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“That’s actually a thing?”
“Yep. I started it on the plane on the way over. I’m about forty-percent done.”
“Then you might know more than me.”
Robert lifted his chin to the pile of presents now on the floor. “What to Expect When You’re Expectingis in one of those boxes. You’ll catch up.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
He looked down into his coffee mug for a long time before meeting my eyes again. “You know what I’ve realized over the last few days, now that I’ve had a chance for the news to sink in?”
“What?”
“There’s no one else in the world I would want to have a baby with.”
My heart sank. And here I’d been hoping this child belonged to another man. I took a deep breath and blew it out audibly. “You’ve apologized. But I also owe you an apology. I’m mortified that I can’t tell you for sure if you’re the father or not.”
“I’m not gonna lie, that part is not easy to swallow. I let myself stew over it for a day or so, but then I realized you were right. We weren’t exclusive. I saw other people occasionally, so it wasn’t fair to expect you to be monogamous when I wasn’t.”
Wow. The shocks just kept coming. I smiled sadly. “You sound so…enlightened.”
“I spent three grand on therapy over Zoom the last few days.”
Nowthatsounded more like the Robert I knew. “Well, seems like it worked at least.”
Robert took my hand. “I want this, Dev. I want this baby to be mine and for you to be my baby’s mother.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “You’re going to be a great mom. You have your priorities straight. Like all those times I selfishly tried to get you to fly out to L.A. recently? You made your siblings your priority because they need you. That was the right thing to do. Youalwaysdo the right thing. It’s not even something you have to think about like I do. It’s just who you are. And I’m hoping I can learn from you, because I want to make our baby my priority, no matter what. I’m not going to be as good at it as you are, but if you have a little patience with me, I promise to try really hard to get it right.”
My eyes filled with tears. “Thank you for saying that.”
Over the next few hours, Robert and I talked.Really talked.I was certain we’d never had a more mature conversation, or as deep. We spoke about his absentee father, my nonexistent parents, and how we both planned to learn from their mistakes, not repeat history. Before I knew it, it was almost lunch time, and I hadn’t looked at my phone or opened my laptop. So when Robert went to use the bathroom, I grabbed my cell.
I had a dozen texts, but the third one from the top made my heart stop.
Owen: I’ll come up at 11:30 to grab you for lunch. The little Italian place you went with Billie recently okay?
Shit! My lunch date with Owen had completely slipped my mind. I looked up at the corner of my phone for the time.11:10. The last thing I needed was Owen showing up with Robert here. So I quickly texted back.
Devyn: I’m so sorry for the last-minute notice. I need to cancel.
Owen responded almost immediately.
Owen: Everything okay? Are you feeling alright?
I didn’t want to lie. He’d been so honest with me, even when it wasn’t easy. But I hated to make him feel bad, too. I chewed my fingernail, feeling like a horrible person as I tried to figure out what to say. Eventually, I decided he would be more upset with a lie than a truth that hurt.
Devyn: Robert is here. He showed up at my door this morning—to apologize for how he acted and talk things through.
I stared down at my phone, anxiously waiting for a response. After a long couple of minutes, the dots started to jump around, but then they stopped again. Robert returned from the bathroom, but I kept my phone in my hand for the next hour. Sadly, it never buzzed with an incoming text. I even checked my messages twice, to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
“Are you hungry?” Robert asked. “I have a couple of hours until I have to leave for my flight. You want to grab something to eat?”
The thought of running into Owen, or even one of his buddies, while out and about with Robert took away any appetite I might’ve had. “I’m not really too hungry. But why don’t I order us something? I’ll Uber Eats it.”
“Good with me.” Robert smiled. “With so little time, I’d prefer not to share you with anyone anyway.”
