She saw the good in everything, and though a good quality, her naivety had put her at risk before. I couldn’t let that happen again.

“So what? Another guy is interested in her, but she only has eyes for Nathan, dearest,” Jesse continued with sarcasm.

“That’s not the problem. I know him. He’s not to be trusted, especially not in her state.”

At my last words, Jessica’s mouth fell open. “Her state? Is she pregnant?”

“Yes, she’s pregnant.”

There was an almost hurt expression on her face. All playfulness in her tone disappeared as she walked up to me. “Why the hell would you get her pregnant? How could you, Nathan?”

“What the fuck is your problem?” I asked Jessica, confused. “She’s my girlfriend, things happened, and she’s pregnant. We’re happy. That’s all that matters.”

“Happy?” She scoffed, eyes shining with unshed tears. “She’s in her early twenties, Nathan. Believe me when I say that more than likely, that baby is very unwanted.”

I snapped. “I’m going to forget that you fucking said that, Jessica. It’s my child that you’re talking about, and despite what you may think you know absolutely nothing about my relationship with Evelyn. This is where I draw the line; you no longer have an opinion regarding Evelyn whatsoever, do you understand?”

Jessica was a very blunt woman; she had no problem telling what she felt. But this? That wasn’t something I would tolerate.

“I just think it’s too soon, Nathan. You two just got back together and are already expecting a baby? It seems careless.”

“Like I said, it’s none of your business.”

I turned my attention to the paperwork in front of me, unable to focus as all the words blurred together. Jesse’s reaction had both surprised me and pissed me off. We wanted our baby; of that much I was sure. We hadn’t planned for a family so soon, but we knew what we were doing. Jessica’s judgement wasn’t needed.

There was a soft knock on the door to the office before it slowly opened. Evelyn smiled, soft and warm, as she stepped in. Soon she sensed the tension in the room, however, because the smile vanished and replaced by a frown.

“Hey.” I smiled, beckoning her to come my way.

“Am I interrupting something?” Evie asked as she sat on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me.

“No,” Jesse answered. “I was just congratulating Nathan for your baby.” I stilled, glaring at Jessica. The woman sent an apologetic look my way before continuing. “You two will be great parents. I mean it.”

“I hope so,” she murmured. “It’s all so daunting, you know? But I can’t wait.”

“I can imagine. I don’t think anyone is ever ready. But you’ll be fine. You have each other.” Sighing, she said goodbye and left Evie and me alone.

With her intuition working now more than ever, she furrowed her brows. “What happened with Jessica?”

“Small disagreement,” I replied, giving her a small kiss. I could tell her about Jesse later. Right now, what I really wanted to discuss was her little outing with Derek. Knowing I was going to ask about that, Evelyn stood up and took a seat on top of the desk, moving a few things to the side.

I smirked, picturing the sight she’d made a few hours earlier.

Fuck, I was a lucky man.

“What are you thinking about?” Evie said, narrowing her eyes on me.

“You, me, and the desk,” I replied, placing my hands on her thighs. She blushed, biting her lip. “How did your coffee with your new friend go?”

I saw her tense before she cleared her throat and answered. “It went fine. He’s very kind, to be honest.”

Very kind.

“We went to the park, walked around.”

That was all she said. And though she tried to make their time out seem unimportant, I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me.

***