Page 18 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

She looked at me then, her eyes glassy, her mouth a tight line, her shoulders nearly to her ears they were so tense. Mom was right, I had hurt her by pretending nothing had happened between us. “Why did you pretend you didn't remember? I felt terrible, like I'd taken advantage of a seriously drunk man.”

“The last thing I felt was taken advantage of,” I said, trying to lighten the conversation, trying to make everything okay again.

She didn't smile. “Why?”

And I had to give her a serious answer, because I'd hurt her and I'd never meant to do that. “I didn't want it to change things between us. I was your boss, your friend. It never should have happened.”

She turned back to the mountain and one lone tear slid down her cheek. “I see.” I'd hurt her again, damn it, but I had no fucking clue how. “What I need to tell you, what I've needed to tell you for a while, is that I got pregnant that night.”

“No.” The word, along with a horrified tone, was out before I could grab it and yank it back. It wasn't possible. She was tiny, her belly was tiny. She couldn't be more than five or six months along.

Another tear slid down her cheek. “It's true. You can have a paternity test done after the baby's born, if you have any interest in knowing if she's yours. I won't ask for anything from you.”

“Of course I want to know if she's mine,” I said, almost automatically. Inside, I was reeling. I may have believed Aubrey would kidnap me, but I knew she wouldn't lie to me, not about something like this. Shit. I was going to be a father. I had a company that was barely holding on to solvency, a mortgage I was behind on, and I already had a family to take care of. Mom depended on the income from the company and so did May. All my brothers and sisters should benefit from the prosperity of the company, if I could ever make it prosperous again. I wouldn't see any of them struggle like my parents had. I remembered all too well the fights over money they'd had, the long hours they'd worked just to keep a roof over our heads. I'd given up sports, I'd put off going to college, finally finishing it through night and on-line classes when I was twenty-eight. I'd hoped I'd get the company in the black and it would be my turn, I'd get to do what I wanted for once, without worrying about how it would affect anyone else.

Except now, I was going to be a dad. I was going to have another person, two more people who depended on me and I had…Absolutely nothing to give them.

“You don't have to be involved,” Aubrey said. She was studying me, a worried crease between her brows. “We'll be fine on our own. I just thought you should know.”

I had a flash of Aubrey on her own, raising our daughter, a daughter I'd never see, and I felt physically ill. I swallowed hard an image flashed of Aubrey standing next to a big, burly, Thor-like guy, our daughter in his meaty paws. Shit. How the hell had this happened?

“We weren't as careful as we should have been,” Aubrey said. I guess I'd spoken that last part aloud. “I was on the pill, but I'd had bronchitis the week before, remember? I was still on antibiotics. I didn't even think…We weren't doing a lot of thinking that night.”

No, we hadn't done much thinking. My lips had met Aubrey's, she'd kissed me back and all thoughts had fled other than how quickly I could get her naked and how hard I was going to fuck her. Damn, she had felt so good in my arms, her skin so soft, her body melting into mine…I cleared my throat and returned to the porch, praying Aubrey didn't glance at my lap. “Right,” I said. “And you decided to keep it?”

Aubrey shot me a look stuck somewhere between disbelief and disgust, but I didn't back down. I wanted to know what had happened. I wanted to know what I'd missed. I couldn't even imagine the difficulty she must have had, the fear when she'd found out she was pregnant. She'd found out she was pregnant and I'd…I'd been the asshole who allegedly didn't recall having sex with her. I didn't blame her for not telling me, but I wanted her to tell me now.

“I just want to know how it all went down,” I said. “I'd never judge you, no matter what choice you made.”

Her expression thawed just the tiniest bit and she nodded. “I didn't even know until I was already four months along. I was busy finding a new job and then working that new job and…” She gestured at her belly. “It took a while for me to show, for my pants to even fit more tightly. And when I did find out…When I knew for sure…I already had a little baby belly and I…” She met my gaze. “Honestly? I love the idea of having a child. I don't have much family and I've always wanted one. That's how I convinced myself it was okay not to talk to you, not to tell you about her…Because I'd choose to have her. I'm fully capable financially and emotionally of raising her on my own.”

That stung a bit and I wasn't even sure why. I should walk away. I had enough people depending on me already. I should get up and find a way out of that house. But I stayed and I got annoyed at the very suggestion I'd want nothing to do with my child. I was the world's biggest hypocrite. “So you don't need me at all?”

“I don'tneedyou, but I know our daughter would like to have you in her life. I'm sure of that. And I'd like you to be in my life. I'd like my friend back.”

Friend. Right. I needed to remember that. She was my friend, soon to be the mother of my child. I needed to put all lustful thoughts on the far, far back burner of my brain. “I don't know how much I can offer,” I said. “But whatever I can scrape together, I'll give it to you and our daughter.”

That little wrinkle appeared between her brows again, confusion and curiosity, but I didn't feel the need to tell her about my finances or the finances of the family business. “The truth is,” she said. “I've got a fairly large nest egg and I don't need money from you. The only thing I'll ask of you is time. After she's here, I'd like your time.”

That word, time, stilled me. It was my rarest and most valuable commodity, the only thing I'd really wished to have for a very long time. And now Aubrey was asking me to give it to her and our daughter. I should have been freaking out, should have been running the other direction, but she said that word 'time' and all I could see was a tiny little girl with Aubrey's red hair and green eyes. A little girl I'd hold in my arms and read to and watch football with, if she was so inclined. They needed me and I'd find a way to give them time. I'd find a way to make this work. To be the father my daughter needed, hopefully a better father than my own had been able to be. “I'll be in her life,” I said. “I want to be in her life. In both your lives. I want to be a good friend to you.” And, if the word friend stuck in my throat a bit, it was only because I was overwhelmed by the knowledge that I was going to be a father.

CHAPTER SIX

Aubrey

“She didn't even leave us with any board games,” Noah said. He stalked into the kitchen and sat across from me at the table, where I was stuffing my face with cantaloupe. Nora had stocked the fridge and pantry with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. No cinnamon buns.

Noah had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, his feet bare, and he looked comfortable, relaxed, even though he glanced toward the phone on the counter and I knew he was thinking about work, worrying about work. He'd been so angry when he'd thought I'd kidnapped him, I thought he'd walk all the way back to Atlanta. But he was still there and he was willing to try. I wasn't at all sure how to feel about that.

“She left us plenty of books,” I said. “And there's all that nature outside. Go outside and play. I'll call you when dinner's ready.”

“Har, har. You can't tell me you aren't bored out of your mind.”

I was bored. I wanted to be back at the bed and breakfast, busy, not wondering how this was all going to work, how I was going to pretend to just be friends with Noah when I wanted to reach for him and wrap myself around him every time he walked into the room. “It's relaxing,” I lied. “It's good to get away from everything for a while.”

“Right.” Noah slumped into a chair across from me. “Relaxing.” He glared at me. “Tell me to my face you aren't going out of your mind with boredom.”

I couldn't lie to his face. My hobbies were playing the stock market, checking in with the rental properties I owned, and looking for new real estate deals. Sitting around, watching T.V. or birdwatching, held little interest for me. “Fine. I'm bored out of my mind. I've already outlined ten different plans for motherhood just to keep from going completely insane.”

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