Worthy of Love by Carly Phillips Page B

felt older than her years—due in part to the constant need to challenge her family’s concept that she was their baby.
    And now she was having one of her own. With her hand over her stomach, she turned and headed toward the T—Boston’s subway system—to take her home. She took her seat and the ride passed in a blur, as she was still dazed by the morning at the clinic, and the sonogram picture in her purse.
    No sooner did she get inside the apartment building and up the stairs, when what sounded like hammering reached her ears. She rounded the corner and came to her apartment. Curious, she walked faster.
    She headed down the hall to find her door open wide, and Kevin on his knees, tools spread around him as he worked to replace the lock he’d damaged during his earlier break-in.
    She came up behind him and leaned close. The heavenly scent of aftershave assaulted her senses. “Hi,” she whispered in his ear.
    He jumped back and the screwdriver went flying out of his hand. “Damn, you shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that. Especially a man with a sharp object,” he muttered.
    Nikki grinned, happy to have gotten the upper hand, even over something so trivial. It gave her hope for the future.
    He grabbed for the wayward screwdriver. “The least you could do is say thank you,” he muttered.
    “Thank you. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that I wouldn’t need the lock changed if someone hadn’t overreacted.”
    “Don’t remind me.”
    She stepped around him, intending to head inside her apartment. Instead she turned and knelt down beside him. “We have to come to some sort of agreement. A meeting of the minds.”
    “What kind of agreement?” he asked.
    “You have to let me live my life,” she said, thinking of their earlier argument in the doctor’s office.
    The one revolving around her keeping her job. Thank goodness the doctor had agreed with Nikki—as long as she felt up to it and there were no signs of distress, she could continue working.
    “I wish it were that simple, Princess.”
    She shut her eyes against the sound of his voice and that word. “It’s as simple as you make it. I’m keeping my job.”
    He nodded, probably recalling that the battle lines had been drawn. “Then I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
    It did figure. The one time she didn’t want Kevin around, he had no intention of leaving. She’d just have to ignore his presence in her life, as difficult as she knew it would be.
    She was responsible for herself and the life growing inside her. She welcomed the challenge. She just wished Kevin didn’t feel the same.
    She sighed, knowing she’d better get used to his presence. He wasn’t going anywhere.

FIVE
    S unlight streamed through the blinds in Nikki’s bedroom. She’d managed to toss and turn all afternoon, but she’d gotten no sleep. The night shift loomed long ahead of her. Nikki pulled on her boots, then had to rest until the exhaustion subsided.
    “Why don’t you take the night off?” Janine stood in the doorway to Nikki’s room.
    “Because I need every dollar I can make.” Nikki glanced up from her seat on the bed. “So tell me how long you knew?”
    Janine shrugged. “Awhile. But until you were ready to face what your body was telling you, I figured I was better off keeping my mouth shut.”
    “And bringing Kevin back into my life.”
    “He’s the baby’s father.”
    “And I would have told him—once I figured it out for myself. Right now, I have no breathing room.” In fact, if she allowed herself, Nikki thought she’d suffocate from the entire situation. “I have no time to think about the best way to handle things because he’s trying to take control.”
    Janine walked into the room, her sneakers squeaking against the hardwood floor as she moved toward Nikki. “And this is a bad thing?” She parked herself beside Nikki on the down comforter on the bed. “If a man wants to help take care of you, I say you should let