Page 25 of Surprise Baby for Mr. Fischer
“Do what?” I finally whispered.
“I genuinely liked you, Harper. Don’t pretend what happened between us was a joke.”
The sincerity in his gaze had me standing there immobile.
“Why don’t we move into the kitchen?” Lincoln asked, shifting his hand from my face to my arm. With him guiding me, my legs shuffled forward. As we made our way down the hall into the kitchen his words played on repeat in my head.
Entering the open space broke through my distracted thoughts. It appeared to be the most updated room in the house with modern appliances, floor to ceiling dark blue cabinets. and a massive white marbled granite island in the center.
I shrugged off his touch and made my way to the opposite side of the island, creating a distance between us. I needed to think straight and it was getting harder the longer he stayed by my side.
“Would you like a beer?”
“Uh, no, thanks.” I stammered. Shit! I needed to tell him about the baby.
“Okay.” He stood at the island his beautiful eyes taking me in.
I was happy we had the counter between us. With the obvious perusal he was giving me I had to remind myself there was no way he could see my pregnant belly.
“I tried to call you after.” The words slipped out before I stopped myself.
A look of surprise crossed his face. “You did?”
I nodded.
“Damn. You had my old number. I was getting harassing phone calls after the movie came out and I ended up changing my number after I left Rhode Island.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry.”
My chest ached. This whole time I believed he walked away and never thought about me once. That I was a blip on his radar. And that was before I knew he was a movie star.
I should have given him my phone number when he asked for it and not assumed he hadn’t meant it. Bitterness clogged my throat as I remembered immediately changing the subject when he asked for it. “I’d just thought you didn’t care.”
“No, definitely not that.” He stepped closer to me and laid his hands on my arms. I sucked in a breath when his forehead touched mine. “I’m really am sorry.”
This was not how I thought things would go. He was so close, my body screamed to pull him even closer. But he was a famous movie star. Women must throw themselves at him all the time. What did he see in me?
“I, uh. I don’t know what to say.” His lips were so close. If I moved my head a little, I could easily kiss him. But I wouldn't. I needed to tell him about the baby first. I lifted my head. “This is a little weird for me.”
He jerked his head back but didn’t let me go. His hands remained firmly on my arms. “Why?”
“You’re you.” I shrugged. “I’m me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shook my head at the stunned expression on his face. He couldn’t possibly be that oblivious. I shifted away from him, needing to keep my head about me. When he touched any part of me, my brain turned to mush, and my body only thought about rubbing against him like a cat in heat.
“Lincoln, we barely know each other. I didn’t even know until yesterday morning that you were a celebrity.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Remembering his deception was like throwing a bucket of cold water over me. “I feel like an idiot for not knowing who you were. We spent all weekend together, and I had no clue.”
“Honestly, I was happy you didn’t know. It made everything more real. You weren’t looking to gain anything from me. You weren’t with me because of my status. It was refreshing and made you all the more attractive.”
I squirmed. “Seriously, though, my sisters think I live in the stone age. Didn’t you ever doubt that I was telling the truth?”
“At first, I wondered if it was an act, but I’d say something that should have given me away, and not once did you break. You didn’t even know most of the actors and actresses I named.”
I groaned. “Ugh, I was so bad at that game.” When we’d run out to the store, the second night we were together to buy snacks, he’d seen the movie edition of a trivia game and insisted we get it and play.
Lincoln’s laughter rang out in the kitchen. “I think you only got the cartoons and anything from over ten years ago right. There was no way someone could be that consistently bad. You would have slipped up at some point.”
The tension between us seemed to ease. “Why don’t you show me your place, and we can get started? There’s plenty of time to reminisce later.” I needed some distance between us, and looking around the house would give me that.
