Her Baby Secret (Friends & Lovers Book 1) (13 page)

“What!” Robyn exclaimed. “What happened?”

“That bastard, Marley,” Emerald said, her expression darkening once more. “He tried his stupid antics again. I kneed him in the nuts.”

“What an asshole!” Robyn shouted. “He should be the one who gets fired!”

“I tried explaining that to his father but he doesn't believe me.”

“He knows his son is a perv,” Robyn said, feeling certain about it.

“I think so, too,” Emerald agreed. “But of course he's going to take his son's side.”

“You should sue both of those assholes!”

“I've thought about it. But I really have no proof of what's been going on.”

Robyn felt so bad for her friend. Fired the day after Christmas!

“I'll be okay,” Emerald said, standing up and putting on her coat. “I'm going to head home right now to update my resume. And I'll start my job search ASAP.”

Robyn quietly nodded. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“I'm going to get unemployment,” Emerald said confidently, smiling. “And I could actually use a vacation so we're all good.”

“But I know how much you liked that job,” Robyn pointed out.

“True. But they're not the only gym. And it's better I got out of there before he tried to rape me or something. He's desperate.”

Robyn didn't know what to say but she felt good knowing that her friend was looking on the bright side.

“I just feel bad for whoever they get to replace me. Because he's going to try it again.”

“God, I hope not,” Robyn whispered.

After Emerald had gone, Robyn took a hot shower and dressed in a long-sleeved blue shirt and thick black sweatpants. She tried to decide what to take out for dinner but nothing in her kitchen appealed to her so she planned to make peanut butter and jelly. For some reason, she was liking peanut butter and jelly a lot lately.

Her bell rang and she went to the intercom.

“Who is it?”

“It's me, babe,” Devin's smooth, sexy voice came across the intercom.

She buzzed him in, a thrill of excitement rushing through her. She was so eager to be around him even though she knew she shouldn't be. All of Emerald's words came back to her. Yes, she loved Devin. And she knew he'd cared about her at one point. He said he loved her and she was eager to believe that but she didn't want to make another big mistake.

She unlocked the apartment door to let him in. A few seconds later, he strolled in, looking gorgeous in his black down jacket and black jeans.

“Hi,” He said, taking off the jacket, revealing a tight black T-shirt. She could see his rock hard abs beneath his shirt, along with his pecs, and it made her yearn.

“Hi,” She said hoarsely and cleared her throat.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, walking towards her, his hazel eyes running over her appreciatively.

“I'm fine,” She mumbled, walking away from him. “What do you want?”

“I just want to see you,” Devin said, going to sit on the couch.

She was happy to see him too, though they'd just seen each other earlier that afternoon. But she'd never admit it.

“So when are you planning to move in to my place?” He asked, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I'm not sure,” Robyn said. She hadn't thought about it at all. Not really. “My lease on this place isn't up until June.”

“Well, you can't wait until June to move,” Devin said, “You'll already be nine months pregnant by then.”

She shrugged. “What's wrong with that? You only live about ten minutes away. It's not like I have to go far to bring my things.”

“You should already be settled by then.”

“Says who?”

“It's just common sense.” Devin shrugged.

Robyn frowned. “I'll be stuck paying rent here until then. I might as well stay.”

“I'll pay the rent for you,” Devin said, “It's no problem.”

“I don't need your charity,” Robyn said, offended. She could very well pay her own way.

“It's not charity. You're one of my best friends and the mother of my child. This just makes sense.”

She couldn't ignore the panic that welled up inside of her. She wasn't ready to be in such close proximity to Devin. Under the same roof. All the time. It was too soon.

“Just think about it,” He said, an edge to his voice. “Just take some time to think about it.”

She nodded her head without speaking. She'd have to give it a lot of thought. Because she knew that moving in with him so soon almost guaranteed that she'd be falling back into bed with him. And that would be a huge mistake that she'd end up regretting.

“I'm seeing Casey tonight,” Devin said, making her tense up.

She shrugged without saying anything and went into the kitchen. She didn't want to talk about Casey. If she could help it, she wouldn't even think about the manipulative woman. And now Devin was going to see her?

Robyn mindlessly opened cabinets, slamming them shut without taking anything.

“I'm going to confront her about all the stuff she pulled.” He was standing right behind her.

“What's the point?” Robyn demanded, instantly angry at him and Casey all over again.

“What do you mean?”

“I
mean
the damage is done. What's the point of you having a conversation with her about what she did two months ago? It's not like there's any consequences she can face for what she's done.”

“I just want to see why she did it.”

“She's attracted to you, Devin,” Robyn said with exasperation. “There's no secret reason for her being such a bitch. She just
is
a bitch and she wanted you and she did anything she could to get you.”

Thinking of it all again made Robyn's chin quiver. She'd lost so much so quickly because of that evil woman.

“I guess you're right,” Devin said, surprising her. She turned to face him, trying to cover her distress and anger.

“I'll call her back and tell her I don't want to see her.” He sat at the small kitchen table.

“Good.” She knew he'd have to see Casey on Monday and just about every day thereafter but that was work. Casey usually stayed in the lobby while Devin had an upstairs office. She hoped he wasn't naive enough to try to resume his friendship with Casey. But she was mentally preparing herself for anything. He didn't owe her, Robyn, anything. So she had no right to any expectations. Her head understood it all. But her heart still refused to follow along.

“Are you hungry?” Devin asked, sounding amused.

She realized that she stood at the fridge, holding the door open. She took a bottled water from the shelf and closed the door, then joined Devin at the table.

“When's the next time you go back to the doctor?” He asked.

“Not for a few weeks,” Robyn said, on alert. She knew what was coming before he said it.

“I want to go with you when you go back. I want to go back every time.”

“You don't have to do that,” Robyn said, speaking so fast that her words ran into each other.

“I know I don't have to, Robyn,” Devin said gently, reaching over and running his forefinger over the back of her hand. “I want to. I want to be as involved as I can.”

She nodded slowly. She had a few weeks to get used to the idea of him coming to the doctor with her. She didn't know why she felt quite so awkward about it. But she did.

“Well, I’m going to get going.” Devin stood up.

“Okay,” Robyn murmured, doing her best to ignore the disappointment that she felt.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Devin said. “I thought we could spend the day together.”

“I don't think we should,” Robyn said, her eyes wide, although her heart warmed because he wanted to see her again.

“Stop being like that, Robyn,” Devin said, approaching her.

She looked up at him from her seat, guilt warring with the need to protect herself. He put a hand on each side of her face and her heart immediately began to pound in her chest.

“I know I screwed up,” Devin said solemnly. “But you can't hold that against me forever.”

“I just want to be friends now,” She choked out.

“No, you don't,” Devin said seriously. “It was too good between us. I know you want that back as much as I do.”

She was too stunned to speak.

He bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, causing a chill to run down her spine. He straightened and smiled.

“I'll see you tomorrow.”

Robyn sat still as a statue as he walked out of the kitchen. A few moments later, she heard her apartment door shut with a small bang. She put her head down on her arms on the table, fighting the feelings of hope and despair. It was hard enough fighting all the feelings that she had for Devin. But it was going to be even harder fighting the so-called feelings that he had for her. And even worse, how was she going to fight when deep inside she didn't even want to anymore?

Devin hung up the phone, the sound of Casey's sobs still ringing in his ears. He'd called her earlier to curse her out for what she'd done and she'd practically begged to see him, which he'd reluctantly agreed to. But Robyn had been right. There was no reason to see Casey. They were no longer friends. The past couldn't be undone, couldn't be repaired. Which he'd told Casey just now on the phone. She'd begged him to see her, wailing uncharacteristically, before turning cold and telling him that he was stupid to be with Robyn in the first place, and then wailing again, asking for his forgiveness. That's when he'd hung up the phone. There was nothing else to say.

He knew it would be awkward at work but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. And hopefully Casey valued her job enough not to cross any lines at work.

The woman he was really worried about was Robyn. She was afraid of him. He'd seen it in her eyes. He knew she wasn't physically afraid of him. But she was scared of a relationship with him. And that hurt him to the core. He'd have to work very hard to win her back and he was determined to do it. He had to remember his plan to gently and slowly become close to her again. He wouldn't force it. He knew he had a lot to make up for. It wouldn't be easy but he knew in his heart that he'd do it eventually, because he knew he and Robyn were meant to be together.

He called one of his favorite restaurants, ordering dinner to be delivered later, before going to his gym to work out. He spent two hours boxing and weight training, pressing weights until his body was completely devoid of energy. After taking a quick shower, he settled on his couch and put a movie on, waiting for his food to arrive. He felt lonely but also full of hope. He knew he just had to be patient and sooner or later, he'd really have her back.

Robyn had just twisted the lid off of the peanut butter jar when her bell rang. Frowning, she looked at the clock. It was after seven and she didn't want any company. She wanted to eat in peace. She was so hungry, she was starting to feel queasy.

“Who is it?” She said into the intercom.

“Delivery from La Cocina Familiar,” Came a deep voice.

“I didn't order any food,” Robyn said suspiciously, knowing very well that the restaurant didn't even deliver. It was an elegant eat-in only establishment. She'd been there with Devin on a couple of dates. The food had been a little pricey but delicious.

“I know you didn't, ma'am,” the reply was swift yet polite. “The order was placed by a...Devin Jamison. It's already been paid for.”

She was instantly touched and relieved that it wasn't some crazy stranger trying to get into her building. She buzzed the delivery guy in, wondering how much Devin had had to pay to get them to deliver. She only hoped whatever he'd chosen wouldn't make her sick.

She opened the door to her apartment as the delivery guy approached, carrying two plastic bags full of takeout containers. He was a middle aged man and he wore a warm smile. She thanked him, taking the bags, and tried to tip him, which he refused, insisting that he'd already been tipped.

After Robyn bid him goodnight, she closed the door, her stomach growling. From the looks of the two bags, Devin had sent her enough food for at least half a dozen people. She went to the kitchen and took out the containers, cautiously opening them, afraid to upset her stomach.

There were three kinds of chicken, broiled, grilled and stewed. There were roasted potatoes, baked potatoes, white rice, yellow rice, corn on the cob, steamed broccoli, and mixed vegetables. There was also a huge container of sorbet, which she hurriedly put into the freezer. Looking at all the food, she could tell that they were lightly seasoned and marveled at Devin's thoughtfulness.

She almost called him to say thank you but didn't want to risk talking to him. She was much too emotional, knowing that he'd thought about her and had gone to such measures to make sure she had a good dinner.

She sniffled, settling on a short but simple text message before tucking into her dinner. She felt calm as she ate, enjoying some of the grilled chicken and white rice with veggies. She felt calm as she and Devin exchanged a few messages. She even felt calm when she took her shower. But once she lay in her bed in her dark bedroom, the tears instantly flowed. And she didn't bother trying to fight them.