He hadn’t eaten a bite. He’d been frustrated by her absence, worried over the pregnancy news, irritated at Robert for being so damn late. Too many emotions and not enough space in his head to store them all had soured his appetite.
“I wasn’t late on purpose.” She flashed him a grin as if she could read his mind, which only furthered his irritation. “I ran into a couple who couldn’t find their restaurant, so I escorted them. Then when I left there, I ran into a little issue with a bellhop who was a little less than friendly, so I tried to smooth that over with the guests.”
Ethan wouldn’t put up with anything less than a loyal employee who respected each visitor that passed through their doors. He would make sure to keep an eye out and ears open for that subpar bellhop. He’d already been making mental notes of stellar employees he’d encountered. And the less-than-stellar ones.
“What made you intervene?” Ethan asked, taking his tumbler and crossing to the living area.
He rested his hip against the sofa across from where Harper sat. She stared up at him and shrugged.
“I think everyone should be treated with respect, and I figured the employee might be having a bad day. I was just trying to help.”
Interesting.
“And did everything get worked out?” he asked.
A wide smile spread across her face. “Of course.”
“So you design and you play referee.” Ethan took a sip of his bourbon. “What other secrets do you keep?”
Harper laid a hand over her belly, and Ethan swallowed. No surprise there, but everything else about this woman was a mystery. He didn’t know her, not in the ways a man should know a woman who was going to have his child.
“I think a few secrets are necessary, don’t you?” she asked.
Considering he kept quiet about his true reason for being there, he would have to agree. But still, he didn’t like not being in the know about everything that affected him. Shouldn’t he know everything about the woman who was going to have his baby?
“I think there’s more to you than what you show,” he replied.
“That’s a coping mechanism.” She dropped her feet to the floor and crossed her legs, the move easing up the slit in her skirt. “Care to tell me what keeps your secrets bottled up?”
“Coping mechanism is a valid reason.”
She’d completely nailed his reasoning for keeping his cards close to his chest. The little tidbits he uncovered kept revealing how their lives paralleled.
But right now, he wanted to intersect. Those legs all on display were tempting him to the point he was ready to unwrap that skirt and show her just how much he craved her.
“You’ve got that look in your eye,” she murmured.
He gripped the tumbler. “And what look is that?”
Ignoring his question, Harper came to her feet, propped her hands on her hips and stared back without making a move toward him.
“You invited me here for sex,” she said, crossing her arms and doing amazing things to her breasts in the process. “Dinner is a given.”
“Well, you’re here.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, and he knew she wanted to smile. He had her. She couldn’t dodge his advance, and she wasn’t even trying. That wasn’t vanity talking—it was the truth. And in all fairness, he was just as drawn to her...not that he’d admit any such thing.
“I’m here to discuss our child,” she retorted. “We do have an obligation to make some sort of plan and keep our clothes on during the process.”
“I’m well aware of what we need to do. When are you seeing a doctor?”
“Tomorrow,” she told him. “Everything is set for this initial checkup. I’ll have a few tests and an ultrasound, too.”
Ethan started to close the distance between them. “Is there a problem?”
“Relax.” Harper held up her hands and shook her head. “Routine testing. It’s all perfectly normal during a pregnancy.”
“How do you know so much already?” he asked.