Page 23 of Her Baby His Gift

Chapter 12

“It’s my anniversary. Made for you and me.” The deep dulcet tones of Damian Fox singing Tone Toni Tony’s hit song-filled Harlem’s office suite. “Seriously, how long do I have to stand here before you realize it?”

She glanced up from her desk to find all six-feet-two-inches of sexy goodness leaned up against the frame of the door. Damian looked as if he were posing for a magazine. Mr. GQ’s legs were crossed at the ankles while holding a massive bouquet of red long-stemmed roses.

Shit!Harlem shot up out of her chair. “Have you been standing there long?”

“About five minutes.” He shook his head. I guess I don’t have to worry about Mesha putting crazy ideas about weddings and marriage in your head. You can’t even seem to remember our anniversary.”

“I remembered. I just got . . . caught up with work.”

“I smell good, my fade is tight, and I’m looking like a million bucks for my girl, and you didn’t even notice.” Damian didn’t lack in the confidence department. He didn’t need to. The man was the trifecta–self-assured, wealthy, and fine. As a matter of fact, his smile was so dangerous, it was rumored to have made a few women sell their souls to the devil.

Still, Harlem had been so engrossed in her work that she didn’t even know he was in the room.Harlem had completely forgotten about their dinner plans. Damian wasn’t lying about looking good. He was wearing a new custom chocolate-colored Armani suit. One that matched his beautiful dark brown skin.

Shit. Shit!“I’m sorry!” Harlem said as she sat back down. “Just give me a few minutes to answer this e-mail and approve a couple of requisitions.”

“Disappointed, Damian walked into her office and closed the door behind him. “I made the reservations for seven this evening thinking that would be late enough.”

She mumbled. “I just lost track of time.” Her fingers suddenly started flying across her keyboard.

Damian took a seat opposite Harlem’s massive desk. It was clear he was frustrated but trying not to show it–not on their fifth anniversary. “You seem to be doing that a lot lately.”

She had. Harlem felt the need to explain. “It’s just that this project is so important. I mean, can you imagine? At the end of it . . . me, Harlem Thomas will have designed the third tallest building in Chicago. If my team is successful, AJ told me that a Senior Partnership is all but guaranteed.”

Damian’s smile faded. “Great.” His response was dry. “Sounds like more work to me.” After not accepting the flowers, he handed them to her. “Do you even want these?”

Harlem didn’t miss the irritation in his eyes.It’s my anniversary, and I am screwing up. I need to fix this.Slowly,she stood. This time Harlem sauntered around her desk to stand directly in front of him. She leaned over so that they were eye level and held his gaze. “Yes. They’re beautiful. Thank you.” Her voice turned sultry. “I want these andyou.” Harlem cupped the side of his face and leaned in, covering his lips with hers. She poured everything into the one kiss. Just as Damian was about to deepen it, Harlem pulled back. She whispered. “I promise, if you give me another two minutes, I’ll make up for everything.”

Frustrated, Damian sat back in his chair. “You’re killing me, Harlem. If you can’t find time for us now, how the hell are you going to find the time when we have a baby?”

This was an argument that Harlem definitely didn’t want to have. Notagainand not tonight. “Damian, that’s not fair. I never complain about your late nights or business travel.”

“Why would you? You’re my priority. I’m fully present when you’re in a room.”

Harlem tilted her head slightly and placed a hand on her hip. “Really?”

“Hell, yeah!” Unable to hide his growing anger, Damian got up out of his chair. “And, after the baby comes, I’ll scale back even more.”

“First, that’s easy for you to say. It’s your business. You’re the boss. Second, at some point when we have a baby, he or she will be my top priority too.”

Damian narrowed his eyes as he looked at her pointedly. “At some point? Exactlywhendo you think that will be?”

Harlem stuttered. “I-I told you when things slow down.” She definitely did not want to have this conversation. They did not agree on anything when it came to starting their family.

“You do realize you’ve been saying that for the past couple of years.”

She had.

“You know how much I want to have kids. You’ve known since we met that I want a big family.”

She did.

“We’re not getting any younger.”

They weren’t.

“At this rate, we’ll be lucky to have two.”

---