“So, when are we going public with this romance?” he asked once they settled on the sofa.
She shrugged. “I don’t know why we have to say anything about our relationship. It’s not really anybody’s business.”
“True,” he agreed. “But when you really start showing…people are going to talk and they are going to have questions.”
Marissa jumped.
“What’s wrong?” Griffin asked. “Is it the baby?”
She nodded. “I can feel him or her move.”
Griffin placed a hand over her belly.
“Can you feel it?” she asked excitedly.
He nodded.
“Hey, little one…” Griffin murmured, leaning toward her belly.
“I didn’t think you’d feel anything,” Marissa told him. “Not yet anyway.”
He looked up at her. “When do you go back to the doctor?”
“On Tuesday. Why?”
“I’d like to go with you,” he said. “I want to share every moment of what’s left with your pregnancy.”
His words touched her, bringing on a thread of guilt. “I’m so sorry, Griff. I should have told you the moment I found out. I just realized how selfish I’ve been with this pregnancy.”
He leaned in and placed a light kiss on her lips. “Let’s just focus on now and the future.”
She reached over and took his hand in hers. “I’m glad that I have your support, Griff. It means the world to me. I really didn’t want to have to go through this experience alone.”
When he wrapped an arm around her, Marissa snuggled in close to him. He rubbed her arms in a gentle caress, and she felt a delicious shudder heat her body at the touch. Desire washed over her like waves. She could not deny it—she wanted this man.
* * *
If only he could show her how much he wanted her. But Griff worried that this was not the time. Instead, he simply held her in his arms.
“I’ve been reading up on what to expect during your pregnancy,” he told her. “Are you taking your prenatal vitamins?”
He felt Marissa’s grin against his chest. “Yes, I have been.”
“You need to improve on your eating habits, though,” Griffin stated. “And you need to cut back on some of those long hours in the office.”
“I’m not feeling nauseated anymore, so my appetite is improving, Doctor. As for work, you know we have a huge case hanging over our heads.”
“I will worry about that,” Griffin said. “You just focus on taking it easy and taking care of our baby.”
She got quiet a moment before she said, “Griff, why didn’t you tell your parents about the baby?”
“Truth?”
Marissa nodded.
“I was ashamed of the way I treated you after making love to you that night. My parents raised me to be a much better man than that. I intend to tell them long before the baby’s born, but I would like to be able to say that you and I are getting married.”
“I can’t promise you that I will marry you before I have the baby, Griff.”
He met her gaze. “You wanted the truth and I gave it to you.”
“Fair enough,” Marissa said. She squeezed his hand. “One day at a time, remember?”
Griffin smiled and nodded. He loved her dearly.
Tell her, a voice inside him urged.
Marissa was already dealing with so much. Griffin decided to keep his feelings to himself for now. He would tell her when the time was right.
* * *
Griffin met Marissa at her doctor’s office. He was looking forward to hearing his child’s heartbeat for the first time. He had never been so excited about anything.
“We didn’t have to drive separate cars,” he told her once they were inside the medical building.
Marissa glanced up at him. “I thought we were keeping our relationship quiet for now.”
“I am still your mentor, Marissa,” Griffin said. “People expect us to spend time together.”
“You’re here now,” she told him. “Let’s just focus on the doctor’s visit for now. Okay?”
Griffin nodded.
He leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips.
They sat down in the reception area. While they waited, Marissa thumbed through a magazine dedicated to pregnancy.
Griffin reached over and took her hand in his. He held her hand until they were called into the examination room.
Marissa introduced him to her doctor.
When she pulled up her shirt, Griffin eyed the roundness of her belly. Her pregnancy was advancing and soon Marissa would not be able to hide it. The baby seemed to grow overnight.
“Would you like to hear our baby’s heartbeat?” Marissa asked him.
Griffin nodded.
When he heard the tiny little heart beating rapidly, it was the most amazing experience of his life. It was the best feeling in the world, Griffin decided.
Hearing his child’s heartbeat really made it a reality for him. He was going to have a beautiful little son or daughter.
Marissa was watching him, as if trying to read into his expression.
Griffin grinned. “That heartbeat is the most beautiful sound I’ve heard outside of yours.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “That’s how I felt the first time I heard it.”
He leaned down and kissed Marissa’s forehead. “Thank you for giving me this beautiful gift.”
“Speaking of beautiful gifts,” the doctor interjected, “how would you two like to take a peek at your son or daughter?”
“We would love it,” Marissa said.
The doctor scheduled the ultrasound and after he pronounced her pregnancy healthy and progressing, they walked out of the doctor’s office.
“Can you believe it?” she said. “We get to see our baby in a couple of days.”
Griffin wrapped an arm around her. “I can’t wait.”
“I’m so glad you came with me. I really wanted to share this experience with you, Griff.”
“I really want this child,” he told her. “I really want our family, Marissa. I’m not going to pressure you about getting married, but I want you to know how much you and this child mean to me.”
“I know that we didn’t plan for this to happen, Griff.”
“No, we didn’t,” he said. “But I already love this baby. There’s no point in looking back. We need to focus on our future.”
“You’re right,” Marissa said. “I just need to know that you are with me for the long haul. Children need both parents, but if you are not interested or would rather not be a father, I need to know now. I am more than willing to raise my child as a single mother.”
“Marissa, I would never let you do that. I am with you, one hundred percent.”
Chapter 17
Griffin insisted they ride together for the sonogram appointment. Besides, he knew Marissa was too excited to drive.
“I feel like I’m about to burst,” she said when they neared the medical center. “I can’t believe how much water I had to drink for this appointment.”
“I thought you were trying to float out of the office,” Griffin teased.
Marissa gave him a playful punch in the arm.
She shifted in her seat.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I just feel full. I hope the sonogram doesn’t take too long, though. I don’t want to end up embarrassing myself or you.”
Griffin pulled his car into the parking lot of the medical center. He got out of the car and walked around it to open the door for Marissa.
She checked in and they sat down in the waiting room. It seemed to take forever till they were called and the procedure began.
Griffin�
�s eyes were glued to the monitor once the technician sat down and began gliding the wand over her stomach.
“Do you know what you are looking at?” Marissa asked him.
“Huh? What did you say?”
She laughed. “I asked if you knew what you were looking at.”
He smiled. “Not yet.”
He hoped she knew that he was going to be a great father. He was very attentive to her, even in the office, no matter how much she tried to discourage it. Marissa had told him earlier that she had a feeling her assistant suspected something was going on between them, but Roberta had not said anything to her. Her assistant was not one to spread gossip, so they felt sure that Roberta would keep her suspicions to herself.
Marissa’s breath caught in her throat at the first sight of her baby. “There he is,” she murmured.
Griffin peered closer. “Honey, I don’t think that’s a boy.”
She met his gaze briefly before returning her attention to the monitor. “We’re having a girl?”
They both looked at the technician, who smiled and nodded.
Griffin’s eyes filled with happy tears. “A little girl,” he whispered. “This is my daughter.”
He wiped his eyes with his hands. “We have a daughter, Marissa.”
Marissa was crying, as well. “Yes, we do.”
Griffin’s heart swelled with love for Marissa and his unborn daughter and he silently vowed to protect them both for the rest of his life. For the first time ever, there was something more precious to him than his career.
* * *
Marissa and her mother were still not on the very best of terms, but she reluctantly agreed to go shopping with Jeanette and Jillian.
“I love spending time with my girls,” Jeanette said as they stepped out of her Mercedes-Benz.
They walked into a boutique located in Society Hill.
Jeanette walked up to a rounder of gowns and pulled one out, saying, “You should try this one on, Marissa. It would look stunning on you and it’s perfect for the Christmas party.”
“I don’t care for it,” Marissa said. The dress really was lovely, but it would do nothing to hide her rounded stomach. She needed to find something with a full skirt and high waist.
Jeanette frowned. “You don’t like it? This looks like you, dear.”
“Mom, I don’t want that one.”
Marissa glanced over at Jillian, silently pleading for help.
“I don’t think that color will look good on her,” Jillian stated. “It will wash out her complexion.”
Jeanette held the pumpkin-colored gown up to
Marissa’s face, and then said, “Oh, I see what you mean.”
Marissa released a short sigh.
Coming out with them was a huge mistake. She should have known better than to agree to a day of shopping with her mother. Marissa placed her oversized purse in front of her stomach.
Jillian sent her an amused look.
Marissa spied a dress on the wall and walked over to view it closely.
“That doesn’t look like your style at all,” Jeanette said from behind her.
“I actually like it,” Marissa said, looking over her shoulder at her mother. “I love the emerald-green color.”
“Go try it on,” Jeanette suggested. “Let’s see it on.”
“Mom, I’m not in the mood for trying on clothes,” Marissa said. “You were the one who wanted to go shopping. You and Jillian shop—I’m just here for support.”
“Honey, I’ve noticed that you’ve put on a little weight,” Jeanette said in a low voice. “Are you still working out?”
Marissa almost choked. “Excuse me?”
“It doesn’t look bad on you,” her mother quickly assured her. “But if you’re not comfortable with it, just exercise and cut back on the junk food.”
Jillian walked away and pretended to be admiring a dress.
Marissa did not know how to respond, so she just kept quiet.
“Dear, I did not mean to embarrass you.”
“You didn’t,” she said.
Marissa shifted her purse from one shoulder to the other. She purposely kept it in front of her to hide her stomach.
They left that store a few minutes later and walked to the next one. As they strolled by the baby store, Marissa’s steps slowed.
Jillian sent her a warning look, prompting her to quicken her pace.
Marissa and Jillian both hid their frustration as their mother tried to pick out gowns for them.
“Mom, we’re not little girls anymore,” Jillian said. “You don’t have to pick out our clothes.”
Marissa agreed.
Jeanette sighed in exasperation. “You both used to love when we would go shopping for your wardrobe.”
“We were what? Ten?” Marissa asked.
“I helped you pick out your dress for prom,” Jeanette responded.
“I let you do it because you were paying for it,” Marissa confessed. “And for the record, it was not my first or second choice.”
“Ditto,” Jillian uttered. “We love you, but please stop trying to dress us.”
Jeanette sighed. “Oh, all right.”
When they arrived home, three hours later, Jacob was in the family room watching television. He pointed to the bags in her mother’s hands and said, “Retail therapy?”
Jillian broke into a short laugh. “You can say that. These new shoes I bought have given me a new outlook on life.”
Jacob looked at Marissa. “What did you buy?”
“Nothing,” she said. “I was just there for support.”
He laughed.
Jeanette set her bags down near the back stairs. “Marissa, dear. When are you planning to tell us about this guy you’ve been seeing?”
Marissa glanced over at Jillian, who shrugged.
“How do you know I’ve been seeing someone?”
“Well, you have been spending a lot of time away from home lately, and your dad says you are not working late.”
“Daddy, are you keeping tabs on me?” Marissa asked.
“Hey, don’t use me to avoid answering the question.”
“Okay, I have been seeing someone. You will find out who he is very soon, but for now…I’m keeping his identity a secret.”
Her mother frowned. “Why? Is there something wrong with him? Is he married?”
“No, he’s not married,” Marissa replied. “Mother…”
“Then why are you being so secretive?” Jacob wanted to know. “I was about to ask you the same question, but your mom beat me to it.”
“I just want to see where the relationship is headed.” Without waiting for another question from her parents, she walked up to her room.
Jillian followed her in. “Why don’t you just tell them that you and Griff are dating?”
“I don’t know,” Marissa admitted. “I guess I just need to be sure that we are on the same page this time. I thought we were before and we were not—I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”
Jillian shook her head. “I don’t get it. I can see as clear as day that Griff is in love with you and that you love him. What are you two waiting for? An engraved invitation to your own wedding?”
“Griff has never said those three little words that I really need to hear. He tells me how much he cares for me, but he has never once said the L-word. I won’t even consider marriage without love.”
“But he shows it to you, Marissa. Think about it. The way he touches you. The way he looks at you. Baby sister, you still have so much to learn.”
Jillian headed to the door. “Don’t mess around and let him get away. You will regret it for the rest of your life if you do.”
Jillian’s words echo
ed in Marissa’s mind long after she left.
* * *
Two days later, Griffin had a surprise for Marissa.
“What’s this?” she asked when he handed her an envelope.
“I know how crazy things have been for you and so I thought that you could use a day of pampering.”
Marissa opened the envelope to find a gift card to a local day spa. She read over the brochure and chuckled. “They have a Pregnant Babymoon package. I have never heard of anything like this. How did you know about it?”
“Someone gave my cousin a gift card to the spa at her baby shower. She raved about the place, so I thought you might like it, too.”
“This is so sweet of you, Griff.”
He moved to stand close to her. “There is nothing too good for the two most important ladies in my life.”
“You are spoiling me.”
Griffin smiled. “You deserve it. I’ll cover your cases so you don’t have to worry about anything. Take the day and just enjoy.”
When Griffin left her office, Marissa reviewed the brochure once more. “Spa services for women and moms of all ages, with all services and products available for our moms-to-be,” she murmured.
Griffin had been nothing but supportive since she told him about the pregnancy. He was truly a good man and she enjoyed spending time with him. Things were good between them for now, but Marissa still was not totally convinced they had a future together. Griffin wanted to be a father to his child, and she knew that he would sacrifice his own happiness to make that happen. She couldn’t—
Jake walked into her office, interrupting her thoughts.
Marissa quickly hid the brochure beneath her legal pad. “What’s up?” she asked her brother.
“Have you talked to Harper lately?”
“Why?” she asked cautiously.
“He’s been acting strange,” Jake said.
Marissa cleared her throat nervously. “Maybe he’s just tired. The Morton case is wearing on all of you.”
Jake agreed. “I’m taking a nice vacation once this is all over.”
She smiled at her brother. “You deserve it. I’m sure your wife will appreciate it, as well.”
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