Knocked Up- The Complete Box Set

by Lilian Monroe

  I try to focus on what Jake is saying but my eyes drift back to Lucas. He glances at me and then looks back towards Jake.

  My heart starts pounding. He’s being so cold! Maybe it was his choice to be taken off the project! Maybe he doesn’t want to see me at all.

  I hate being this insecure. I don’t like myself when I’m like this, and it hardly ever happens. I need to get it together.

  “Do you guys want a coffee before we get started?”

  “That sounds great, I’ll help,” Lucas answers quickly. I nod and the two of us head out of the room.

  “Sorry, I should have told you earlier,” Lucas whispers as we walk towards the kitchen. I glance up at him.

  “So, does this mean you’re not coming back?”

  “Let’s talk about it tonight.”

  He keeps looking straight ahead as I try to search his face. I frown, but say nothing. We make coffees in silence and I make myself a tea. He glances at it.

  “Still feeling under the weather?”

  “What?” I frown.

  “The tea. I thought you said you were drinking it because you were sick.”

  “Oh, right. Yeah. Just got used to drinking it I guess.”

  Lucas lifts an eyebrow and nods. “Let’s get back to it. Can I take you out to dinner tonight?”

  I feel my shoulders relax and Lucas smiles. “Sure,” I respond. I brush my hand over his arm and hear the hint of a groan inside him.

  “Don’t touch me till we’re out of here,” he says under his breath. “I won’t be able to handle it.”

  I move my hand to his ass, shielded by the kitchen cupboards and give it a gentle squeeze.

  “Oops,” I say with a laugh. He grins and shakes his head before running his own hand down my spine. He lets his hand linger over my ass and moves it further so that his fingers are almost between my legs. I groan and take a deep breath before grabbing the steaming mugs.

  “Let’s go,” I say. He chuckles and nods, following me out the door. So much for not soaking through my panties.

  33

  Lucas

  If I thought the past three weeks were long, they were nothing compared to today. Being in the same room as Rosie without being able to touch her was pure torture. It was easier being across the country.

  Finally, not a minute too soon we wrap up for the day.

  “You go on ahead,” I tell Jake. “I’m going to head back to the hotel and probably just get room service,” I lie.

  “Alright no worries. If you change your mind I’ll let you know what bar we’re at.”

  “I’m not as young as I used to be,” I laugh. “I can’t party like you kids anymore.”

  “Your loss,” Jake answers with a grin. He heads out the door and I sigh. Rosie is tidying the papers on the table and she looks up towards me.

  “Room service? Is that what you meant by taking me out to dinner? A bit presumptuous, don’t you think?”

  I grin. “No. I’m taking you to Emilio’s. Seven o’clock reservation. You want me to pick you up?”

  She shakes her head. “I’ll meet you there.”

  Rosie stands up straighter and closes her laptop. Her lips curl up into a smile and she looks me up and down.

  “It’s good to see you,” she says.

  “It’s good to see you too,” I respond. I take a step towards her and then catch myself and clear my throat. “Let’s get out of here,” I say.

  We part ways at the bottom of the elevator and I have to hold myself back from kissing her. She squeezes my hand subtly and then winks before walking away. I watch as her hips move from side to side and she glances back, shaking her head and laughing.

  “Pervert!” She calls out with a laugh. I shrug and laugh before turning towards the hotel.

  I hardly have enough time to go to my room, shower, change and be at the restaurant for seven but it still seems like an eternity. I get there before she does and wait at the table, ordering us both a glass of wine. The tables are candlelit and the restaurant is dim and cozy. I take a sip of wine to calm my nerves. I haven’t felt this nervous around a woman since grade school.

  I’ve spent two nights with this woman but this is our first date, and I’m as nervous as a teenager with his first girlfriend. I can’t sit still and I can’t stop looking at the door. I pull out my phone and flick through some apps before setting it down on the table. I hate being restless.

  Finally, it opens and she steps through. Her black, skin-tight dress has a plunging neckline and shows off her milky white skin. Her hair looks like fire against the black of the dress and her smile is radiant when she sees me. She points to me and the hostess nods before leading her to the table.

  I stand up and put my hand on her waist when she gets there, greeting her with a kiss. Our lips touch and my cock jumps. All I want to do is forget about dinner and take her straight back to my hotel. Instead, she pulls away and smiles at me before sitting down. I take a deep breath and sit across from her.

  The candlelight flickers over her face and chest in a mesmerizing dance. Her eyes are bright and intelligent and she smiles as she lifts her glass.

  “Cheers,” she says.

  “Cheers,” I reply as I clink my glass against hers. Suddenly, all my conviction about staying in Los Angeles evaporate. It feels like this is where I should be, right here. She takes a sip of wine and I look at the way her neck curves, the way her hair cascades down in red curls and the way her breasts move ever so slightly with every breath.

  I can’t forget about her. I can’t just turn my back on her. I haven’t felt this way about a woman since my wife died, and I never thought I’d feel like this again.

  There has to be a way to make this work.

  “You clean up alright,” Rosie says with a grin. “Who knew there was a gentleman under there.”

  My eyebrows shoot up. “Are you implying I’m not clean cut in the office?”

  She tilts her head to the side and lifts her wine glass, looking me up and down. “I wouldn’t say not clean cut, just… roguish.”

  “Roguish. What is this, a romance novel? Am I Fabio?”

  She laughs. “It’s not a bad thing!”

  “It doesn’t sound like a good thing,” I shoot back.

  “It is, I promise. It’s a very good thing.” She takes a sip of wine and looks me up and down again. Excitement builds inside me whenever her eyes pass over me and my cock pulses in my pants every time she moves.

  “So,” she continues. “Tell me about this change of leadership. Why is Jake in charge of the campaigns and not you?”

  “Not wasting any time, are you?”

  “I’m a very direct person,” she says.

  “I can see that. I like that.”

  “You’re stalling,” she answers with a laugh. “I won’t be fooled that easily.”

  I lift my hands up and nod. “Alright, alright. You’re right. I… I got promoted. They’re giving me the assistant director’s position in the Los Angeles office. It’s a crazy opportunity that I’ve basically been working my entire career to achieve.”

  Rosie looks at me intently and nods slowly. She takes another sip of wine and places her glass down gently. Her lips part and she looks me in the eye. Just before she can say anything the waiter appears.

  “Are we ready to order?”

  “Sure,” Rosie says right away. She glances at me and then back to the waiter before placing her order. When he walks away she looks at me again with that serious look. There’s something else behind it, but I can’t quite place it. She wants to tell me something. She looks at the candle on the table and then back at me, and the look is gone from her eyes.

  “Congratulations,” she finally says. Her voice is flat.

  “What?” I frown.

  “On the promotion. Congrats.”

  “Oh, right. Thanks,” I respond. She smiles but there’s a sadness in her eyes. My heart starts thumping and I feel like I’ve done something wrong. I rack my brain to try
to think of something to say, but the words won’t come.

  I want to tell her that I want to see her, I still want her in my life, I don’t want to lose her when I don’t even know her, but nothing comes out. I clear my throat and take another sip of wine, and she does the same.

  There’s tension between us now. I know it’s my fault. I haven’t told her how I feel, or let her know how much she means to me. I haven’t told her anything except the fact that I won’t be back in New York. I don’t know how to get back to the easy conversation we’ve always had together.

  When she puts the wine glass down she smiles at me. “Let’s just enjoy ourselves tonight,” she says.

  I nod and smile. “Sounds good.”

  The words catch in my throat and I look at my half glass of wine. I might need another one before I’m ready to lay it all out for her and tell her how much she means to me. I take a deep breath and meet her eye again, trying to relax and let myself smile. I have all night to tell her I want to try to make this work. She’s right, we should just enjoy ourselves.

  “Cheers to our first date,” I say, raising my glass.

  She laughs and my heart sings at the sound. “Cheers.”

  34

  Rosie

  My mind is racing. He’s gotten a promotion, and he’s handing off the campaigns to his coworker, which means he won’t be coming back to New York.

  Just when I thought we had some time together, just when I thought I’d be able to get to know him and tell him about the baby the right way, I find out that I don’t have any time at all. He’s on a flight out of here tomorrow evening. I have less than 24 hours to tell him he’s the father of my child and then he leaves back to LA, back to his fancy life and big promotion.

  Good for him. Congratu-fucking-lations.

  My hands are shaking as I bring the glass of wine to my lips. It feels wrong, even though the doctor told me a glass of wine per week was alright. I stare at the dark red liquid and let it wet my lips.

  “Good wine,” I say as I put the glass back down.

  “It is,” Lucas answers. He stares at me from across the table, the candlelight flickering across his face. “I thought you didn’t know anything about wine,” he adds with a smile.

  I look at my glass, swirling the liquid in it. “It’s just something to say, isn’t it? Does anybody know anything about wine? Are you sure this didn’t come out of a box?”

  “I did watch the waiter pour it, so I’m fairly sure.”

  “Doesn’t mean anything,” I say with a wave. Lucas laughs.

  My heart is thumping and my stomach feels heavy. I’m not sure I can do this. It feels good to just laugh with him. It’s so rare that I feel comfortable around anyone, and he’s the first person I’ve been able to open up to in over a year. The thought of ruining that is breaking my heart already.

  But, it’s now or never, I have to tell him about the baby tonight. Otherwise I don’t know when I’ll see him again. At least if he reacts badly I’ll only have one more day of work with him and then he’ll be on the other side of the country.

  A thousand thoughts fly through my head. What if he doesn’t believe me? What if he doesn’t think it’s his? Do I have to wait until it’s born to get a DNA test? What if he gets angry? What if he yells?

  What if he’s happy?

  That thought scares me almost as much as the others. If he wants the baby, and he wants to be part of my life, what does that mean? He’s just gotten a promotion, but so have I. I don’t want to leave New York to go somewhere I’ve never been where I know no one! He wouldn’t expect me to up and move, would he?

  I take a deep breath and pick up the glass of wine again. With one more sip I’m able to sit up straighter and look at him again.

  He’s looking at me curiously, head tilted to the side and eyes squinting slightly. Even in the dim light I can see how piercingly blue they are. He licks his lips and my stomach does a flip.

  Even with all these thoughts I still can’t get over how attractive he is.

  “Are you okay, Rosie? You seem worried.”

  I nod. “I’m okay. I just…” I pause. I just want to tell you something. “I’m just a bit sad that I won’t see you again after tomorrow.”

  “We don’t know that,” he answers slowly.

  “Don’t we?” I shoot back. I hate how bitter I sound. He glances at the table and grabs one of the uneaten dinner rolls in the basket between us. He tears it open with his hands, reaching for the butter. I wait for him to speak, but he seems completely enthralled with his bun. I take a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry, Lucas. I was just hoping we would have a bit more time together. I haven’t met a man that I’m into in way too long.”

  He glances up at me and grins. “So you’re into me?”

  I snort. “Is that a serious question? Isn’t it obvious??”

  He shrugs and goes back to his dinner roll. “When you didn’t call me when I left the first time I thought you weren’t interested in me. Like I was just a fling or whatever.”

  My heart starts thumping when his eyes flick up to mine and I see the hurt in them. The words tumble out of my mouth. “I lost your number! I can’t believe I never told you this! It was on the paper and I brought it to lunch so that my girlfriends would help me text you and—”

  Lucas starts laughing and I pause, mouth still open. “You needed help texting me?”

  I blush and grab a dinner roll of my own. It’s still warm and the steam billows out of it when I tear it open. I shrug. “I was nervous.”

  “I wish you’d told me you lost my number when you saw me,” he says gently. “I waited for you to call for a long time. When I saw you again I thought you weren’t interested in me at all.”

  My heart starts thumping again, but instead of anxiousness it’s excitement building inside me. He likes me!

  “I was a mess when I lost it,” I say shyly, glancing down at the bread in my hands. I reach for the butter and smear it over both halves of the roll. “I wanted to talk to you so bad and I couldn’t find you anywhere on social media. Are you a hermit?!”

  Lucas sits back and laughs. His shoulders relax and he shakes his head. He slides his hand across the table and I bring mine to meet his. Our fingers interlace and I feel the warmth traveling up my arm as he smiles at me. His eyes soften and the thumping in my chest gets heavier.

  “I have to keep a low profile because of the job,” he explains. “The artists like their privacy and if I was all over the internet it would hurt my career. Anonymity is safer. I wish I’d known you were looking for me.”

  I shake my head. “Well we’re here now. And we have less than a day before you leave again.”

  He looks pained and he nods. “Let’s make the most of it.” He glances up and around the restaurant. “I might head to the bathroom before the food gets here.”

  He stands up and ducks across the table, placing a soft kiss on my lips. It’s warm and electric and sends a shiver through my whole body. When he pulls away his eyes are shining brightly and he winks.

  “Be right back.”

  I smile and watch him walk away. He wanted to talk to me! He thought I rejected him and that’s why he was cold when we first saw each other last time! I pop a piece of bread into my mouth and sit back as I chew. The bread is warm and doughy with deliciously melted butter all over it. I groan in satisfaction.

  Something buzzes on the table and I notice Lucas’s phone. He must have left it on the table. I glance over and see a message flash across his screen. I look up towards the washrooms to see where he is. I can’t help myself, the curiosity is too much. I lean forward and read the message as the screen lights up.

  Allie: Love you! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.

  My stomach drops and my heartbeat starts rushing in my ears. Who is Allie?

  He has a girlfriend. Or worse—a wife. He’s here on business, just telling me what I want to hear to get in to bed with me again.

  He wasn’t wai
ting for me to call when he was in LA. Or if he was, it was just to make sure he had a piece of ass in every city he goes to.

  I’ve been a fool.

  My chest is heaving and my vision is blurry as my eyes fill with tears. He’s played me. Of course he’s played me! The fucking father of my child is having an affair with me. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid!

  I wipe the tears off my cheeks and glance at the washrooms. He’s still not there. I have seconds before he walks out and sees me like this, seconds before I make a scene in this restaurant and scream at him. I have just seconds to decide if I want all these strangers to see me at my worst, yelling at the lying, cheating bastard that happens to be the father of my child.

  I can’t do it. I grab my bag and rush to the exit.

  It’s not until I’m inside a cab that I let the tears flow freely. My hands are shaking and I can’t even steady them enough to call Jess or Harper. It starts ringing as Lucas calls me and I quickly press the power button to turn it off. I just cry and cry and cry until the cab pulls up outside my house.

  35

  Lucas

  It takes me a while to realize that she’s gone. At first I think she’s just gone to the washroom, and then I think she’s doing her makeup, and then I think something must be wrong. I start looking around the restaurant and it’s not until I see the waiter coming towards me that I start thinking that she’s in trouble.

  When the waiter asks me if I still want to eat my dinner I don’t understand what he means. When he looks back at the hostess and they exchange a look, my stomach starts churning. When he tells me she’s gone, the ground falls away and my blood starts to rush through my veins faster than I thought possible.

  I say something to him and he walks away, but I’m not quite sure what I said or what he replied. All I can do is stare at the table in front of me and try to process what’s happened.