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"Yes, it's him." I noted that in her guessing that Todd was the father, nowhere was the idea that he cared for me. I'd remembered the few times I would see Naomi with Pierce, and while they acted like nemeses, it was easy to tell that they had feelings for each other. That wasn't the case with Todd. He enjoyed my company and the sex, but sex wasn't love.
"So, you don't think he’ll be a good father?"
I hesitated for a moment. Not because I didn't think Todd could be a good father. I just wasn't sure that it was something he wanted.
"Todd's a good person, but he's basically married to his work. I believe he'll do the so-called right thing, but he did that with his son, and they don't really know each other."
Analyn arched a brow. "What is your definition of the right thing?"
"He supports his ex-wife and son, but apparently, once Taylor moved to California, he didn't see his son very much. I just don't want that for my baby."
Analyn gave me a small smile. "It sounds like you're planning to keep the baby."
I knew I had many different options, but I hadn't really considered them. I didn't need to think about it. I wanted to be a mother, and now I was going to be. At one time, I'd thought about doing it on my own. Now I could.
"I think it's great that you're having a baby. There's no doubt in my mind that you're going to be a wonderful mother and that, if necessary, you can do it on your own, which of course you wouldn't because you have me and Ruby, and even Naomi, once the triplets are a little bit bigger."
"Why do I feel like there's a but coming?”
"But you need to tell Todd. Maybe he won't react well to it. Maybe all he'll be willing to do is financially help you, which is no small thing. Babies are expensive. But he needs to know because it needs to be his decision, his response, not your projecting your thoughts and feelings onto him."
I knew she was right, but I was barely comprehending what was going on just with myself. I needed a little bit more time to get myself sorted before I told him.
"I will tell him. But until I do, can you promise me not to say anything to anyone? I'm not ready for Ruby and Naomi to know, and I suspect if they know, their husbands would find out, and then it wouldn't be long before Todd found out, and as you said, I need to be the one to tell him."
She nodded. "I promise I won't say anything. But you have to promise me that you will tell him. Give him the chance to do more than just the right thing." She cocked her head to the side as her eyes narrowed. "Why is your relationship with him such a secret?"
I sighed as I sank back onto the couch. "I wouldn't say it was a relationship. I'm not even sure that it would've been possible, but now with Dean, it’s not possible."
"Who's Dean?"
"He's Todd's son."
"Oh, right. And why would a relationship not be possible if Dean is around, which also doesn't seem like a dealbreaker? Many people remarry and expand their family."
"Well, first of all, he's my boss. And you can't tell me that's not an issue because it is. I remember you went through the same thing with Reed."
She nodded. "The thing is, Betts, the challenge isn't really that he’s your boss if you both care about each other. The challenge is worrying about what other people are going to think. It's a rotten fact of life that when a woman sleeps with a man who happens to be her boss, all of a sudden, her talents and skills are out the window and she only got the job because she was sleeping with the boss."
"Exactly." I was glad that she understood. "And maybe in your case, it didn't matter because you and Reed were in love, but that's not me and Todd."
"Are you sure about that? Naomi made a comment at one point about how much time Todd was spending down at the ice rink after he'd been nearly MIA most the summer."
"The summer is the off-season. And while yeah, it did seem for a while like he’d lost interest in the team, now that he brought in Mikael, Todd is excited about it. He's asked me to help him get Mikael media ready."
She arched a brow in one of those knowing looks. "So he isn't just spending time at the rink with Mikael, but he’s spending time at the rink with you?"
I waved my hand like it could wave her thought away. She was implying that Todd asked me to help with Mikael so he could see me. Whether it was true or not, it didn't matter. He was my boss who was now preoccupied with raising his son.
“You’re trying to read more into this than there is.”
“Am I? He asked us once if you were looking for a relationship.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What? When?”
“That night you took charge of the press conference.”
That was the night he was angry at me, and yet we still ended up having sex. He’d told me he wanted me. But surely, that was just sex.
