Page 8 of Her Baby His Gift

“Is that something that resembles a compliment? I’m going to have to mark this down on my calendar.”

Harlem wasted no time scarfing down her breakfast.

The two of them sat in awkward silence for some time. Harlem finally spoke. “Carter, I . . . I think I’m sorry about earlier. I kind of go back and forth with my anger.”

“Just let me know when it’s bubbling up so I can get out of the way.” He was only half-joking. Especially since they hadn’t really talked sincethatday.

“This situation is a mess.”

He sighed. “Yep, but we have no choice but to figure it out.”

“You keep saying that, but . . . How is Elaina handling everything?”

He signed. “I won’t lie. About as well as we are.”

Harlem had a faraway look in her eyes. “I never thought in a million years that we would be here.”

“Me either. The mere thought that you and I would be able to sit on a couch and have a regular conversation is a small miracle.”

Harlem smiled slightly. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Got to find the twisted humor in this.”

“I know it might seem like it, but I don’t exactly hate you.”

He held her gaze. “You just wish he was here and not me.”

It stunned Harlem that Carter was so matter-of-fact. She was ashamed because he wasn’t wrong. She glanced down at her hands. “I don’t mean to direct my anger at you.”

“Since when?” He laughed. “It’s no secret how you feel about me.”

“It just hurts. When I see you, I see him. Not to mention, we’re like oil and water. Damian was the glue that kept us from killing each other.”

He agreed. “He was definitely that. For the record, I wish he was here too. But he’s not. That’s why I’m standing in the gap.”

“No offense, but it’s hard to imagine. You’ve always run away from anything resembling commitment. I’ve never even known you to have a serious girlfriend. Elaina is the first, and children are an even bigger commitment.”

“I never wanted to have kids, but you are having a baby.” Carter was careful not to sayhisbaby. “I can’t ignore that. That child has my DNA. I won’t ignore that either. Regardless of how we feel about each other, we’ve got to set those feelings aside and do what’s best for this child.”

Harlem lowered her head and swallowed hard. “I know.”

“That means you’ve got to start taking better care of yourself. I need to know that you’re eating, sleeping, and doing all that you can to bring a healthy baby into this world.”

Harlem couldn’t believe how the tables had turned. Carter was being the responsible one. Despite how much she wanted to crawl up into a ball, Harlem had to get it together. “You’re right.”

He expected more pushback. “What? That’s it? I’m right about something?”

“This is one of the very few times that you are right, and I’m woman enough to admit it.”

He studied her hard. “You’re going to be okay, and so am I.” Carter wasn’t so sure when they would get to okay, and what it would look like when they did, but it was all he had to hold on to.

Chapter 6

Harlem walked into her office for the first time in two months. She stood in the center of the room and slowly did a three-sixty turn.

Everything felt different even though her office was exactly the same.Just put one foot in front of the other.She went over to her desk and took a seat in her overly large leather chair. Her eyes immediately fell onto a picture of Damian.

Harlem stared at it for a minute then reached out to caress his image. She whispered. “I’m so sorry.” Her assistant knocked on the door and poked her head inside. “Harlem?”

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