Drew's expression never changed. He continued to stare at her, with longing in his eyes, which was doing funny things to her stomach. She tried to focus on the food but had lost her appetite. She picked at it some more and finally gave up and shoved it aside. Drew took her hand in his and waited until he had her full attention.
"I've decided you'll be my wife. I've never felt about a woman the way I feel about you and you're carrying my child. We'll stay together. I understand you're scared. I understand you're angry I mislead you but you'll learn soon you can't live without me," he said with complete confidence.
She was left breathless and without any words. It was almost impossible to argue with the man but as she thought about what he said, her temper flared a bit. How dare he demand such things of her? She wasn't some school girl there to please him.
"Drew sometimes in life you simply have to accept when you can't have your own way. I'm not a possession you get to choose to keep or cast off. You can go away now," she said, with some venom in her tone. Drew laughed; she could not believe the man actually laughed.
"You're so good for me, Trinity. I need people in my life who aren't afraid to tell me how it is but nonetheless we'll be together," he said. "I have a few errands to run this afternoon but I'll be back before you close," he told her, then almost as an afterthought, gently kissed her before walking out the door.
Trinity stood for several minutes after he left, with her hand pressed against her still tingling lips. The man had a way of affecting her, unlike anyone before him. She finally shook it off and got back to work. When he came back she'd have to be firm and not let him affect her.
About an hour before closing, the bell on the door rang out, letting her know someone was coming in. She looked up nervously and let out a sigh of relief, followed by a pang of disappointment, when it was a woman and not Drew.
The woman seemed to be around her age and was carrying the most adorable little girl. Just the sight of the baby made her heart skip a beat. She couldn't wait to hold her own daughter in her arms.
"Hello, how are you this afternoon?" Trinity asked the woman.
"I'm great and how are you?" the woman responded.
"I'm glad it's closing time soon but other than that I'm wonderful," Trinity said.
"My name is Jasmine and this little one is Britney," the woman said, as she held out her free hand.
"It's great to meet you Jasmine, my name is Trinity, how can I help you?" she asked. She loved customers like Jasmine, who were happy and friendly. She also loved getting to know her customers because they would come back and she could learn exactly what they liked, making sure to do an excellent job.
"I wanted to meet you; I'm married to Derek, who is Drew's cousin. I call him my brother-in-law because they are more like siblings," Jasmine said.
"Oh … well … umm … " Trinity stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"I know I shouldn't have just barged in here on you but when Drew told us he was going to be a father, I had to meet the woman who had finally gotten ahold of him," she said with humor in her tone.
"We aren't together though … " Trinity tried to say before she was interrupted again.
"You're carrying a Titan child, so you're pretty much together, believe me. You can try and fight it but these guys really care about family. My husband and I had a very rocky start but I love him so much and am so grateful he fought for me because now we have Britney and Jacob and I'm disgustingly happy all the time," Jasmine said.
The baby was squirming in her arms and Trinity wanted to hold her so badly but didn't even know this woman and couldn't ask her to hand over her child. Jasmine saw the look of yearning on Trinity's face and handed Britney over.
"She's so precious," Trinity coo'd at her.
"She's pretty amazing and incredibly spoiled," Jasmine said with real fondness.
"Why don't you sit down over here with me and we can chat?" Trinity said as she moved over to the love seat she had brought in when she found out about the baby. She knew she'd want a comfortable place to rest.
"That sounds perfect, tell me all about how you and Drew met and please don't leave out any juicy details," Jasmine said to her. Trinity could feel the heat suffuse her cheeks, as she thought about those details. She didn't know what it was but she liked Jasmine instantly. She was just so friendly, how could you not?
Trinity found herself opening up and telling her about their time on the island and then about the last few days. Jasmine listened the whole time, nodding her head in understanding.
"Seriously, I know he's behaved like a complete moron but he's a terrific guy and if you give him a chance you'll see that," Jasmine said.