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Not just about the sex, which had been phenomenal, but also the fact that he’d forgotten to use a condom. He hadn’t protected her.
Was that why she’d run away? That seemed logical, but Tim had to look at the situation from a different angle. It wasn’t that Raven was illogical, but she probably didn’t see the situation in the exact same way he did.
He wanted to text her, but perhaps he should drive to her place and have the conversation that needed to happen face to face. There was no way to avoid the conversation now.
“Are you okay?”
Tim turned around, his eyes finding Bailey standing behind him. She stood in his doorway, her hands on her pregnant belly and he shook his head. “ I don’t know.”
Those words caused her to step deeper into his office and she closed the door. Tim watched as one of his best friends waddled over to the sofa and she started to lower herself down. Tim rushed over, grabbing her hands to help her.
Bailey smiled her appreciation, then sighed as she settled into the cushions. “Okay, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong?”
Tim sat down in the chair opposite, clasping his hands together between his legs. On the one hand, he wanted to ask for advice. But on the other hand, talking to Bailey, to anyone, about what had just happened, felt like a betrayal of Raven’s trust.
Shaking his head, he smiled at his friend. “I think this is something I need to work out on my own.”
Bailey nodded slowly, as if she understood. “I’m guessing this has something to do with the meeting you just had. Are the women Raven chose for you not working out?”
He nearly laughed at the idea. The thought of Raven choosing a woman for him to marry after what they’d just shared seemed…wrong.
However, his amusement quickly faded and he sighed. “No. None of them are going to work out,” he told her with absolute certainty. He hadn’t even looked at the new batch of women in the file folders Raven had shoved at him.
“I’m sorry,” she sighed, rubbing her belly as if she were in pain. Or as if she were soothing her unborn child.
“I’m not,” he blurted. At her obvious surprise, he chuckled, shaking his head. “I know that you only had my happiness at heart when you hired Raven Markley, and…” he paused, thinking about what he was about to say. Then shook his head. “Everything is going to work out.” And with those words, he knew them to be true.
And in order for everything to work out, he had to speak with Raven.
He’d been looking at the floor, but hadn’t really seen the carpet. When he lifted his eyes, Tim looked directly in Bailey’s eyes. “I need to get out of here for a few hours.”
He walked over and took her hands, helping her stand up. “When is your little one due to come into this world?”
“Not for another four and a half weeks,” she sighed, still rubbing her belly.
“Not soon enough, right?”
She shrugged and waddled towards the door. “I can’t sleep at night and I can’t snuggle into Matteo’s arms like I used to, but,” she smiled down at her belly, “I’m eager to meet our little darling.”
“I know that Matteo is as well.” In that moment, he wondered how he would feel if…when…Raven became pregnant with their first child. Or their second? Yeah, he wanted to have lots of kids with her.
Or maybe he just wanted to enjoy the process of making babies with her. He nearly laughed at the idea, but it held more appeal than he’d thought.
Today was a big day for personal revelations, he thought.
“Yes, he’s nearly as ready to meet our little person too.” She looked up at him. “But I’m also worried about you. You’ve been working longer hours lately. Was I wrong to hire Raven to help you find someone?”
He laughed again, then pulled her in for a gentle hug. “You did the right thing, Bailey,” he promised her. “She is the perfect person for the job.” He didn’t bother to explain that the matchmaker herself was his perfect match. He wanted to savor that information for a bit longer. It was too…personal…to share with anyone quite yet.
She hugged him back, then sighed as she waddled out of his office. “I’m glad that you finally figured it out,” she said over her shoulder as Bailey walked back down the hallway.
Tim stared at her, wondering if…had Bailey known about his interest in Raven? Is that why she’d hired Raven as a matchmaker?
At the elevator, she turned and gave him a smug smile. That’s when he knew! Bailey had recognized his attraction to the vixen from the beginning!
Chuckling, Tim turned away and went to his desk. The blue files were still where he’d tossed them earlier. He’d have to return them to her. With a grin, he figured that returning the files to Raven tonight would be an excellent reason to see her again.
Whistling, he went back to his lab, intending to speak with his team leads. They were going to have to pick up a lot of his slack now that he wasn’t going to work eighteen or twenty hours every day. Maybe he even needed to hire someone, perhaps a whole new level of management.
