The Billionaire’s Baby(13)

"Careful," A deep, genial voice spoke from behind me, "You're going to burn your tongue."

I jumped up in shock, whirling around and almost throwing the coffee cup at the intruder.

Lewis Carson stood before me, tall, blond, and beautiful. HIs green eyes were as soft as ever.

"I thought no one would be here today." I murmured with a heaving sigh, "I just needed a place to think."

"I understand." He responded, "I can give you space if you need."

"No." I replied quickly, before my lips could catch up with my brain, "No... Stay."

Hesitantly, he smiled, walking to the coffee machine to pour himself some Joe.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, relieved for a moment to be able to have some conversation that didn't revolve around babies or marriages or secret double lives.

"I come here every day. Even when we're closed. When I don't, it's kind of like missing an old friend or something." He shook his head, almost reticent, "I know how ridiculous that sounds."

"Not at all." I sighed, sinking down in my chair a bit as I stretched my legs out in front of me, "That's the same way I feel. When I need some alone time, this is the first place that springs to mind."

"Tell me about it." He chuckled.

Quietly, he settled down beside me, sipping at his coffee.

For a while I just stared off towards the window, watching what clouds I could see slowly sail by.

This quiet between Lewis and I was peaceful, calm.

It was strange to think he all but claimed he was going to steal me away from my husband. We hadn't spoken once about that conversation since. I found out I was pregnant that same day, after all, and I could tell Lewis was doing his best to keep his opinion to himself.

For all I knew, Lewis no longer even thought of me as attainable or attractive any more.

I turned to him, struggling to come up with some sort of conversation, only to find him already looking at me from over the edge of his favorite purple dotted mug.

The sun from the windows illuminated his sandy lashes. They were surprisingly long, sending shadows down the strong bones of his cheeks.

"You know, I haven't forgotten." He said slowly, clearing his throat as he set down his mug, "I want to make that known, here and now. I haven't forgotten."

"Forgotten what?" I whispered, though I already knew to what he spoke of. Lewis was a mind reader, or was my expression just that obvious?

He stared at me, emerald orbs sizzling. I could feel the electricity from where I sat, though he did not touch me.

"My words, they were all true. Every single thing I've ever said to you, I've meant, and I will mean for the rest of my life." His voice was so strong, each syllable deliberate.

"You don't know me." I managed to say, heart beating like a drum against my ribs, "I'm pregnant with Sebastian's child!"

Surely he couldn't still be interested in me?

"You think I care about that?" He laughed, sipping his coffee, "All that I care about is your happiness. You're not happy with him, even Karina knows it. She's mentioned it to Harry."

"That's not her business." I whispered harshly, anger flaring from somewhere inside of me, "That’s not your business either."

"It's not." He acknowledged, shaking his head, "But I care about you, I care about your feelings. That’s not something I can just idly sit by and ignore."

Silently, I stared down into the cup of decaf coffee in my hands, watching as it swirled in slow motion.

"What do you want from me?" I finally managed to ask, shoulders sagging heavily, dragged down by the weight of the conversation, "I can't give you anything. I'm married."

"Give me a date." He responded, leaning forward across the table, "One date."

"I can't go out anywhere, what if someone sees and mentions it to Sebastian?" I replied, staring at him in disbelief.

Would my husband even care? I highly doubted it.

"Then we'll do it right here." He said with a grin, "We'll make cookies and drink hot chocolate. Nothing touchy feely. I can behave myself."

I'm not going to lie, for a second, I almost agreed to it.

It would be fun, there was no way around that. Every moment spent with Lewis was careless and relaxed. That was just the aura the handsome blond emitted. He was like a giant star of friendliness, he could walk into a room and be best friends with everyone. People revolved around him, basking in his warmth.

Looking into his tender eyes made it even more difficult to decline.

"I can't." I said quietly, smile slowly fading from my face, "You know I can't."

"But you want to." Lewis said back, walking his empty coffee cup back to the kitchen as he delicately set it down.