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Ben nods enthusiastically. “Sure, sure.” I watch as he takes off back into the kitchen, and I lower my voice to make sure no one else hears.
“That was…nice.”
Harrison shrugs and flashes a secret wink in my direction. “He’s gone, isn’t he?”
I have to bite my lip to keep myself from bursting into laughter.
But it doesn’t take long for my amusement to fade. “God, I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry?” He tilts his head to the side. “For what?”
“For all of…this. I know it’s complicated. Hell, complicated isn’t a strong enough word for just how damn complicated all of this is for you.”
Harrison smiles. “Don’t worry about me, Rock. It’s sweet that you want to, really, but I promise I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a really long time.”
“It’s just…” I glance at Ben as he fumbles through my kitchen some more, Heidi now helping.
“I know the score,” Harrison says quietly. “I came anyway.”
He came anyway.
Despite all the drama. Despite my crazy life.
And without a single expectation.
This man moved to LA to be here for me and the baby—our baby—that sits nestled inside my belly.
God, Harrison. You sure are something.
Raquel
If only my last name were Balboa.
Maybe then, I’d be able to get my freaking point across to the evil lady with the snaggletooth.
I know that’s not the most flattering description for a woman I’ve spent the better part of my adult life working with, but it was all the baby’s idea. And I can’t be held responsible for the wily ways of my buddy in utero.
“I don’t care,” I yell at Heidi—aka snaggletooth—unwilling to compromise on this. “Figure it out! Pretend he’s the driver, for all I care. He’s coming to the freaking doctor with me!”
“There are going to be questions. People are going to—”
“He’s here, Heidi,” I don’t hesitate to cut her off. “He’s here, despite all the other bullshit and back-seat living and subversion of power, and he’s here because he wants to be a part of this baby’s life. I’m going along with everything else you’ve planned for me. And right now, you need to figure out a way to make it okay for him to come to the doctor with me. Period.”
Heidi narrows her eyes, but I arch my eyebrow. As a kid, I used to stand up for myself all the time. I was headstrong and full of backbone. Of course, I haven’t used it in a while, but on this, I won’t yield. Harrison deserves to be a part of this if he wants to be.
Frankly, it’s a freaking miracle he does, one that thousands of knocked-up girls all over the world only dream of.
“Fine.” She huffs. “But you default to my discretion on how we make that happen. I don’t want to hear a word of protest from you about what I come up with. I’ll get him into the doctor’s office, but you are going to have to go along with everything that leads up to that if you want it to happen, understood?”
I nod. I know it’s complicated. I’ve played the shell game to get away from photographers. Trust me, I understand. All I care about is that Harrison ends up in that office with me. I can deal with the rest. And I’m sure he’ll deal with it too. He’s dealt with everything else already, and somehow, he’s continued to do it all so well.
We step back out into the living room, and Ben and Harrison both look up in unison. Ben’s interest quickly fades, but Harrison’s eyes stay squarely on me.
“Everything okay?” he asks softly.
I nod, stepping to the side as Heidi makes her way to the center of the room.
“Harrison, you’re going to go with Wilson. You’ll go on ahead to the doctor’s office, and you’ll wait there until this afternoon. We can’t risk having you enter the premises even remotely close to the time Raquel does.”
What the fuck? He’s supposed to wait there all day?
I swing my head around, a frown poised and ready, when Heidi meets my gaze with pointed eyes. I made an agreement that says I don’t question the way she wants to do things as long as it gets him in the building.
It freaking burns like liquid lava, but somehow, I manage to swallow my words back.
Harrison’s watchful gaze moves from me to Heidi, and then he simply nods.
God.
“Raquel and Ben will arrive this afternoon. Press will be there, I can guarantee it. You’ll need to be conscious of this. That means there needs to be some genuine affection between the two of you. Understand me?”
Ben waggles his eyebrows, and it takes a Herculean effort to offer a short nod of understanding, but I manage.
What I don’t manage to do is look at Harrison. I can’t. I don’t want to know what he’s thinking of me and this whole charade in this moment.
