Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
“Layla. Nice to meet you.” They exchanged handshakes and smiles. I could tell Jessica was wondering who this green-haired girl was and how she fit into my impeccable, studious life.
“Are you Grant’s . . . ?” Jessica left the question hanging. I watched Layla intently. Layla, who always insisted we stay casual. Layla, who didn’t care whenever Chase tried to play matchmaker and introduce me to other women.
“No. He can’t afford me,” Layla said, cracking a joke. “Maybe as a rental.”
“I was going to say friend.” Jessica’s smile turned tight. “A few weeks ago, he said he had a female friend in distress that he had to help out while we were grabbing some food and drinks.”
“Oh, yeah. I was that mess.” Layla raised her hand guiltily. “Sorry for pulling him out of your date.”
“Nonsense! The whole reason I like Grant in the first place is because he takes such good care of his friends.”
“He’s a great friend,” Layla said softly, offering me a smile. “That, I wholeheartedly agree with.”
Shame. I wanted you to relate to the “liking me” part.
“Well?” Jessica turned to me again. “Have you booked your flight yet? Thought we could do it like last time, get the same hotel, taxis, et cetera. Be on our own little field trip.”
I hadn’t booked my flight yet.
I couldn’t even think past the ultrasound Layla had scheduled.
And I wasn’t sure why Jessica was insinuating we were seeing each other, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Not yet.”
“Do you want me to ask Chelsea, my new assistant, to book us—”
“Actually, Jess, I’ll talk to you later, okay?” I shot her a smile. “We’re in the middle of something here.”
“Oh. Of course.” She nodded with a sweet expression. “Sorry, I can get pretty carried away. Speak later.”
I searched Layla’s face for signs of jealousy or discomfort, and found neither.
The rest of the lunch was spent talking about our baby and our plans for it.
Fine. Maybe she wasn’t ready to give me a chance, but I knew our child was a brilliant idea.
I was going to prove to Layla that she was doing the right thing by keeping it.
If it was the last thing I did.
Chapter Eight
Layla
Morning sickness hit me as soon as Grant’s colleague Jessica stopped by our table at lunch four days ago. And it hadn’t stopped afflicting me since.
I didn’t know if my nausea was due to my pregnancy or the fact that Grant was moving away to another state with a gorgeous, accomplished, elegant, super-skinny woman who obviously also wanted to give him babies. I just knew that for the first time since I was twenty-one, I’d experienced this pesky feeling called jealousy.
I was extremely, tremendously, violently jealous.
She looked like something out of a toothpaste commercial. The kind of put-together I would never dream of achieving. Like Kate Middleton, but with a medical degree.
And apparently, she was the person he’d spent time with on Valentine’s Day.
They were clearly more than just friends. Or, at the very least, headed in that direction.
And you have no right to say anything about this.
Grant had stepped up, just like I knew he would. He’d offered his support, his resources, and the promise that he’d be present.
Now, I was waiting for him outside the ob-gyn’s building, bundled in my coat and rain boots.
I watched Grant jogging from the hospital building in his Canada Goose jacket across the street. He had a boyish, dimpled smile, color in his cheeks, and that sparkle in his forest green eyes, which oozed genuine, good-hearted joy.
My stomach did a weird flip.
It’s probably the oatmeal from this morning. Too much fiber.
“Hey!” Grant leaned down to kiss my cheek, and more butterflies gathered in the pit of my belly. God, what was the baby doing in there? Making sandcastles using my internal organs?
“Hi.” I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Ready?”
“Yeah. Thanks for letting me come.”
“You coming is what got us into this mess,” I blurted out, wishing I hadn’t. It was a distasteful joke. One I bet Jessica wouldn’t make.
Grant shot me a lopsided grin that made my heart stutter. “Hey, no regrets there.”
Yeah, right.
He was really, really handsome. With his shaggy brown hair and jade eyes and lean but muscular figure. But I think what truly made him so attractive was his smile. It was kind, honest, and jam packed with good intentions, with crow’s feet mapping the corner of his eyes. He also had dimples, and slightly overlapping front teeth that knocked him down from commercial-handsome to approachable-handsome.
“You feeling okay?” He reached to rub my lower back.
“For the most part.”
“I’m excited to hear our predicted due date.” He put his hand to the small of my back as he strode toward the entrance. “I already emailed my new boss in Rochester that I’m going to need some paternity leave carved into my schedule next year.”