Page 51 of His Obsession
“I’m having his baby, Nico. I need to know what kind of person he is.”
He leans back in his chair, exhaling slowly.
“There’s a lot I could tell you,” he says.
“I’m guessing you know about the less-than-legal side of his life,” he says carefully. “I’ve had a strictly don’t-ask, don’t-tell relationship with him where that’s concerned.”
“That’s okay,” I tell him. “I don’t need to know the nitty-gritty. I just need to know if he’s someone I can trust.”
“Without a doubt, he’s one of the most trustworthy people I’ve ever met. If nothing else, he’s a really good man. He would never hurt you the way Adrian did. He’s not like that.”
I bristle at my ex’s name but let out a sigh of relief. Sebastian isn’t perfect by any stretch, but at least I can trust that he isn’t going to hurt me or our baby.
For now, that’s enough.
20
SEBASTIAN
Getting Valentina to agree to let me come to her first ultrasound takes the better part of two days and a supernatural amount of patience. Even after our second night together, she still won’t drop her guard completely.
The first time she says no, she says it’s because she doesn’t want to bother me with it.
“But I want to be there,” I point out. “So I’d really appreciate it if you let me.”
“It’s only the first ultrasound,” she deflects. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Of course it’s a big deal,” I groan. “I want to be there the first time we see our baby.”
“I’ll think about it,” she tells me.
The second time I ask, she tells me she doesn’t need an escort to the doctor’s office. By the third, she’s flat-out annoyed.
“You do realize you’re making me less inclined to agree every time you ask about it, right?”
“I hope our baby doesn’t inherit your stubbornness,” I tell her. “Kid’ll be hell to live with.”
She says nothing to that, but I can tell she isn’t thinking generous thoughts about me.
We both know it’s not stubbornness, though. Not exactly. I still don’t know the full extent of what she went through with Adrian, but I know she clawed her way back from the brink on her own. Built a new life and a new name for herself without anyone’s help. She seems stubborn because there was a time when she had no say in what happened to her.
Even knowing that, it’s hard not to be frustrated that she won’t let me in. The child growing inside her shares half my DNA. This baby is important to me.
So important that I’ve grown wary of every small threat around us. I never thought I’d be afraid, but the moment I found out about my child, everything in LA started carrying an extra weight of anxiety. First things first, I have to find Adrian. Then I have to figure out how the hell to protect my kid from literally everything else.
Nico is no help. He comes to my office for lunch the day before the ultrasound and refuses to take sides.
“It’s not my place. I get that you want to be there, but it’s her choice at the end of the day. And I’m not trying to sway Val about something again. I’m still dangling on the end of her shit list, and I’d really like to get off it.”
“For the record, I would never ask you to intervene,” I tell him truthfully. “This relationship doesn’t need any more external factors.”
“Oh, is it a relationship now?” he asks, sarcasm lacing every word. “I just thought it was a one-night thing.”
“Right,” I deflect. We’re definitely not discussing the ins and outs of my sex life with his sister.
The morning of the ultrasound, Val comes down to the kitchen in a simple black dress, a casual smile on her face.
“We should go if we want to beat traffic,” she says offhandedly.
