Page 29 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

“Alex promised I'd be covered until the end of the year.”

“So, you need to find a new job, one that offers health insurance. Why don't you come back to work for me?”

His offer had me sitting up straighter and shaking my head. “You can't just fire your current assistant to make a place for me.”

He shrugged. “A lot can happen between now and the end of the year. You just worry about having this baby and taking care of her. I'll take care of you.”

“I don't need you to take care of me,” I said, my tone harsh. I couldn't work for him again. What if he got angry about the way I was raising our child and threatened my job? I couldn't be dependent on him for income, insurance, and to be a good father. “I can take care of myself.”

His jaw tensed. “I'm not saying you can't, I just want to help.”

I put the tray of food on the coffee table, no longer hungry, and faced him. “Just be a good father to our daughter and let me worry about the rest. How about that?”

“I'm trying to be a good father,” he said. “That includes taking care of my baby's mother.”

“I'm not your responsibility. Your only concern should be showing up for visitation.”

He flinched like I'd struck him. “That's what you see me? I'll just show up to see her every couple of weeks? Maybe take her on the weekends when she gets older?”

I rubbed my temples, my head starting to ache. “What more do you want? We aren't going to live together. We're going to need to work out some sort of arrangement.”

“I don't want an arrangement. I want to see my daughter every day. I want to be woken up by her in the middle of the night and complain that I never get any sleep anymore. I want to be there for her first step and her first tooth and her first smile.”

I sighed. He really wasn't asking too much, I just had no idea how to give him what he wanted without losing my sense of security and my heart. “I want you to have those things, Noah. I do. We'll have to figure it out as we go along.”

He shook his head, his shoulders stiff. “I want to know I'm going to be in her life. I want to be there for you, too. You've done so much alone already. I don't want you to have to raise her alone.”

I slumped. I didn't want that either, but I couldn't…”I'm exhausted, Noah. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

“Of course,” he said, his brow pinching with worry. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, just tired.”

I started to stand, to head to my room, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back down to the couch. “If you sleep now, you'll be up all night again tonight.”

“Did I wake you last night?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, I couldn't sleep either. Just sit with me and I'll try to find a movie for us to watch.”

I sat back down and he found some dumb comedy about circus clowns who rob banks. I was asleep before the intro credits finished rolling.

I woke to him rubbing my back. “Sweetie,” he said. “You should get to bed.”

“'Kay,” I mumbled, but I was too comfortable, more comfortable than I'd been in months, and I didn't want to move. I was laying with my head on his chest, his right arm wrapped tight around me. Before I fell back into a deep sleep, I felt Noah lift me in his arms and then I was moving, floating and bouncing a bit as he walked.

He laid me down in the cold bed and I woke a bit more as the position he'd laid me in put a pressure on my back that felt awful.

“Okay, sweetheart?” he asked.

I rolled onto my side and tried to settle, but I couldn't find that sweet spot where there was no pressure on my belly or my back. “I'll be okay,” I said. “I just have to get comfortable.”

The mattress sank as he got into bed and pulled me back into his arms. I snuggled against his chest and sighed. That was it. With my head raised and one leg over his legs, I was finally comfortable.

“Sleep well, sweetheart.” He placed a kiss to the top of my head. “Sleep well.”

I slept better than I had in months.

CHAPTER EIGHT

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