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)
Grant chuckled as he grabbed the plates with our Thai curry, rice, and spicy papaya salad as he headed my way. I’d tried avoiding him as much as I could since we’d found out I was pregnant, but it had been hard. He always managed to bribe me with supreme food and smoothies. The fact that he sent yummy things to my door almost every day had also defrosted that cold thing inside my chest. Good thing he wasn’t a stranger and his apartment wasn’t a suspicious white van. Because I’d still go in there.
Obviously, there was no sex. We needed to draw a line in the sand. And having a baby together and sleeping together was 100 percent relationship territory. Serious relationship territory. Only a step and a half from buying a house together or having matching holiday pj’s.
But the fact that he hadn’t initiated anything in weeks, even though we’d never actually discussed staying platonic, made me wonder if things were heating up with Jessica.
“So, I’ve been thinking.” He plopped next to me. His knee brushed my own, and a jolt of yearning zipped through me. I’d been very horny ever since I got pregnant. Horny to a point where I was considering letting my vibrator go to an early retirement for working extra shifts, and investing in a new one.
“Thinking? Handsome and smart?” I took a bite of my curry. “That’s prime DNA right there. So glad I’m having a baby with you.”
He offered me a curt smile. “About the position in Minnesota . . .”
I held my hand up, stopping him. “No, I don’t want to hear it. You’re taking it, Grant. You’ve wanted to do this for a long time. This is your passion. Their research team is the best in the country.”
Plus, if he and Jessica were together, I didn’t want to interfere with that. As much as it burned my entire soul, I wanted him to be happy. He deserved happiness. Even at my own expense.
“Layla, you’re going to need help.”
“And I’ll have it. My parents are ecstatic.” Not a lie.
He licked his lips. “About that . . .”
“Yes?”
“I think you should move into this apartment.” He found my gaze, holding it for a beat. His words were like a punch to my gut. They tossed me back to a time in my life that I wanted to forget. That I’d worked hard on putting behind me.
“I get that your apartment is too small,” he continued. “But you belong in New York. This is your home. And I have a four-bedroom apartment, so there’s a place for you, for the baby, and for your parents, if they want to stay over. No time limit, of course.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” I put my food down.
“Why?”
“I can’t afford living in your place.”
“You don’t have to. That’s the point. It’s free.”
“Respectfully, Grant, it’s not. Nothing is free. At some point you’re going to ask me for something in exchange.” It was my bad experience talking, and I knew he was just trying to be helpful, but my hackles were so high I couldn’t see past them. “And even if you don’t ask me for anything, there’d still be a power shift between us. One I’ll never agree to.”
Silence, bricked up and impenetrable, fell between us.
“Who did this to you?” He scanned my face, voice sad and soft as a feather. “Why do you look at relationships as a currency? A quid pro quo exchange? You know, I’m a firm believer that people should live their lives however they see fit, but in this case, I might need to put my foot down. You can’t live your life teaching our kid that they need to work to earn their place in their loved ones’ lives. Kindness is not conditional, and family takes care of each other. You don’t have to move in here, but if your reason for not moving here is because you think I’d hold it against you in any way, let me prove you wrong. Try me, Layla. Move in. You can change the entire apartment. Throw loud parties. I’m not going to be here eighty percent of the time—and you’re not going to feel indebted to me in any way. Know why?”
He gathered my arms and looked me in the eyes. I couldn’t breathe, let alone blink.
“Because your so-called payment is the fact that you are going to birth, love, and raise the most important person in my life. If that’s not compensation enough, I don’t know what is.”
My instincts screamed at me to say no, but there was something inside me—someone—the girl I was before Connor broke me, who wanted to put her faith in another human. To try again. To evolve. Even if it was going to hurt.
Besides, he’d made some solid points.