lost interest. I don’t know what to say to get the spark between us back. “Thanks,â€� I respond lamely. “So do we.â€� He glances back out the window and I wring my hands together. This isn’t me! I’m not nervous! I sip my tea again and feel my throat closing up. The thumping in my chest hasn’t quieted down at all. He takes a sip of coffee and sets his cup down gently. He folds his hands in front of it on the table and leans in. My heart starts hammering even harder. His eyes find mine and he searches my face for a few seconds. “Why am I here, Rosie? Surely it’s not to talk about work?â€� I hardly hear his words over the heartbeat in my ears. I should have thought this through better, thought about what I wanted or what I should say. A thousand thoughts fly through my mind. I’m pregnant. Congratulations, you’re a dad! I have a surprise for you. No its just about work, I wanted to discuss the advertisements in more detail and move forward with the campaigns. I stare at my paper coffee cup and thumb the cardboard sleeve the surrounds it. I play with the tea bag label and fold it between my fingers. “I just…â€� I pause, too nervous to look at him. With a deep breath and lift my eyes up to his. “I just wanted to see you.â€� He looks surprised, and leans back in his chair slightly. His eyes leave mine and glance out the window again and I feel like a fool. I shouldn’t have asked him here. What was I expecting?! That he’d run into my arms and propose after I told him I was pregnant?? I must be delusional. He turns back to me and I drag my eyes up to his face. If he’s going to reject me, I might as well face it head on. I let my eyes roam over his chest, his neck, I notice the way his shoulder muscles round out towards his arms and finally look up over his lips, his jaw and up to his eyes. There’s something in his look that surprises me, a lightness, or a spark. The corner of his lip pulls up ever so slightly and my heart does a cartwheel. “I’m glad you called,â€� he says with his voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to see you too. Chapter 25 – Lucas
All my anger and indignation at being ignored and rejected seems to have disappeared instantly. She’s here, she called me, she wanted to see me. This wasn’t a work meeting, it wasn’t a way for her to clear the air. She just wanted to see me. Why didn’t you call? The words are on my lips and I desperately want to say them. I want to ask her, demand to know why she ignored me for months and then all of a sudden now she wants to see me. It doesn’t make sense. A little voice at the back of my mind is nagging, eating away at me, saying that she’s only doing this to smooth over our relationship for professional reasons. She’s not any more interested in me than she was before, she’s just doing what she can to make the professional relationship work. She doesn’t care about me. God, I’m pathetic. Here’s a woman, a beautiful woman, who clearly wanted nothing to do with me and I’ve been pining after her for months. She shows me the slightest bit of attention and I’m wrapped around her little finger. I shake my head. I can’t listen to that voice. Not now, not with Rosie sitting in front of me with that shy smile on her face. Not when her hand crawls forward a few inches and everything in my body is telling me to put my hand over hers. I can still feel the spot on my arm where she touched me when we walked in. What would it feel like to touch her skin again? To taste her lips again? To taste between her legs again? Why didn’t you call? The words hang between us but I can’t bring myself to say them. Instead, I move my hand so that my fingertips are just brushing hers. She inhales deeply and my cock throbs when he lips open slightly. Her eyes are still staring at me and I can’t look away. She moves her fingers a fraction of an inch closer to mine and I do the same. We pause, staring, feeling each other’s skin. It’s the smallest touch but it’s sending a thrill up my arm. It’s like her skin is made of fire and it’s setting my veins alight. I want more. I move my hand forward and interlace my fingers into hers. Her face breaks into a smile and her eyes are shining. “I’m happy you’r
e here,â€� she whispers. I never knew words had such power. I never knew that such a simple sentence could cause my whole body to burst into fireworks, cause my cock to pulse against my pants and my heart to jump out of my chest. “You want to get out of here?â€� I ask. She doesn’t answer, only nods her head down once. I smile and stand up. I let her walk in front of me and open the cafe door for her. Her body looks amazing in those work clothes. She’s wearing a tailored jacket and the most perfect pencil skirt I’ve ever seen. I could stare at her walking in front of me all day. We turn down the street and I’m just about to take her hand in mine when a woman’s voice calls out in front of us. “Rosie!â€� Rosie stiffens and looks up. “Becca, hi.â€� The woman comes closer and I recognise her from Rosie’s office. The receptionist, I think. “Becca, this is Lucas Thorne. We were just meeting to discuss the campaign.â€� I almost burst out laughing but manage to keep a straight face. “Right,â€� Becca responds, glancing from me to Rosie. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Thorne. Rosie, I’ve been trying to call you all morning. Zach wants to see you immediately.â€� Rosie glances at me. “Immediately?â€� She asks, looking back at Becca. “Yeah. He’s waiting in his office. I was just getting him a coffee. You want one?â€� “No thanks, Becca, I’m alright.â€� “Ok, see you up there. Glad you’re feeling better.â€� Feeling better? “Thanks.â€� Becca walks off and Rosie glances at me. She purses her lips and shrugs one shoulder up. “Duty calls,â€� she says. “Can I see you tonight?â€� “Of course,â€� I say. My whole body tilts forward a fraction of an inch and all I want to do is crush my lips against hers. I know we can’t, not here. Not so close to her office, in the middle of the street. Knowing that I can’t kiss her only makes me want to do it more. Rosie lifts her hand up and squeezes my arm, just above the elbow. She smiles. “Gotta go. I’ll call you later.â€� “You’d better,â€� I say and she smiles. I doubt she knows how much I mean it. She stands there and her hand comes up to rest on her stomach. I nod to her hand. “You feeling ok? We don’t have to meet up tonight if you don’t want to.â€� She drops her hand and shakes her head. “I’m fine. I want to see you tonight.â€� A smile breaks across my face and I nod. She smiles and her eyes shine before she turns away and heads towards her office. I watch her walk away and hail the first cab that comes by. I spend the whole cab ride staring out the window, just like I did on the way here. Except, instead of being nervous and filled with worry my heart is jumping for joy. She wanted to see me! She’s going to call me tonight! I replay the whole thing in my head over and over, burning the details of our conversation in my mind. Chapter 26 – Rosie
There’s a bounce in my step as I make my way back to the office. He wanted to see me! The way he grabbed my hand sent shivers through my whole body. I could almost taste his lips whenever I’d look at them. My whole body is buzzing and I practically bounce into the office. Usually I’d be nervous about Zach calling me in for a meeting but right now, nothing can bring me down. I march across the main room, past all the cubicles towards his office. I pass by Harper’s office and I see her look up out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t stop to talk to her. She’ll have a thousand and one questions and probably chastise me for not telling Lucas about the baby, but right now I don’t want to think about it. All I want to think about is the fact that I’ll see him tonight. He wants me to call him! Zach is sitting at his desk when I knock on the door frame. He looks up. “Ah! Rosie! The woman of the hour. Come in, close the door.� I do as he says and take a seat in one of the plush chairs across from his desk. He tents his fingers under his chin and looks at me for a few seconds before smiling. “Harper always said you were one of our best editors but I never saw by how much until just recently. The work you did for Thorne’s clients is exceptional.� “It’s not done yet,� I reply. “We haven’t even launched anything yet.� “That’s why I wanted to call you in here. I know I asked you to lead the campaign’s creative department, but how do you feel about being the editor in chief?� My jaw hangs open. “I… I mean.. really? What about Mitch?� Zach waves a hand in front of his face. “Mitch has a lot on his plate. This is completely separate, and it’s a clean break from our other work. It’s the perfect opportunity to upskill you and give you a chance to showcase your talents. We need a new editor-in-chief to run the music and entertainment clients and I think you’d be a great fit. If you do well with the Thorne file we can talk about adjusting your title and pay to suit the new role.� “Wow, Zach,� I start, “thank you!� “Great! So that’s settled. Talk to Harper about financials, and we’re going to need a full timeline by the end of the week. You’ve got some good mockups so make sure they’re fleshed out with more detail. I’d like to see two more ad sets prepped by tomorrow and a full proposal for the end of the week.� “I…� Zach looks up and cocks his head to the side. “Is that ok?� “Yes, yeah, of course. That’s fine. Thanks, Zach.� He nods and I stand up to leave. I walk back to my desk in a daze. I’ve just been unceremoniously promoted. I’ve gone from senior editor to editor-in-chief in an instant, and my workload has quadrupled. Harper materialises next to my desk. “Zach told me,� she says. “Congratulations!� She’s smiling but I can tell there are a million unspoken questions behind her smile. I nod. “Thanks. I’m supposed to talk to you about financials.� “Are you free at 4:30 this afternoon?� I glance at my calendar and nod. “Sure.� “Great, come to my office then.� She walks away and I lean back in my chair. A 4:30 meeting means a late night, especially when we’re about to launch a huge ad campaign. I sigh. I was hoping to get away early and go see Lucas. I told him I’d call, and I desperately want to see him. But what can I do? I have to work, and this is a golden opportunity that won’t come again. I’ve just been promoted, and I have a baby to think about. I have to prove myself. I pull out my phone and find his number. The first thing I did this morning was save it in my phone. Hey, just got hit with a lot of work and a late meeting this afternoon. Might need a rain check for tonight, unless you’re free around 9 or 10? Blame your clients 😉. I press send and put my phone to the side. I hope he understands that work is important, even if he doesn’t know just how important it is. A pay rise and a promotion would be a huge relief right now with a new baby on the way. A baby on the way. It’s so weird to think about it, to imagine what my life will be like a few months from now. I wonder if Lucas will be a part of it? My hand brushes my stomach and I look down, wondering what my baby looks like right now. My hand drifts up towards the scar on my lower ribs and then up to the one near my collarbone. I remember the way it felt to have Lucas’s lips on them. I wonder if he’ll want this baby, if he’ll kiss my stomach the way he kissed my scars, or if he’ll leave me to fend for myself. He could very well tell me that he doesn’t want it, and I’ll be in the exact same position I’m in now, except without the small flame of hope that I won’t have to do it alone. Just as the thought crosses my mind, my phone buzzes. No problem. I’m leaving tomorrow for LA, come grab a nightcap after work. We can complain about my clients together. I smile and answer his text. Sounds good, see you tonight. xx I can’t tell him about the baby, not yet. It’s too nice to spend time together and to get to know each other. Tonight I just want to hear his voice and feel his skin and press my lips against his. I’ll tell him soon. As soon as the time is right and I work up the courage. Soon. I turn back to my computer with a new lightness inside me. I’ll s
ee the father of my child tonight. I can just enjoy our time together a little bit longer before I break the news to him. I just want to enjoy this. Chapter 27 – Lucas
Knocked Up by the Single Dad: A Secret Baby Office Romance Page 8