His answer was a deep, soul shattering kiss that left her wishing they were anywhere but on her father’s steps. When he ended the kiss he growled softly, “It’s a date.”
Could a doctor’s visit be called one? Viviana’s heart fluttered nervously. So far our dates haven’t exactly been conventional, so why not? “I’ll text you the information.”
He nodded. “I had planned on coming back Friday night, but I’ll wrap things up early.” He kissed her lips softly. “I don’t want to go, but I have meetings tomorrow on matters I’ve put off recently.”
“I understand.”
“I’d also like to look at the local real estate. Your apartment is nice, but I’d like our child to have a backyard to play in.”
Our child. Those words never failed to send her mind scrambling to make sense of how her life had forever changed. “You don’t have to—”
“I will provide for my child. That is non-negotiable,” he said with surprising steel in his voice.
Although the opposite reaction would have sickened her, she still had to ask, “And if I said no?”
The steady look he gave her sent a shiver down her spine. It brought back to mind what her father had said about Grant probably not needing a course in how to defend himself. Grant might have been patient and forgiving so far, but who was he when he wasn’t? If a man with his resources turned vindictive how could she possibly protect her family from him?
“Why would you?” he finally asked.
She swallowed hard. “We may not always agree on how to raise this child. What happens then?”
“I’m sure I could bring you around to seeing reason.”
She gurgled on a laugh, then realized he was serious and pulled back from him. “Or I could kick some of that arrogance out of your ass, and we could discuss it like two normal, average, ordinary parents.”
“I’m not a high school boy. You don’t scare me. In fact, I might enjoy that exchange.” The smirk on his face told her exactly where his thoughts had gone. “And I can assure you there would be nothing average or ordinary about it.”
She didn’t want to laugh because it was a serious topic, but she couldn’t help herself. “Or normal.”
“Says the woman who still scares half the men in this town.”
“Are you done?”
He shrugged, still looking far too pleased with himself. “I could be.” He looked for a second as if he were waiting to see if another zinger would come to him. “Yes. That’s it.”
Okay, let him chew on this. “There is a house in town I’m interested in.”
“Fantastic. Send me the information.”
“It’s three blocks from here.”
“Okay.”
“As in my family could walk to it.”
He met her eyes without blinking. “I’m assuming the doors will have locks. Does it have a big yard? Are any homes for sale near it? We could clear an adjoining lot for a playground.”
“Sure we won’t need the whole block?” she suggested sarcastically.
“Would you want that much room?”
She shook her head. The way he spoke about large financial projects as if they were nothing brought home the reality of how wealthy he was. Am I wrong to imagine he sees me as his equal? “Sometimes you scare me.”
“Because you don’t know what I’ll do next?”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
She added, “It’s not a good thing.”
His smile widened. “No? On this we’ll have to agree to disagree.” He had that pleased with himself expression on his face again so she let the topic drop. It would have been endearing if it weren’t so vital to figure him out.
Chapter Fifteen
‡
Three weeks later, Viviana was at her desk in her office trailer, smiling even though no one was with her. Grant said he’d end his workday early to take her to dinner. She glanced at the clock on the wall, hating it for running slower than normal that day.
She knew he’d be there at exactly five o’clock. When Grant said he would do something, he did it. When he said something mattered to him, his actions matched his words.
When her first obstetrician’s appointment was moved up to two days after he’d left, she’d been apprehensive to tell him. He’d said he had a busy week ahead of him. He’d planned on seeing her around that schedule. Nevertheless, he’d said he wanted to be there for the first sonogram so she’d called him. Immediately, he’d canceled his meetings and had come back to Cairo. No questions. No hint of irritation.
When she’d asked him if he wanted to go to her first sonogram with her, she’d imagined all it would involve would be a device being run over her stomach. The ob-gyn asked them both an exhaustive number of questions then showed them a wand-like tranducer probe. She explained that the baby would be so small that this was the best way to ensure proper placement of the fetus as well as estimate the due date.
At first she was so embarrassed she couldn’t look at Grant. He took her hand, though, and spoke to her gently as if he knew how vulnerable she felt. As soon as the process started, all embarrassment faded away. Grant was right there with her, squinting at the monitor screen at the hard to decipher tiny crescent shaped image the doctor assured them was their baby.
“You’ll see much more on your next sonogram. I’d like to see you once a month.” The doctor had turned to her computer to input information while she spoke. “Would you like to know the sex? It seems early to ask, but babies grow at remarkable speed. Your little one will be here in a blink of the eye, or at least that’ll be how it feels.”
Blink of the eye? I’m not ready yet. I don’t have a single thing for it yet. Viviana looked to Grant as a mild panic set in. Except him. Grant had a similar overwhelmed expression on his face. The doctor had waved off the reaction and said, “I’ll write that you’re not sure, and you just tell me when you come back. How is that?”
They’d both nodded. To make herself feel better prepared, Viviana had gone out and bought several books about what to expect while expecting. The next day, stating the same reasoning, Grant had bought an office building in town.
A whole building that hadn’t even been for sale. Who does that?
Grant. Grant does that. He said he would create a satellite office here and he did.
Viviana checked the clock in her office again and her smile widened. When he’d started commuting daily from Boston to visit with her and her family she’d thought it would be too much, but the more time she spent with him the more she wanted. Never had Viviana been with a man who was as kind, considerate, or reliable as he was. As soon as she told him about her mother’s foundation, a sizable anonymous donation came in that had changed the lives of several people in the community.
Add in that he was sexy as all hell and determined to get to know her before they had sex again, and what woman wouldn’t have fallen a little more in love with him each day?
There was only one fly in the soup. One concern she couldn’t ignore no matter how she tried to rationalize it away. The more Grant became part of her life, the less he was willing to talk about his family or friends in Boston. Whenever she brought them up, he found a way to change the subject. It was a change from when she first met him, and she didn’t know what it meant, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was important.
He knew everything about her—down to the names of her best friends in elementary school. What do I know about him beyond who he is when he’s with me?
Is there something or someone in Boston he’s running from?
Is it that his family doesn’t approve of me? Are they rejecting our child?
She pushed that thought back because it had the power to sour her otherwise great mood. There’s nothing to worry about. We don’t have to rush. While waiting for our little one to arrive, we have plenty of time to figure each other out.
At exactly five o’clock Grant stepped into Viviana’s office and swung her up in his arms. He l
acked the words to describe how good it felt to return to her. One day soon he intended to end each night loving her and wake each morning to her snuggled to his side. “Hey, beautiful, you ready to go?”
She kissed him boldly and soundly.
He ended the kiss with a regretful chuckle and a mental reminder to his hardening cock that fasting now would be rewarded with a lifetime of feasting. It remained defiantly overeager.
Viviana had offered her couch to Grant again, and despite his frustration, he’d declined a second time. There was an order to things and a reason for that order.
He wasn’t going to marry a woman he didn’t know.
He couldn’t truly know Viviana unless he expanded their relationship beyond how much he wanted to fuck her again. None of his initial concerns had anything to do with their sexual compatibility. No, that box had been the first one checked off.
However, he’d also wanted to see her with her family.
With her friends.
When she was happy, angry, sad.
