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“Smoke inhalation?” James asked.
“Yeah. No burns, thankfully.”
James glanced at his watch. He should have finished half an hour ago, but that was life as a doctor. “Actually, do you have a minute? Maybe we could go grab a coffee.”
“Sure. Ember’s at her mom’s with the baby, I said I’d meet them there in an hour. A coffee first would be good.”
They took the elevator to the café on the fifth floor, ordering two Americanos with room before taking a seat by the window. James took a sip of his coffee, letting the bitter liquid warm his throat, as he tried to let his body relax.
It was tough. When he left the house this morning Harper was still asleep, so he’d written her a note and promised to call her at lunchtime. When he’d dialed her number right after twelve she hadn’t picked up so he’d left a voicemail. As of five minutes ago, she still hadn’t returned his call.
He’d messed up. Hurt her. And he hated it. But every time he tried to think of a way to make things better his body tensed up. Could he give her what she wanted? What she and the baby needed? Right now, he had no idea.
“How are Ember and the baby doing?” he asked Lucas, putting his coffee cup on the table in front of him.
“They’re good.” Lucas smiled. “Ember’s completely exhausted, of course, and it seems like Arthur’s going through a growth spurt every other week. But there’s nothing like going home after a hard day’s work and seeing your family. I love it.”
“I bet.”
“And how are you doing?” Lucas asked. “Are Harper and the baby okay?”
“Yeah.” James nodded. “They’re doing good.”
“She must be in the third trimester by now, right?”
“Thirty-two weeks. Almost thirty-three.”
Lucas took a sip of coffee. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you guys together? Or are you planning on co-parenting?” He rubbed his jaw with the pad of his thumb. “You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal.”
“It’s okay.” James traced his finger over the cracks in the table. “The reality is, I don’t know what we are. Originally we were going to co-parent, but now things are a little… messy.” He grimaced. “Mostly my fault, by the way.”
“What did you do?”
“I asked her to move in with me.”
Lucas chuckled. “Doesn’t sound messy. It sounds like you’re wanting a commitment.”
“Yeah, well that’s not the way it sounded to Harper. She thought I was asking her for convenience’s sake.”
“Whoa.” Lucas let out a low whistle. “How did you manage to mess that up?”
“I don’t know,” James admitted. “One minute I’m asking her to move in with me, the next she’s telling me it’s the most unromantic proposition she’s ever had.”
“Did you tell her how you feel about her?” Lucas asked him.
James frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I guess I’m asking how you asked her. It’s a pretty big thing moving in with someone. Now that people are getting married less, it’s kind of replaced a proposal as a declaration of your relationship.”
James drained his cup, the frown still furrowing his brow. “I screwed it up,” he told Lucas. “She was saying how hard it was going to be to fit everything in her apartment, and I told her I have plenty of space and she’s welcome to move in.”
“Jeez.” Lucas spluttered out some coffee. “Yeah, that sounds like a major screw up. Did you even tell her you want her there? Or were you just offering to rent her some rooms?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Or at least he hadn’t meant it to be. He blew out a mouthful of air, remembering the expression on Harper’s face when he’d made the offer. There was hurt in her eyes and it cut him to the core to know he was the one who’d put it there.
