One Night, So Pregnant!(40)
She tapped the computer keyboard, to bring up the brochure design she’d been working on for the last few days.
It didn’t matter. She couldn’t let it matter. Nate Graystone had messed with her head far too much already. She had tons to do if she was going to get Bay Banquets up and running and begin soliciting business in the next month.
She studied the brochure, and let the sense of achievement begin to dampen down her annoyance. Using the Photoshop knowledge she’d gained on her website course, she’d framed a selection of arty still life photos from some of her most prestigious freelance events of recent years against a stately white background with a motif of the Golden Gate Bridge and then added the bold blue tagline with the company logo she’d copyrighted.
‘Bay Banquets: The best events on any budget.’
It looked good, she decided, the clean lines of the contemporary matched to the beauty and glamour of the luxurious. She could do this, she really could. Bringing up the file with the fabulous customer quotes she’d spent the last few days soliciting from a selection of her most satisfied clients, she began dropping them into the marketing copy on the other side of the card. She began to plan as she played around with font styles and typefacing.
Twenty minutes later, she clicked the file closed and transferred it to a USB. Pushing the chair back from her desk, she caressed the minuscule bulge under the waistband of her jeans, and let the spontaneous wave of pleasure wash over her. It chased away a little more of her annoyance with Nate.
If he didn’t show tomorrow, and she certainly wasn’t expecting him to, she’d be annoyed—and even a little sad—but she wouldn’t be devastated. After their last meeting she’d wanted him to be involved. She’d been excited about discovering more of the man behind that confident, take-charge mask. Had even foolishly hoped that there might be more for them to explore than just co-parenting issues and the possibility of more mind-blowing sex before the birth. But if he didn’t feel the same way, she certainly wasn’t going to force the issue.
She swung the chair round on its casters to admire the beautiful little room. It had certainly been no hardship to move into the cottage. She adored the house already, the cosy comfortable Spanish-style furnishings as inviting as the immaculately maintained grounds. And then there was the breathtaking location. She went for a run each morning through the gardens and along the cliffs and had found a secret path through the lemon grove at the back of the main house that led down to a private beach. This place was idyllic. She didn’t want to leave. So she’d decided that once she had some business coming in, she’d negotiate a rental contract with Nate. He probably wouldn’t like it, given his insistence on paying for everything—so she’d let him beat her down to a ridiculously low price—but she needed to maintain that separation and also have the security of knowing she could stay. She couldn’t think of a better place for a child to start out its life. And she wanted her child to have a tangible connection to the boy Nate had been, even if the man continued to remain elusive.
Picking up the USB stick, she rubbed her thumb over it, like Aladdin about to conjure the genie out of the lamp, and popped it into her purse, ready to drop off at a printer she had found in the Haight before the doctor’s appointment tomorrow.
Being more flexible about the boundaries she set around her own independence had been a good thing... It had brought her here, and made her admit that she didn’t have to do every single thing on her own. But there was flexible and there was clingy. She wasn’t going to call Nate again.
If he showed tomorrow, she’d try and find out what the heck had made him back off so far, so fast. But if he didn’t show, she would get on with her own life, her own way, and forget about becoming Nate’s friend. With or without
benefits.
She blinked down at her bump and felt the rush of emotion again. It was just pregnancy hormones. If the only support Nate offered was financial, she’d be disappointed but she’d get over it.
Even if it killed her.
* * *
Nate checked the GPS on his phone, then stuffed it into his jacket pocket and walked into the downtown building. As soon as he entered the lobby he spotted Tess seated by the window, wearing one of her power skirts and a soft silk blouse, the first two buttons undone to leave a tantalising hint of cleavage. She was gazing into space, perched on the edge of the leather armchair, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her legs crossed at the ankle and her golden hair pulled up in some kind of topknot that left only a few strands touching her cheekbones.
She looked stunning and sexy—and a little scared.