her wildly fluctuating hormones, and her body was suddenly urgently demanding to feel his against it. Somehow, she closed her mouth, managed a feeble smile, and slipped out into the hallway. He closed the door behind them, and she engaged the deadbolts before they headed down the stairs.
“This neighborhood might not be the safest place for you, Sondra.” Jake put his hand on her lower back as he directed her toward a long limousine taking up a third of the street and parked blatantly in a no-parking zone.
She frowned. “It’s as safe as anywhere in the area. It’s not a hovel.” A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the places she had lived with her mother after her father’s death. When her mother had been flush with support by a wealthy male admirer, the surroundings could be nice, but they had just as often been in a filthy, dangerous apartment, sometimes squeezed in with several others.
“I didn’t say it was. I’m just worried about you. The location isn’t central to your doctor, you have to climb three flights of stairs with no elevator, and there’s no real security. The buzzer on the intercom doesn’t even work.”
She couldn’t argue with that. It was all true, but it still felt like a putdown. “I’ve worked hard to afford this place, Jake. There are no better apartments in my price range, and I couldn’t leave my roommates like that. They depend on my share of the rent.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I get it, which is why…” Trailing off, he assisted her into the limousine before sliding in beside her. It wasn’t until the driver closed the door that he spoke again. “I bought you an apartment in my building.”
Her eyes widened. “You did what?”
Jake sighed. “Please hear me out before you get too worked up.”
With a glare, she crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, making a point of not speaking. He couldn’t stop her from thinking though, and her thoughts were churning with annoyance at his high-handed tactics.
“You don’t want to rush into marriage, which I understand.” Jake ran a hand through his hair, disheveling the artful style. “We’re getting acquainted, and we’re having a child together. I would appreciate you accepting my offer to allow me to be closer to the baby when he’s born and to facilitate our relationship.”
She had to bite hard on her tongue to snap they didn’t have a relationship. Could she really make that claim? They were dating, and they had slept together. They were having a child, which would ensure they would always be connected on some level, since Jake wanted to be in the baby’s life. It was naïve to say they weren’t having some kind of relationship. “It’s a nice thought, but out of my price range.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you really think I’m charging your rent, Sondra?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’d prefer if you did actually. Besides, my roommates—”
“Are welcome to move in with you. The apartment has three bedrooms, and there is a huge walk-in dressing room off the master bedroom that would convert nicely to a nursery. You can charge them rent or let them live there for free. It doesn’t matter to me, because the apartment would be in your name and all yours.”
It was too generous. She couldn’t possibly accept. Could she? Moistening her lips, she summoned a shred of courage to make a personal revelation. That was something she typically avoided like the plague when it related to her mother. “I haven’t told you anything about my mother yet.”
He nodded, looking a little confused, but not interrupting.
“She was a scam artist and a professional mistress. My dad was one of her targets, and she deliberately got pregnant with me to trap him into marriage.” Sondra smiled softly, having heard the full story years later from her older sister and admiring her father as always. “Instead, he sued her for custody and raised me until I was twelve. She had no interest in me during that
“This neighborhood might not be the safest place for you, Sondra.” Jake put his hand on her lower back as he directed her toward a long limousine taking up a third of the street and parked blatantly in a no-parking zone.
She frowned. “It’s as safe as anywhere in the area. It’s not a hovel.” A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the places she had lived with her mother after her father’s death. When her mother had been flush with support by a wealthy male admirer, the surroundings could be nice, but they had just as often been in a filthy, dangerous apartment, sometimes squeezed in with several others.
“I didn’t say it was. I’m just worried about you. The location isn’t central to your doctor, you have to climb three flights of stairs with no elevator, and there’s no real security. The buzzer on the intercom doesn’t even work.”
She couldn’t argue with that. It was all true, but it still felt like a putdown. “I’ve worked hard to afford this place, Jake. There are no better apartments in my price range, and I couldn’t leave my roommates like that. They depend on my share of the rent.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I get it, which is why…” Trailing off, he assisted her into the limousine before sliding in beside her. It wasn’t until the driver closed the door that he spoke again. “I bought you an apartment in my building.”
Her eyes widened. “You did what?”
Jake sighed. “Please hear me out before you get too worked up.”
With a glare, she crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, making a point of not speaking. He couldn’t stop her from thinking though, and her thoughts were churning with annoyance at his high-handed tactics.
“You don’t want to rush into marriage, which I understand.” Jake ran a hand through his hair, disheveling the artful style. “We’re getting acquainted, and we’re having a child together. I would appreciate you accepting my offer to allow me to be closer to the baby when he’s born and to facilitate our relationship.”
She had to bite hard on her tongue to snap they didn’t have a relationship. Could she really make that claim? They were dating, and they had slept together. They were having a child, which would ensure they would always be connected on some level, since Jake wanted to be in the baby’s life. It was naïve to say they weren’t having some kind of relationship. “It’s a nice thought, but out of my price range.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you really think I’m charging your rent, Sondra?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’d prefer if you did actually. Besides, my roommates—”
“Are welcome to move in with you. The apartment has three bedrooms, and there is a huge walk-in dressing room off the master bedroom that would convert nicely to a nursery. You can charge them rent or let them live there for free. It doesn’t matter to me, because the apartment would be in your name and all yours.”
It was too generous. She couldn’t possibly accept. Could she? Moistening her lips, she summoned a shred of courage to make a personal revelation. That was something she typically avoided like the plague when it related to her mother. “I haven’t told you anything about my mother yet.”
He nodded, looking a little confused, but not interrupting.
“She was a scam artist and a professional mistress. My dad was one of her targets, and she deliberately got pregnant with me to trap him into marriage.” Sondra smiled softly, having heard the full story years later from her older sister and admiring her father as always. “Instead, he sued her for custody and raised me until I was twelve. She had no interest in me during that
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