Layla: God, I’m so glad you’re a doctor and not a lawyer. YouSuckat lying.
Grant: Fine. Let’s not talk about the letter of the disgruntled girlfriend who found pictures of her partner’s ex-girlfriend in his drawer, next to the engagement ring ...
Layla:Sheesh. Spoilers. I haven’t read this one yet.
Grant: Hurry up.
Layla: I still haven’t gone to Walgreens to pick up an issue. I had parent-teacher conferences back-to-back for the past couple days.
Grant: I have a copy right here.
Layla: So does every bodega on our block.
Grant: Yeah, but those bodegas don’t have the Thai green curry you love so much. Or that coconut slushie ...
Layla: You play dirty.
Grant: You like it.
Layla: See you in ten minutes.
“Do you have a peach somewhere in here? And a lemon?”
“Why?” Grant’s head popped up from the kitchen. “Have you been craving fruit?”
“God, no, this baby is all about artificial colors and burgers of dubious origins.” Still perched on his couch, I flipped throughGlossto get to the weekly Dear Desiree column. “But I’m thirteen weeks along, and it says the fetus is the size of a peach now. It also says that by week fourteen, it will be the size of a lemon. Peaches are larger than lemons. The math doesn’t math.”
Grant chuckled as he grabbed the plates with our Thai curry, rice, and spicy papaya salad as he headed my way. I’d tried avoiding him as much as I could since we’d found out I was pregnant, but it had been hard. He always managed to bribe me with supreme food and smoothies. The fact that he sent yummy things to my door almost every day had also defrosted that cold thing inside my chest. Good thing he wasn’t a stranger and his apartment wasn’t a suspicious white van. Because I’d still go in there.
Obviously, there was no sex. We needed to draw a line in the sand. And having a baby togetherandsleeping together was 100 percent relationship territory.Seriousrelationship territory. Only a step and a half from buying a house together or having matching holiday pj’s.
But the fact that he hadn’t initiated anything in weeks, even though we’d never actually discussed staying platonic, made me wonder if things were heating up with Jessica.
“So, I’ve been thinking.” He plopped next to me. His knee brushed my own, and a jolt of yearning zipped through me. I’d been very horny ever since I got pregnant. Horny to a point where I was considering letting my vibrator go to an early retirement for working extra shifts, and investing in a new one.
“Thinking? Handsomeandsmart?” I took a bite of my curry. “That’s prime DNA right there. So glad I’m having a baby with you.”
He offered me a curt smile. “About the position in Minnesota ...”
I held my hand up, stopping him. “No, I don’t want to hear it. You’re taking it, Grant. You’ve wanted to do this for a long time. This is your passion. Their research team is the best in the country.”
Plus, if he and Jessica were together, I didn’t want to interfere with that. As much as it burned my entire soul, I wanted him to be happy. He deserved happiness. Even at my own expense.
“Layla, you’re going to need help.”
“And I’ll have it. My parents areecstatic.” Not a lie.
He licked his lips. “About that ...”
“Yes?”
“I think you should move into this apartment.” He found my gaze, holding it for a beat. His words were like a punch to my gut. They tossed me back to a time in my life that I wanted to forget. That I’d worked hard on putting behind me.
“I get that your apartment is too small,” he continued. “But you belong in New York. This is your home. And I have a four-bedroom apartment, so there’s a place for you, for the baby,andfor your parents, if they want to stay over. No time limit, of course.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” I put my food down.
“Why?”
