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After we walked into the room, he shut the door behind us, then strode over to the minibar. “Can I get you anything? We’ve got some sodas and sparkling water.”

I drifted over to the little sitting area by the window, my gaze catching on that little box still sitting in his jacket pocket where we’d left it this morning. Without even really thinking about it, I pulled it out and turned it over in my hands.

Holden turned to glance at me from the minibar, probably wanting an answer, but as soon as he saw the test in my hand, his eyebrows shot up. “Are you taking it?”

I shook my head, slowly lowering myself into an armchair before looking back into his eyes. “I don’t think I can do it yet.”

“Okay,” he said immediately. Zero hesitation. “Then we keep it until you’re ready.”

I searched his gaze. “Is that really okay with you?”

“Of course. What else would I say?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that you’d like to know if you really do have an heir on the way.”

Still without a second of hesitation, he abandoned the minibar without taking anything out of it and strode across the room, sinking to his haunches in front of me. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. Fuck the heir. I want to know if I’m having a baby with you, but I can wait. I want to be in a better place too, Alicia.”

My eyes burned with the tears gathering behind them, my heart fluttering in my chest. “So do I. I guess it’s just that right now I don’t know what happens if it’s positive and that’s scary. I just… yeah.”

“Yeah.” He gave me a soft smile. “I don’t know what happens either, but we’ll cross whatever bridge we need to cross when we get to it, okay?”

Without breaking eye contact, he took the box out of my hand and set it down on the table, then leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “Whenever you’re ready is fine with me, Alicia. I promise. There’s no pressure.”

I nodded, bringing my head closer to his to rest my temple against it. “Okay. Can we go to bed now or did you have your heart set on a walk?”

He chuckled and slid an arm around my waist. “Bed sounds good to me, baby. Let’s do it. Tomorrow is another day and the city isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be right here when we have the energy to explore it.”

CHAPTER 45

HOLDEN

For a long time, I’d done everything I could to avoid Thayer Steelworks. Then Jane and Colin had needed help covering for Ryan and I’d come back, really hitting my stride at the company for a while there. After the last time I’d been summoned here though, I’d honestly thought I would go back to avoiding this place like the plague.

If Court was going to be consulting, I figured I would once again start making a habit of driving at least three miles around the very building just in case, but here I was. Willingly.

The fact of the matter was that it was time to get serious. That was the decision I’d made back in New York and I was sticking to it. And for me, getting serious started right here.

Colin looked up when I walked into his office, his gaze flickering back down to the clock on the computer screen before he frowned at me. “You’re early.”

I smirked and shut the door. “I’ve been told it’s a desirable professional trait.”

“By whom?”

“Everyone who knows me.”

He laughed and closed the folder in front of him, leaning back in his chair and pressing the intercom to order two coffees before he fixed his gaze on mine. “Alright, you’ve got me curious. I’m not sure I was expecting a call from you for at least the rest of the year, let alone straight after spending an entire weekend together. What’s this about?”

“A job.”

He blinked rapidly. “A job?”

“Yes,” I said. “That work-study position, to be exact.”

His eyebrows inched up. “Last time we talked about this, you told me to shred the paperwork because you jumped the gun.”

“I lied.”

“I know.” As I crossed his office and dropped into the chair opposite his desk, he watched me closely, looking a little confused as his gaze tracked my movements. “Here’s the thing, Holden. You lied because I told you Dad might be getting involved again. Do you realize that might still be happening?”