by Holly Rayner
“Thanks for the tip,” Bella said, handing her the slip of paper. “You got another call from Jed Shields. He said he can’t make your next meeting, as he has a scheduling conflict.”
Sophia buried her disappointment, instead nodding at Bella.
“Thank you; that’s helpful. I’ll see if I can reschedule with him soon. Was there anything else?”
Bella shook her head.
“Not yet, but the day is young.”
“So it is. Thanks, Bella.”
Her assistant closed the door behind her, allowing Sophia to frown properly at the note. So Jed was already going to cancel on her, was he? Did he really think she would back down, eventually leaving him in peace until he decided he was ready to use her and the baby? If he did, the man had another thing coming to him.
She picked up the phone and dialed his office. His assistant transferred the call, and she was put straight through to voicemail. When the beep went off, so did Sophia.
“If you think one cancellation is going to dissuade me from my mission, you are in for a rude awakening, Jed Shields. Whether you like it or not, you are going to be a father. Stop making this harder than it has to be.”
And with that, she hung up the phone. Not for the first time, Sophia wondered if she would really be able to pull all of this off.
She simply had to.
Chapter Ten
The weeks and months following that encounter were some of the most frustrating of Sophia’s life. Jed tried to dodge her at every opportunity, and Sophia was not the kind of woman who chased after any man. Still, she wasn’t chasing after him for her own sake. She reminded herself daily that she was doing this all for the sake of their child, who, based on the ultrasound, was growing beautifully.
Sometimes when she looked at Jed, she tried to imagine what the baby would look like. He or she was going to be stunning, no doubt about it. Still, no matter what she did, she couldn’t find a way to get Jed excited about any of it.
One of their walks led them to a boutique baby store.
“Oh, let’s go in. You’ve got to see some of these clothes!”
Jed repressed a groan as Sophia pulled him into the quaint little store, showing him tiny onesies with funny little sayings on them. As she gushed, he rolled his eyes, glancing back at the door with longing in his eyes.
At one point, she had sent him a series of baby books for him to keep at his office. When he had been unable to meet her one day, she decided to drop in unannounced. The assistant knew her well by then, and let her in with no questions asked. When she reached his doorway, she cast a glance to the side of the office, where her package was left, unopened.
“Do you ignore everyone’s mail, or just mine?” she asked, miffed.
Jed looked up, annoyed at her presence.
“I thought our time together was meant to be outside of our professional lives,” he said.
“So when your professional life becomes political, I can use that same line every time I don’t want to be put on display, right?”
Jed sighed, running a hand through his hair. Not in the mood to deal with his selfishness, she instead stormed out of the room, heading straight towards the elevator.
Jed did not follow after her.
When she got back to the street, she pulled out her phone and dialed Genevieve.
“What’s wrong?”
“Gen, you have to stop. Just answer the phone like a normal person. I’m beginning to think you’re neurotic.”
“I’m a mother. All of us are neurotic. You’ll find out soon enough, when all you do all day every day is worry.”
“Great. Even more to look forward to.”
“Why are you in such a bad mood?”
Sophia sighed. Her sister didn’t deserve her bad mood, just as she didn’t deserve to be treated poorly by Jed.
“It’s not working, Gen. Jed wants nothing to do with me or the baby. The only reason he comes out with us is so that later he’ll have leverage to serve his own career. He’s completely unresponsive, and I’m tired of playing the part of ‘desperate woman trying to get a man to care’. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make this work.”
“And what happens when he asks to see his child?”
“If he does, it will only be to ensure he has a good public image.”
Genevieve was quiet for a moment as she tried to think of a solution for her sister.
“What if you bring him over for dinner with us?” Genevieve asked.
Sophia smirked.
“What, meeting the family already? There’s not even a relationship here.”
“I know that. I mean we can show him what having kids is really like, you know? My kids are fun and smart and they say hilarious things all the time. Maybe being around kids that he can actually talk to will help open his eyes to the possibilities.”
Sophia considered her sister’s proposal. At that point, Jed had refused to be amenable to anything she had tried with him. It was worth a shot.
“I’ll try to see if I can get him to agree to it. I’ll let you know,” she said. “And, Gen? Thanks.”
“We’ll get through this, together,” Genevieve said in her most encouraging tone.
Sophia hoped that when she became a mother, she would be able to soothe with that voice, too.
“Yes, we will. Talk soon. Love you!”
She ended the call and headed back to the office. They were going to break ground on her next design that week, and it was a busy time. That was fortunate, because when her mind wasn’t occupied, all she could do was brood over the fact that Jed wasn’t warming up to the idea of co-parenting with her at all, and her every move was a frustrating act of futility.
She waited a day before calling Jed.
“Jed Shields,” he said, as always.
“Hey. It’s your favorite person,” she teased.
“Ah, Sophia,” he said, his tone caustic. “To what do I owe the pleasure this time? Am I late for story hour at the library with you?”
Ignoring him, she got straight to the point.
“I’d like to have you over at my sister’s for dinner,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because she has two kids, and I would like you to meet them.”
“Another little experiment? Well, I can’t. I’m booked for client dinners for the rest of the week.”
“Lunch then, at my place, this Sunday.”
“You’re not going to give up unless I do it, are you?”
“You know I won’t,” she said with a grin.
“You really are the most stubborn, annoying woman I have ever met.”
“So that’s a yes to Sunday lunch, then?”
“If I must.”
“Good. See you then.”
Jed hung up, ending the call. Sophia stared out, wondering if there was anything she could do to get him to see that having kids would be an adventure, rather than a burden. All she could do was try, and she was used to succeeding against all odds. Jed Shields was another challenge that she would conquer. She was sure of it.
Chapter Eleven
When Sunday arrived, Sophia opened the door as her niece and nephew bolted inside, chasing each other around her living room. Genevieve gave her a hug, and Chris did the same, the little family bustling in as Sophia finished preparing a Cobb salad and panini for their lunch. When there was another knock on the door, Sophia’s stomach gave a little twist.
It was one thing to introduce a man to her family. It was entirely another to introduce Jed Shields to them. She didn’t even know what to call them as an item. Their relationship had no name. As aggravating as he was all the time, there were always little moments of tiny kindnesses that flashed through, that reminded her that somewhere beneath his hard shell, Jed Shields was a better man than he pretended to be. She held onto that belief, because otherwise she would have given up on him ages ago.
When she opened the door, she stared at Jed for a moment with wide eyes.
&n
bsp; He was wearing dark jeans and a button down shirt. She realized in that moment that she had never seen him outside of a suit. Somehow he managed to be even more handsome. His gaze was, as always, unreadable as he stared back down at her.
“Do I get to come in, or is there a secret password I missed during our conversation?”
“I suppose you can come in,” she said, stepping aside so he could.
Jed walked into the room just as Emma was jumping on the couch. She shot straight off it, landing on the floor and rolling across the room.
“Secret ninja attack!” she called, heading straight for her younger brother.
Planning for this, Jaden dodged her low kick and swatted at her head, landing a perfect karate chop on her neck. Emma instantly burst into tears.
“Mom!” she yelled, rushing into her mother’s embrace.
Genevieve looked stern as she stared down both her children.
“What have I said about playing ninja? Now, I want you to both apologize.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Emma protested.
“I told you not to play that game. You did. Now apologize. There are consequences for your actions.”
Emma ran her little arm across her running nose, sniffling loudly as she mumbled an apology. Jaden did the same before running up to Jed.
“You’re really tall,” he said.
Jed kneeled down so that he was at Jaden’s level.
“I get that a lot,” he said.
“Are you taller than a tree?”
Sophia bit back a laugh, and Jed nodded.
“Some trees, yes. My name is Jed. It’s nice to meet you.”
Jaden stared at his hand, not knowing what to do with it, before dashing back off to torture his sister once again. Genevieve and Chris stood then, introducing themselves.
“I believe we are going to be your baby’s aunt and uncle,” Genevieve said.
Jed winced, but quickly scrambled to cover it.
“You don’t seem terribly pleased about this,” Genevieve said, crossing her arms.
“Is anyone pleased about a surprise pregnancy they never wanted?”
“I imagine not, but I think a man is defined by how he behaves during times of adversity, don’t you? I wonder, Mr. Shields, what kind of man do you think you are?”
Jed stared at her a moment, as though he hadn’t considered their situation in that light before. Before he had a chance to answer, Emma shyly approached them, standing close to her mother.
“Hi,” she said, her voice nearly a whisper.
It wasn’t like Emma to be shy. Sophia watched her curiously as she stared up with wide blue eyes at the successful businessman. Even though he was casually dressed, there was still an air of authority, of control that surrounded Jed. He radiated a demand for respect, and while Jaden couldn’t yet pick up on it, Emma was clearly well aware.
Seeing her shy demeanor, something in Jed appeared to melt. He knelt down again and held out his hand for Emma to take. She held hers out and gently shook it, her hand darting back to her side.
“I’m Jed.”
“You’re going to be my uncle?” Emma asked.
The room grew decidedly hot in that moment, and Sophia cleared her throat loudly as she headed toward the kitchen.
“I think it’s time for lunch, don’t you guys?”
“I want pizza!” Jaden declared.
“Good, because I made some just for you,” Sophia said, and she was rewarded with a chorus of cheers from both children.
Emma stepped away from Jed, content to focus entirely on her favorite food, and the group sat down at the table together. Genevieve’s stare was piercing as she watched Jed from across the table, and in that moment, Sophia realized that her sister’s motivation for inviting him was twofold. While exposing him to children was a good idea, she wanted to know just what kind of man Jed Shields really was, and she was going to find out on her own.
Sophia found herself wishing for a drink more than ever.
“Do you have any other children, Mr. Shields?” Genevieve asked.
“You can call me Jed,” he said. “And no, I do not.”
“How do you intend to provide for this one?”
“Genevieve! We are having lunch, not a job interview.”
Genevieve maintained her staring contest with Jed, and he didn’t back down.
“Do you know who I am, Genevieve?” Jed asked.
“Outside of the man who has made my sister miserable these past few months, when she should be the happiest in her life? No, I can’t say that I do.”
“I run one of the largest marketing companies in the world.”
“And?”
“And?” Jed asked, stunned.
Sophia watched the exchange like a tennis match, her head bouncing from one person to the other as they sparred over her table.
“You may be wealthy, Mr. Shields, but you might have noticed by now that that is not an issue for my sister. What is an issue is the fact that she is facing raising this child on her own, when, as you’ll remember, this isn’t something she necessarily wanted either.”
“She could have made a different choice, in that matter.”
“But she didn’t, and now this is your reality as well. Now tell me how you intend to provide for this child, emotionally, like a father.”
Jed opened his mouth to answer when Jaden spit out a glob of chewed up pizza. His face was pale as a sheet.
“I don’t feel good,” he declared, before unceremoniously turning his head and vomiting by the side of the table.
Everyone was up in that moment. Jed stared on in horror as Genevieve and Chris worked quickly to both cradle their son and clean up the mess in one fell swoop. Jaden began to cry.
“I want to go home!”
In a flurry of activity, Genevieve and Chris swept their children towards the front door, giving Sophia and Jed a very rushed farewell as they scooped their sick child from the apartment and closed the door. A sickly scent remained, tickling Sophia’s nostrils and igniting her own sense of nausea.
She was staring at the door when she realized that Jed was still there, watching on.
“Well, I imagine that didn’t go as planned,” he drawled, dropping a napkin onto the kitchen table.
“Kids get sick. It’s a reality we’re going to have to deal with at some point.”
“That’s what nannies are for.”
“And is that what happened to you? Were you raised by a nanny? How did you like it?”
Jed closed off his expression, as he so often did whenever Sophia brought up his past.
“That’s neither here nor there.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. You act like you never knew what it was like to even be a child, much less talk to one. It would be wonderful to know why.”
“Perhaps someday we can share sob stories. As it is, I now see what it is like to have to have your entire life managed by a three-year-old boy. Perhaps I can look forward to phone calls in the future where I have to leave a billion-dollar deal because my child has decided he can’t hold the contents of his stomach, but fortunately for me, today is not that day, and I can do as I please.”
He stepped towards the door, placing his hand on the knob before turning back to face Sophia.
“I can appreciate your sister wanting to protect you and the baby. You may not believe it, but I want you to be safe, just as much as she does.”
“You have a funny way of showing it,” Sophia replied.
“Perhaps I am not so amenable to adapting to someone else’s agenda when I am forced. Did that thought ever occur to you? That I might adapt to this situation in my own time?”
“We don’t have time. This baby is coming sooner than you realize.”
“Well then, let us discuss this when that day comes. Until then, I’d appreciate being left alone.”
“Fine,” Sophia said, at her wits end.
Jed nodded and closed the door behind him, the sound echoing across the room
.
The man was impossible!
Chapter Twelve
After cleaning up the mess from lunch, holding her breath as she mopped around the kitchen table, Sophia washed her hands and sat on her couch, pulling out her work pad. She spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between busying her mind with work and acting out imaginary fights with Jed, replaying all the biting things she wished she had said to him in the heat of the moment.
Before she knew it, the sun was setting beneath the buildings of New York. She stretched, prepared a light dinner, and changed into a pair of pajamas. Before she went to bed, she stood in front of her bathroom mirror and lifted up her shirt, revealing a rounded belly. It was larger than she thought it would be, though the doctor hadn’t seemed concerned. She had opted not to get an ultrasound unless absolutely necessary, so it had been some time since she’d seen her little bundle of joy.
“How you doing in there, my love?” she whispered, running a hand along her belly.
Her emotions had been on overdrive for some time, but at that moment she felt an extreme emptiness. Jed had proven, once again, that he was a selfish man incapable of showing human emotion. Sophia had been dead set on getting him to work with her, but as she stared at her belly in the mirror, all she could see was a baby with no father.
A tear traced down her cheek as she thought of it. In that moment, the baby kicked.
“Oof!” Sophia exclaimed, her hand darting to the spot she had felt the movement.
She smiled then, feeling as the baby wiggled around in her womb, the sensation completely indescribable. Patting her belly, she chuckled.
“Always here to reassure your mother everything’s going to be all right, huh?”
The baby moved again, and a little budge could be seen, where his or her foot was. Sophia caressed the tiny appendage, longing for to the day when she could hold her child for real. She released a gusty sigh, wiping the remnants of her tears away.
