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

I hated hurting his feelings, but he knew it was true. I was never good living with anyone.

Hannah was the only exception.

Settling on an apartment felt like betrayal. The only time I ever felt okay was when Hannah was wrapped up in my arms. Signing a lease in Portland felt like I was giving up on that being my reality anytime soon.

34 Hannah

I was hoping that I would get used to Jordan being gone. Maybe it would be one of those things where it was really difficult at first, but if I could just get through the first day or two, it would be easier. Then I would get used to it and it wouldn’t be anywhere near as hard.

Then when those first couple of days passed and it wasn’t any easier, I told myself that I was going to give myself permission to pull the pregnancy card for the first time. I was missing Jordan for two. That meant I just had to get through a couple of more days, and then things would settle down.

As it turned out, that logic didn’t work, either. I got through those next couple of days, and it wasn’t any easier. If anything, it was actually harder. The longer he was away, the more I missed him. That didn’t bode well. Especially considering we were looking at a six-month separation. And that was if they got someone to run the place that they trusted to leave there in that time.

I didn’t want to be that woman. The kind of woman who absolutely had to have a man close by every second or expected him to change his life to fit mine. After all, I hadn’t been willing to change mine for him yet. I couldn’t expect anything different from him.

No matter how much I wanted to.

A week after he left again, it was my day off. My plan was to go to the library to put some finishing touches on the mural, but when I woke up, it was pouring. The rain didn’t let up through my daily communion with the bathroom floor, shower, or breakfast of tea and dry toast. By the time I’d gotten through two terrifying true crime documentaries I probably shouldn’t be watching, I figured the trip to the library was officially out.

That meant I got to resort to plan B for my day off: comfortable clothes, my favorite blanket, and some time curled up on the couch with a stack of books and the remote in close reach. Usually by the afternoon my appetite was back, and I had a few hours without waves of nausea, so I put together lunch and brought it into the living room with me.

It didn’t take long before I was missing Jordan too much not to call him. He sounded tired when he answered the phone.

“You doing okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, sounding like he was trying to swallow down a yawn. “I knew this was going to be a lot of work, but it’s been harder than I was expecting. I don’t remember it being like this when we opened the first place.”

“You’re trying to change the reputation,” I said. “You have something that was already so popular to live up to, and the name traveled.”

“That’s true,” he said. “It’s a lot to live up to. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up for the grand opening from Astoria. They drove all the way to Portland to stand in line just to be there for the opening because they like the first location so much.”

“That’s pretty amazing, though, when you think about it. These people enjoy The Hollow so much they went ninety minutes out of their way to support the new location. They want to feel like a part of it.”

“It is. I just hope we’re living up to their expectations.”

“I’m sure you are,” I said.

“I’m sorry. I’m sitting here going on about what I’m doing, and I didn’t even ask how you are,” he said.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. How are you feeling? How’s everything going?” he asked.

“Pretty much the same. Still dealing with being sick throughout the day, but I probably have a few weeks of that ahead of me still. I’m just trying to get through it and find ways to deal with it. I made an appointment with the doctor, but it’s not until next week.”

“It will be exciting to find out everything.”

That wasn’t exactly the response I was hoping for. It made a heavy feeling start forming in my stomach.

“Do you think you’re going to be home for it?” I asked.

He hesitated. “I’m not sure. Actually, there’s something I should tell you. I got an apartment here in Portland.”

My heart sank. “You did?”

“Tom arranged for it. He said we couldn’t just keep staying at the hotel when we were down here. That I needed to have a place to settle in so I could really focus on the bar,” Jordan said.

So many emotions went through my mind, I didn’t know where my thoughts were going to land. I couldn’t really say I was surprised at the development. After all, Tom had been insisting on him moving down to Portland. Even though Jordan was resistant to the idea, it was the plan.

Even if he didn’t make the move permanent, it was obvious he would be there frequently and for potentially long stretches of time. It made sense for him to have a home base there rather than always staying at the hotel. I still didn’t know how to feel about it. So instead of trying to come up with an emotion, I swallowed hard.

“Do you still think it’ll only be six months?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Everything is still up in the air. But maybe you could come check it out sometime soon. I think you would really like it here. The area around the apartment is really nice. It’s great for walking around and people-watching. I think you would enjoy it. Then, if you