“Do you have anything going on?” he asks. “I was thinking we could go to lunch…”
I glance at the time on my phone. Kendall is at a playdate and I don’t have to pick her up for a couple hours, so I don’t have any excuse. Plus, I do want to get to know him, but agreeing to go to lunch with him will run us the risk of being seen…
“I was hoping we could talk,” he adds. “We could go back to my hotel, where we won’t be bothered, and order room service.”
“Okay, that sounds good.”
When we arrive at the hotel—a different one than the one he took me to before—his driver pulls up to a back entrance, and we slip in through the back door. The elevator is for the penthouse only, so nobody is on it but us. I can’t help but remember the last time we were on an elevator together… the way he had me pinned against the wall. When my eyes meet his, he smirks, and my cheeks heat up, knowing, based off the searing look he’s sending my way, he’s thinking about the same thing. I shake the thought from my head. Now is not the time to be thinking about sex.
“Are you planning to stay here for a while?” I ask, as we step off the elevator and walk toward his door. “It must be expensive to live out of hotels all the time.” Then I flinch, remembering he’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars and probably thinks I’m an idiot.
“Actually, I’m looking for a place to buy.” He opens the door and gestures for me to enter first. The place is how I would picture a penthouse in New York—everything gaudy and lush, expensive-looking. Makes you afraid to touch anything in fear of breaking it.
“Really? Because of the baby?”
“Unless you want to move to California,” he says with a hint of humor in his tone.
The mention of that state causes chills to run up my spine. I haven’t been back since the day I left, and I have no desire to ever return. Freeman hasn’t contacted me since he walked away, and I’ve made sure to stay off the radar. His threats back then were scary as hell, and since then, he’s come up in the world, just like he planned. I’d hate to think of what he’s capable of doing now—and I have no intention of finding out.
“New York is my home,” I tell him, sitting on the couch.
“Yeah, I figured.” He hands me a menu, and once I check it out and pick what I’d like, he places the order. When he hangs up, he sits diagonal from me in the oversized chair, and we stare at each other in awkward silence for several long seconds before we both crack up at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ve never been in this situation before.”
“What?” I mock-gasp. “You mean you don’t go around knocking up strangers all the time?”
He chuckles. “This is definitely a first.” He edges forward. “But I have a confession to make…” His eyes lock with mine and butterflies attack my belly. “Before I found out you were pregnant, you were on my mind. I couldn’t get you out of my head, since the day you dined and dashed.” He laughs softly, and I groan, knowing he’ll never let me live that down. “I even called the photographer to try to get your full name,” he adds.
“I called her too.”
“She’s out of the damn country.” He takes my hand in his and rubs circles along the center of my palm. “Obviously I didn’t know at the time you were pregnant, but I had a solid plan. I was going to stalk Bryant Park, specifically that bench, every day until you showed up again.”
I can’t help but laugh at his craziness.
“I’m serious,” he says with a playful smile. “I wanted to beg you to let me take you out on a proper date, and I wasn’t going to stop until I found you.” His other hand cups the side of my face. “I still want to take you out on that date.”
“Easton…” I shake my head.
“Before you say no, just hear me out, please.” His beautiful brown eyes plead with me, so I nod. “I know you’re busy with school and work, and you made it clear that day you weren’t interested in going out with me, but there’s something between us. I felt it that day in the park, when you were in my bed, and I know you did too. And now that you’re pregnant, I think we owe it to ourselves to at least see where things go.”
I swallow thickly, hating that even though his words are so sweet, my insecurities are still coming out. I know he said he felt it before he knew I was pregnant, but I can’t help wondering if maybe he’s pushing so hard because I am pregnant.