Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

more and highlighted areas where I could add design elements I hadn’t even thought of before.

I stepped back from the wall and admired the new section I’d just finished. Putting all my focus and energy into it was making my creativity flow, and I was making great progress. It was exactly what I needed. I’d been trying to keep my mind preoccupied from everything. I still hadn’t heard from Jordan by the time I left that morning, and I decided to leave my phone at home. Not having it with me would allow me to just focus on the painting rather than wondering when my phone was going to ring or I would get a text.

By early in the afternoon, I felt finished with my work for the day, and I needed some rest, so I headed home. I took a quick shower and went to the kitchen for a snack, then got my phone from where it was plugged in on the bedside table. Scrolling through the notifications on the screen, I noticed I’d missed several calls from Jordan.

The subsequent text messages he sent were increasingly worried. I immediately called him back.

“Hannah!” he said, sounding like he was in a semi-panic. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

“I know,” I said. “I just noticed that. I’m sorry.”

“Why were you ignoring my calls and messages?”

“I wasn’t,” I said. “I went to the library to work on the mural and left my phone at home so I wouldn’t think about it. But speaking of ignoring people, what happened last night? You said you would call me back and you did, but I was sick, so I couldn’t answer it. I called you back just a couple of minutes later, but you had turned your phone off.”

“No,” he said. “I hadn’t turned my phone off. I forgot to put it on the charger and it died. I didn’t have another charger at the bar with me. I didn’t mean to leave you hanging. I really want to talk to you.”

“I really want to talk to you, too,” I said.

“Good. So, I’ll see you soon.”

“What do you mean? I thought you had to be in Portland.”

“I do,” he said. “But I need to be with you, too. After the fourth call you didn’t answer, I decided to drive home. I’m almost there. I can come right to you so we can talk if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” I said. “I’ll be waiting.”

As soon as I got off the phone, I felt nervous fluttering in my stomach. I paused for a couple of seconds to determine if it really was just nerves, or if it was another bout of sickness. The concept of morning sickness was definitely a misnomer. I was getting sudden waves of nausea at all times during the day. Fortunately, I’d been feeling fairly well that day, and I soon came to the conclusion I was just nervous and not about to get sick again.

I changed my clothes out of the sweatsuit I put on when I got back from the mural and went to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. About fifteen minutes after I got off the phone with Jordan, I heard a knock on the door.

Even though I was expecting Jordan, there was still a spike of fear. I went to the door and peered out of the peephole to make sure it wasn’t Ethan on the other side. Seeing Jordan’s face both made me both relax and increased my nervousness. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and let him in.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when he stepped inside. As soon as I closed the door behind me, he turned around and pulled me into him.

“I’m so sorry about last night,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was ignoring you or that I was upset at you. My phone died when I was at the bar, then when I got back to the hotel, I plugged it in, but I was so exhausted from the opening that I passed out before it had enough juice to call you.”

“It’s alright,” I said. “I understand. I know the opening has been really hard on you, and from what I heard on the phone last night, it sounded like it was pretty rowdy.”

“It was definitely that,” he said.

Jordan suddenly grabbed me by my upper arms and guided me back from him so he could look into my eyes. I could see emotion in them, but I didn’t know exactly what that emotion was. He searched my face for only a second before asking the question I knew had been burning in him since that pause the night before.

“Are you pregnant?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

I didn’t know how he would react, but it didn’t take long for me to find out. He pulled me into his arms again, cradling me close. I was surprised at first, then wrapped my arms around him and held him equally as tight.

“Did you think I was going to be angry?” he asked.

I drew in a breath and nodded, pulling back to look at him. “I worried that you might be. I didn’t know how you would react. It’s so soon. We’ve never talked about…”

“I’m okay with it,” he said. “Really, I am.”

I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it so I could think over my words carefully.

“You’re okay with it?”

He shook his head. “That’s probably not the best way to put it. I… I’m not mad, Hannah. I’m not upset.” He rested his hand on my stomach. “I’m happy.”

Relief washed over me, and I smiled, but a second later, that smile faded.

“We have to be really careful who we tell. It’s not that I want to keep it a secret, I just don’t want Ethan to somehow find out. With the way he was talking, I have no idea what kind of rage it might send him into,” I said.

Jordan shook his head.