“Wow. That must be an exciting job.” She smiled.
“Oh. It has its perks. So, Grayson tells me you're pregnant, and you used a sperm donor.”
I kicked him under the table. I couldn’t believe he said that.
“Yes. I am, and yes, I did.” Her lips formed a small smile.
“Well, I think the decision you made was a great one. I truly admire a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.” He grinned.
“Thank you, Julius. I appreciate that.”
She laid in my arms as her head rested on my chest. We’d just had sex and we were both tired.
“Thank you for today. I had a great time,” she softly spoke.
“You’re welcome. About tomorrow, I have some things I need to take care of, so I’ll take you home after breakfast. Think about where you would like to go.”
She lifted her head from my chest and looked at me with a wide grin across her face.
“How about Alice’s Tea Cup? Their Wonderland Waffles are the best.”
“I can honestly say I’ve never eaten there. But if that’s where you want to go, then we’ll go.” I tapped her nose.
The next morning after we got dressed, we went to Alice’s Tea Cup. The line to get in was long and there was over an hour wait.
“This is a bit ridiculous,” I said.
“Maybe we should have made reservations last night. Oh well. We can go somewhere else.” A look of disappointment filled her face.
“You really want those waffles?”
“I do but we’re not waiting an hour. We can make reservations and come back another time.”
“No. Hold on.” I held up my finger.
Walking up to the hostess desk, I pulled a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet and folded it up.
“Excuse me. Are you sure the wait is an hour?” I discreetly slipped the young brunette the bill.
She looked at it and then up at me.
“Let me check. I’ll be right back.”
After a moment, she returned with a smile on her face.
“The table you reserved is ready. Follow me.”
I called over to Harper, who was standing by the door.
“I got us a table.” I winked at her as we followed the hostess.
“How?”
“I slipped her some cash in exchange for a table. You want waffles from here and you will have them.”
“You’re so sweet, Grayson. Thank you. Also, my baby thanks you.” She smiled.
I swallowed hard as I picked up the menu and looked it over.
“It’s very whimsical in here,” I said as I looked around.
There were families all around us. Parents with small children. Some were behaved and others not so much. It was noisy. A little too noisy for my taste. I’d be fine if I never had to come back here again, even though I did enjoy the smoked salmon benedict. I’d kept waiting for Harper to ask me what my plans were for today, but she never did.
After breakfast, I took her back to her apartment. Setting her bag down on the floor, I wrapped my arms around her.
“Enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the office.”
“Thanks. You too.”
I brushed my lips against hers and kissed her goodbye.
Chapter 29
Harper
As soon as the door shut, a part of me felt a sadness, but the other part of me was on cloud nine. Grayson Rhodes was now my boyfriend, and I was his girlfriend. A smile crossed my face every time I thought about it. I needed to apologize to Charlotte for the things I said, and I knew if I called her, she wouldn’t answer. Sundays were cleaning day, so I knew she’d be home.
I hailed a cab to her apartment and rang the buzzer.
“Who’s there?”
“Char, it’s me. We need to talk.”
“Why? So you can continue to tell me how jealous I am of you.”
“Please. I miss you.”
She buzzed me in, and I walked up the stairs to her apartment. When I reached it, she stood there with her arms folded staring at me.
“I’m sorry.” I pouted. “It’s the pregnancy hormones.”
A small smile formed on her lips and she held out her arms for a hug.
“I’m sorry too. Come on in. I’ll make us some tea and we’ll talk.”
I took a seat on the couch while she made our tea.
“I miss you, Charlotte.”
“I miss you, Harper.”
She walked over, handed me my tea and then took a seat on the couch next to me.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said as I carefully sipped from the cup.
“What is it?”
“Grayson asked me to be his girlfriend. We’re officially a couple now.”
She reached over and placed her hand on mine.
“Does he make you one hundred percent happy?” she asked.
“Yes, he does. I’m in love with him.”
“Then that’s all that matters to me. You know I’ve always been protective of you since the first day we met. You’ve had so much heartache and now you’re finally having what you always wanted. I just want you to be incredibly happy.”
“I know you do, and I am. Not only does having this baby make me happy, but so does Grayson. I really want you to give him a chance.”
She reached over and hugged me.
“I will give him a chance, but if he hurts you,” she broke our embrace, “I’ll cut off his balls with my scissors.”
I let out a laugh.
Suddenly, the buzzer rang.
“That’s probably Laurel. She said she might stop by this afternoon,” Charlotte spoke.
She buzzed her in and when Laurel opened the door and saw me sitting on the couch; her face lit up.
“Please tell me the two of you made up,” she said.
“We made up.” Charlotte smiled.”
“Thank God. The two of you were exhausting me.”
I told Laurel about me and Grayson and she got all giddy with excitement.
“I want to meet him, Harper.”
“You will. I promise. We just have to figure out a good time.”
“So where is he today?” Charlotte asked.
“He had things to do. I’ll see him tomorrow morning at the office.” I smiled.
Grayson
I picked up Julius, and we attended the Rangers game. When we entered the suite, there was a spread of food waiting for us on the table.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” The bartender in our suite spoke. “May I get you anything?”
“Good afternoon, Danny. Two bourbons.”
We filled our plates with food, grabbed our bourbons and took our seats overlooking the arena.
“I like Harper,” Julius said. “She seems like a great woman and I hate what you’re doing to her.”
“Yes. You’ve already expressed your honesty at least a million times already. We are officially a couple now.” I choked out the words.
“What? You asked her to be your girlfriend?”
“I did. I asked her yesterday, and she graciously accepted. She’ll be meeting my grandfather soon and he needs to see that I’m serious about her.”