“His baby Mama?” Barbara queried, her thin eyebrows lifting. “You were the one who always abhorred that term.” She dusted off her fingers and turned to face her friend. “This man is in the papers almost every day. He is this big department store mogul or whatever and more than that, he has been called a playboy one too many times. I have seen the women he goes out with. They are skinny and magazine type beautiful,” She shook her head. “Not that you are not amazingly stunning girl, but I am just saying that you are not his usual type.”
“I don’t care! I don’t want to be his type. I am carrying his child and that is the only thing we will have in common and I am fine with that.”
“So even if he goes out with other women, you are okay with that?” Barbara asked her.
“He has his life to live and so do I,” She said airily.
“I hope you think the same way further down the road.”
Chapter 3
“I did not want to do this over the phone.”
“So instead you invited me to dinner in your apartment to tell me that we can no longer see each other again.” Mellie said bitterly as she put away her fork. “How civilized of you.”
“I am sorry.” Gray said abruptly, feeling a twinge of regret as he stared at the raven-haired beauty seated across him. His housekeeper had prepared the meal before she left for the evening and had set the table for two. He could have taken her to dinner, but he wanted privacy to tell her what he had to. And he feared that there could be a scene, even though he has been seeing her for a month. “I truly am.”
“What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing,” he felt the anger and guilt pouring through him at the look on her face. He opened his mouth to say it was not her, it was him and closed it abruptly. She was too intelligent to be fed that line and he hated it anyway, even though it would have been true. It had everything to do with him. “I never said it would be long-term,” he told her his familiar line instead. “Look, Mellie, I am not the type of guy who has ever been in a relationship for very long and I am sure you knew that.”
“I knew all that because I read the papers but like a fool, I hoped that I would have been the one to cure you of that malady.” She said sadly. “I am a smart woman, Gray and one of the best doctors in my field and yet I have managed to become entangled with a man who has no intention of putting down roots. What does that say about me?”
“It says you are a woman with impeccable taste,” his attempt at joking failed and he tried to save face. “I like you, it’s true,” he insisted at the look on her face. “I am attracted to you but there is something that I have to deal with, and I cannot be in a relationship right now.”
“So, it is not another woman?” she asked hopefully. The filet mignon was getting cold, but they both had lost their appetites.
“Not exactly,” he answered her truthfully. It had been two days since he had discovered that he was going to be a father and had thought of nothing else. He didn’t speak to Shelby since he got the news but had every intention of inviting her to the apartment to discuss the matter in detail. He needed to see her anyway, to see for himself that she was okay. After all, she was carrying his child. He could not help but feel a twinge of something each time he thought about it!
“What does that mean?”
“it means I cannot talk about it right now.”
“Do I get to be with you one more time before we end things?”
Gray hesitated a moment and actually entertained the idea. “I do not think that would be a good idea.” He said regretfully. “A clean break is better.”
“Is there any hope that we will start things up again after you have sorted out whatever it is you need to?” she pressed.
“No,” he said abruptly as he pushed his chair away from the table. “My life has become somewhat complicated and leaves no room for a relationship at this time. I am sorry, Mellie.”
“So, am I,” she said quietly as she got up and came around to where he was standing. He stiffened as she stood next to him feeling her body brushing up against his. “We had such wonderful times,” she added softly, one hand reaching up to touch his smoothly shaved jaw. “In bed and out of it.”
“We did,” he captured her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently before letting go and stepping back. “Take care of yourself.”
*****
“Lights at thirty percent!” he ordered as he made his way into the living room. Mellie had reluctantly left half an hour ago and he had spent the time sitting at the dining table with a glass of wine in his hands. He only felt a slight loss and just a twinge of regret that they were no longer together, which told him that he had not been much interested in the first place. He stood at the mantel and stared at the life-sized photo of his parents. It had been taken on their wedding day and they looked happy. His mother was indeed a looker, he thought with a smile as his gaze lingered over the graceful curves of her cheekbones and the flawlessness of her ivory skin. Thick blonde hair was swept up from her face and twisted into an elegant chignon at the nape of her neck. Her dress, a dazzling white with layers of tulle and silk spread out from the chair she was seated on. A smile curved her lips as she tilted her head slightly to look at the man who had one hand on her shoulder. Carlton Reginald Cox had been wearing a black tux with a delicate white rose tucked into his lapel and his tender gaze had been captured forever as he looked down at his wife. Gray had heard the stories from his uncle how they had painted the town red when they were young boys and how his father had stopped abruptly when he first laid eyes on the woman he married. Not only that, but he stayed faithful to her even after her death two years before he succumbed to his illness. She cured him of his wandering eyes, and he never looked at another woman after that. Gray moved away from the mantle; his steps restless as he stared at the immaculate scene. He acquired the apartment building a few years ago and occupied the entire penthouse suite which included three bedrooms and four baths. He gutted the top floor and redesigned it the way he wanted it and got the best to give the place the breathtaking loveliness that was now his. It was his bachelor pad and he loved it! But it would never be home to a baby. He frowned as he walked over to the grand piano in the center of the room. It was not just for show as he was very handy with the keys and played classical music when he wanted to relax. He opened the cover and ran his fingers lightly over the key, closing his eyes as the music sank into his soul. His mother played as well and he sat at her knees while she played for hours at a time, singing in that soft lifting tone of hers. He stopped abruptly as he realized that neither of his parents were alive to be grandparents to his child!
*****
“Romano’s has a complete floor dedicated to their line. The bed linens and bathroom additions are creating quite a wave with the shoppers. The marked down prices that were introduced was a very good idea. Now the so-called ordinary people can purchase a Romano’s towel or tablecloth for their homes as well as give them as gifts for the holidays.” Marjorie paused in her report to see if the man sitting at the head of the table was paying attention.
“I am listening.”
She nodded and continued, reading from the report she had in her hands, even though it was projected onto the screen. “The shoppers are pouring in as the holiday approaches and all the branches have already hired seasonal workers to fill the demands.”