Come A Little Bit Closer (The Sullivans #7)(16)

For months, he’d thought of her as frail. Now, he realized just how strong she really was, partly because of the set of her mouth as she waited for his response, partly because of how well she carried the child inside of her.

He would help both of them. No matter what.

“I’d like to talk to you.”

Her mouth tightened, that flash of fury he’d remembered so well coming back into her eyes as she replied, “The special roast this month is from Jamaica, if you’d like to try that.”

He nodded. “Fine.” But even as relief began to loosen her shoulders, he said, “I’ll wait here until your next break.”

Barely veiled irritation informed her movements for the next thirty minutes. She sighed as she untied her apron. Her long cotton top floated over her belly now, making her look even younger.

She knew the man was waiting for her, but she had no intention of dealing with him. Even if a part of her was curious about why he wanted to talk to her. And especially because he was even better looking now than he’d been that awful day when he’d pushed her down on the sidewalk and actually stepped on her.

She didn’t owe him anything.

She turned and disappeared into the cramped back area where the employee lockers were. The last thing she expected was for the man to push in through the door a moment later.

Working to ignore the way her heart was pounding, she said, “Only employees are allowed back here.”

“I’m sure Joe would be happy to make an exception for me.” At her confused look, he explained, “My company funded the owner’s expansion.”

“Fine,” she said, mimicking his earlier tone when he’d bought the coffee he hadn’t asked for. Not wanting to draw this out, she asked point-blank, “What do you want?”

Instead of giving her a direct answer, his gaze moved to her stomach. She barely resisted the urge to try to cover herself with both hands.

“You’re pregnant.”

She all but snarled, “Obviously,”

His wince was there and gone so fast she almost thought she’d imagined it.

“Are you—” She was amazed to see him falter, even for a split second. “Is everything going okay with the baby?”

“Yes, the baby is perfect.”

“Where do you live?”

She gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was crazy. “You don’t even know my name. Do you actually think I’m going to tell you where I live?”

“Jo.” Her eyes widened before he reminded her, “Your name tag was on your apron,” and then, “My name is Graham.”

She looked down at the cheap watch on her wrist. “My break’s just about up now and since the baby is sitting on my bladder, I’ve got about thirty seconds to get to the bathroom before I’m needed behind the register again.”

If she’d expected him to be bothered by talk of bodily functions—or to finally get the picture and leave—she was disappointed. Still, she really did have to go, so she walked into the bathroom. After taking care of business and washing her hands, she stared at herself in the mirror, schooling herself in what she needed to say to the man. To Graham.

She took a deep breath to steel herself for it, then stepped into the back room where she knew he’d still be waiting for her.

He was too big for the small area.

And too darkly handsome for her peace of mind.

“I’m fine.” She held her hands out from her body so that he could really see her and her huge baby bump. “That day on the street, what happened was an accident.” One that had infuriated her into actually yelling at a stranger. “I shouldn’t have lost it on you.” He watched her silently. “Now if we’re done rehashing all that, I have to get back to work.”

But as she tried to walk past him, he said, “I own a two-bedroom condo that I haven’t had any luck renting out. It’s in a good neighborhood and one of the women in the building runs a small daycare on the ground floor.”

Whatever she’d expected him to say, it wasn’t this.

“I already have an apartment.” In a crappy neighborhood where she honestly didn’t like the idea of having a newborn.

“Please, Jo, let me do this for you.”

He’d said please, but even then she could hear the steel in his words that told her he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Only, she had just as much steel in her.

“Thanks for the offer, but you’ll have to find another tenant.”

She walked out and got back to work, knowing all the while that victory was only temporarily hers...because the odds of a determined man like Graham taking no for an answer were next to nil.

As the cameras stopped rolling, Valentina realized her face was wet. What she was watching wasn’t real, but even surrounded by lights and cameras, it was almost impossible to remember that.

Surreptitiously, she bent her head and used the tips of two fingers to wipe her tears away while reminding herself not to feel foolish for having gotten caught up in the emotion of the scene. After all, no one was paying any attention to her, and they were filming a truly beautiful story.

But when she lifted her head, she saw that she was wrong.

Smith was paying attention...and his eyes were full of something so sweet that she couldn’t quite tamp down on the response of her body from nothing more than one look from him.