Sitting curled up in the warm light of a vast window, Sophia took a sip of green tea as she continued working on her final designs. She had fallen terribly behind during the couple of days she had taken off, but she in no way regretted the decision.

It was a liberating feeling, really.

Up until that moment, Sophia hadn’t known that she could take time off of work and survive it, professionally. When she had returned to the office she had been met with a slew of worried faces and voiced concerns for her wellbeing. It was heartwarming, and she had felt her cheeks redden as she lied to the people who she spent so much of her time with.

She wasn’t quite ready to share her blessed event yet.

As she sketched, streams of light danced across her cheeks. When the door to the office opened, she glanced up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Her young assistant looked taken aback, which made her instantly wary.

“There’s a gentleman on the phone for you, miss.”

“Who is it, Bella?”

“He says…he says his name is Jed Shields. You don’t think…”

Sophia lifted an eyebrow, waiting for Bella to finish her thought. The air held a heavy pause as Bella stumbled to find the right words.

“Just, why would he be calling us?”

“Perhaps he wants a new building designed?” Sophia suggested.

Bella’s eyes widened in understanding, even though that was surely not Jed’s reason for calling.

“That makes sense,” she said with a nod. “Anyway, he’s on line two for you, whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Bella.”

Bella nodded once more and closed the door behind her. Sophia watched as the orange light blinked on her phone, signaling a call waiting to be answered.

What could that man want? she thought, not terribly kindly.

Over the past few days, Sophia had already come to terms with the fact that she would most likely be raising her baby on her own. She wasn’t afraid of that thought. She had succeeded on her own for years, and this was simply another challenge she would overcome and thrive at. Preparing for a verbal battle, she squared her shoulders and picked up the phone, pressing the button to answer.

“This is Sophia Simms,” she said in her most professional sounding voice.

“Sophie! Long time no chat!”

Jed sounded bright and cheerful, as though they were a pair of old friends who could go ages without speaking and pick up right where they left off. Sophia said nothing as she processed this strange alteration.

“Sophie? Are you there?”

“I don’t recall ever giving you permission to give me a nickname,” she said, her tone cold as ice.

Jed was smooth as silk with his reply.

“Oh please. Are you really going to play the sullen woman card? Let’s get past our last conversation and move on, shall we? You told me to call you when I was ready to consider being a father to our baby. I’m here to tell you that I have considered it, and now that the shock has passed, I can’t wait to be a dad.”

Sophia frowned as she processed his words. Had he really changed gears so quickly? Could she blame him for being stunned at first? Frankly, his reaction mirrored hers almost exactly.

“Are you serious, or are you just playing games? I’m not going to put my child at risk by riding whatever rollercoaster you’ve got planned for us.”

“Why is it that I have to have a hidden agenda here? You, more than anyone, have to admit that taking that news would be a bit of a shock to a dedicated professional with no interest in taking that route. I’m telling you that I’ve digested the information, and now I’m here, ready to be a part of this little family journey we’re embarking on. Are you going to let me join or not?”

Sophia considered his words, fully aware of the long, awkward pause that was stretching between them across the phone line. She had vague memories of their early conversations, how easily they had flowed. Could they ever get back to that comfortable place again?

“Fine,” she said.

She could almost hear his sigh of relief from down the street.

“Great. Now, how about we end this spat the proper way, and you let me take you out to dinner tonight? Call it an olive branch, if you will.”

Sophia glanced down at her desk calendar. It happened to be a night that she didn’t have any plans, though those were becoming more and more common as she craved time alone with her baby and a pint of ice cream.

“Fine,” she said again.

“Are you going to say anything other than ‘fine’ if we do go out?” he quipped.

Sophia almost smiled. The man was a cad, but there was something about him that was so annoyingly likable. She hated that about him.

“I’ll consider it. Where are we going? I can meet you there.”

“Don’t give it another thought. I’ll have a car sent to your place at six. Dress code is fancy.”

“Are you certain you remember where my apartment is?”

“Of course I remember. Why wouldn’t I?”

Sophia bit back her reply, where she planned on fully reminding him once again of the fact that he hadn’t even remembered her name after their one night together, but she thought better of it. He was trying to be nice. He was her baby’s father. The least she could do was try.

“Sounds good. I’ll be ready.”

“Great. We’re going to do this right, Sophie—just you and me. We can handle anything.”

“Okay,” she said. “Until tonight.”

“So long!”

In spite of her cold reception, Jed had been upbeat for the duration of their entire conversation. What had happened that had him so excited at the prospect of becoming a father all of a sudden? Sophia stared at the phone receiver as she ran over the past few months in her mind, trying to make sense of a curveball situation that had her reeling.

The truth was, it was beyond comforting to hear his voice sounding so supportive. While Sophia knew she could handle things, having support left her feeling deeply relieved, and she allowed herself to look forward to meeting with the handsome marketer that evening.

The rest of the afternoon passed unremarkably, and Sophia found herself stepping out onto the streets with a small skip in her stride, looking forward to a new start with Jed, filled with the possibility of joy rather than sorrow. She took great care to shower and clean herself up, and she was applying the last bit of lipstick when her bell rang, signaling the arrival of Jed’s car.

She grabbed a clutch and headed down the elevator, then exited to the street. A short man with black hair and a very stubby nose greeted her from beneath his chauffeur hat, and he opened the back door to a lavish black town car. She nodded to him as she slid in, the seats enveloping her as she did her best to sit up straight, even though there really was no one there to take notice.

The car drove for several blocks before stopping in front of a very upscale restaurant that Sophia had been meaning to try, but had never had the time to. The driver ran around the car before she could open her own door, and he pulled it open, helping her out onto the sidewalk. Glancing up, she instantly caught sight of Jed.

He was dressed in a black suit, his dark hair perfectly styled, easily spotted as he stood almost a head above everyone else around him. When she walked up to the front doors, his glance darted her way, and their eyes met for the first time since she had broken the news.

Something clouded over in his eyes for a fraction of a second before he grinned, a sexy dimple complimenting his already perfectly structured face.

Their baby was going to be absolutely beautiful.

In spite of herself, Sophia felt a swirl of butterflies tumble around in her belly as she approached him.

“Shh. Let’s not get too excited yet. We don’t know if we can trust him,” she whispered to her baby.

Over the past week, her baby had become a companion in her life. She’d spent good portions of her day speaking to the unborn child as though he or she was already with her in the world, and she had needed to remind herself on several occasions that there were plenty of people who didn’t know her situation yet. She reminded herself to be more careful, in more ways than one.

“Sophie,” Jed said, holding out his hands.

Instinctively she raised her own, allowing him to grasp her hands and give them an affectionate squeeze as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. His own cheek was freshly shaven and smooth, and the scent of his cologne had her entire body tingling. There were few scents currently that didn’t make her feel sick, and the fact that Jed Shields’ was one of them had her thinking about her body’s judgement.

“I’ve always wanted to try this place out,” she said, stepping back.

She had to keep her wits about her somehow. Standing up close and personal clearly wasn’t going to help with that effort.

Jed nodded, placing a gentle hand on her lower back as he guided her towards the host podium. Her body tingled where his fingers touched her, and she quickened her pace, so as to walk just a step before his hand.

He had no right to touch her, after the way he had acted. If he thought she was just going to forgive and forget, he had no idea who he was dealing with.

“I know. I think you mentioned that you wanted to come here the night we met.”

“Did I? Who can remember after so many vodka cranberries?”

Jed chuckled, and it was a quiet, pleasant sound. Against her better judgement, Sophia found herself relaxing in his presence as he slid a bill into the hostess’ hand and she led them towards a table in the center of the room. All around them, people were talking in hushed voices, as though to speak above a certain decibel would be below the class of the establishment. When they reached their table, Jed held out a chair for Sophia, and she lifted an eyebrow at him.

“What? Can’t a man pamper the mother of his child? Isn’t that my job?”

Narrowing her eyes, Sophia took her seat, grumbling out a thank you as she did so.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Jed asked, though the expression on his face showed he clearly had heard.

“Just what is your motive for bringing me out here tonight?” she asked.

Jed sat down, removing his crisp white napkin from the table and placing it delicately in his lap before meeting her steely-eyed gaze.

“You don’t trust very easily, do you?” he said.

“You’re not answering my question. That makes me trust you even less.”

“My, but aren’t we protective of this baby already? You can’t tell me your reaction wasn’t similar to mine. Am I not allowed a grace period to evaluate how my entire life is about to change, against my own will?”

“Well, I’m sorry to be such an inconvenience to you. Don’t worry about it another minute,” Sophia huffed, rising to make her exit.

Jed placed a hand on hers, effectively stopping her. She stared at his hand before her eyes lifted to his, and there was a clear warning in them as he fought to convince her to stay.

“Sophie, look. I don’t want to sugar coat things. I don’t want to lie to you. I was honestly terrified when you broke the news to me, and I was surprised at your decision to go through with the pregnancy. Now that I’ve had time to come to terms with it, I would rather be in my child’s life than spend the rest of mine knowing that there’s a kid out there who hates me for not being enough. I will never, ever do that to a child.”

He said the last sentence with a venom that gave Sophia pause. There was a fierce truth behind his words, the first she had been able to detect, and this had her taking a seat once more. She stared at him, and once again the silence between them weighed like a ton of elephants. Her initial hope that easy conversation might exist between them dwindled as the quiet dragged on.

A waiter arrived to take their order, which broke the tension ever so slightly. Sophia ordered a salad, her newest in a strange series of cravings that had started over the weekend. When the waiter left, Jed took a sip of water.

“I would like to help cover expenses for this process. I can cover any excess healthcare costs, and of course, anything you’d like to buy for the baby’s room and care.”

Sophia shook her head.

“I don’t need you to buy everything. If we really are going to do this together, I think we should go in fifty-fifty. I can cover half of everything, and so can you.”

Jed nodded obligingly.

“If that is how you want it, I’m happy to accept those conditions.”

Another bout of silence.

Sophia wondered just how she was going to get through a whole lifetime of awkward silence. Her family had always been so loving and boisterous, and she felt a pang of regret that her child would know nothing of his or her parents’ relationship outside of cold, distant mistrust.

“So tell me,” Jed said. “How have you been feeling?”

Sophia took a sip of ice water, thinking back on the past couple of days.

“Honestly, I feel great. I never thought this was something I would want to do, but when I found out that I was pregnant, I just somehow knew that it was the path I was meant to take. I know it’s hard for people like us to have work and family and make it function, but I think I’m going to be able to do it.”

Jed nodded.

“People do it all the time. They just don’t do it alone. I take it you’ve looked into childcare already?”

Sophia stared at him, considering her answer. Was she seriously talking about childcare with Jed Shields? How quickly their lives had changed!