One More Chance

“Harlow.” His voice was gentle. “Look at me, please.”

I hated it when I tried to be firm and he went all sweet. It was hard to ignore a sweet Grant Carter. Giving in, I glanced over at him. His forehead was creased in a frown, and his eyes looked full of worry. “I’m not breakable. I’m still me. You’re treating me differently,” I said, hating the way my voice cracked, which only made me seem more vulnerable. I was trying to convince this man that I was tough.

Grant stood up from the seat across from me and moved to the leather sofa beside me, pulling me into his arms. He let out a weary sigh and kissed the top of my head. I had expected him to immediately deny that he had been treating me differently, but he wasn’t doing that. At least he was aware of it.

“I’m sorry. I’m trying to deal with this right now. All I can think about is keeping you safe.”

“I’ve been taking care of myself all my life. I’m not fragile. I want to be treated like . . . like how you treated me before.” I couldn’t make myself say I wanted him to want me. That just sounded pathetic.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” he replied.

I hadn’t realized that just a few words could be so heartbreaking.

“Give me time. After we talk to the doctor, I’ll feel like I have some control over this. I can’t just disregard your health because I want you. Don’t doubt for a moment that all I can think about is stripping you down and making love to you over and over again. Hearing you pant and cry out. I crave that, baby. But you’re my world. I protect what’s mine.”

How could I argue with that? I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. We were going to get through this. He was here with me, and he wasn’t running scared. He wanted me safe, and I couldn’t be mad about that. Grant had his fears. I had to respect those and give him time. “I missed you,” I said against his chest, although he already knew that. I wanted to tell him again.

“I missed you more. Every damn second I missed you,” he said as his lips hovered close to my ear. The warmth from his breath caused me to shiver.

We sat there in each other’s arms for the rest of the flight. We didn’t talk, because we didn’t need to. Just being together was enough. My eyes began to grow heavy, and I closed them, knowing that when I woke up, he’d be there.

As we walked into the doctor’s office in Destin, Grant was holding my hand. This time, when I saw the other pregnant women in the waiting room with their husbands, I didn’t feel a sense of loss or sadness. Grant was with me, hovering over me in all his possessive, protective glory, as if he needed to fight off an attack of some sort. He was adorable.

“Go sit down, and I’ll get the paperwork to fill out,” he said gently as he pointed to the empty chairs across the room.

I didn’t argue with him, because I was beginning to realize he needed to do this. It made him feel safer if he was taking care of me. Even if I could get my own paperwork. I walked over to my seat and noticed that the eyes of several other females in the room were all directed toward Grant. Of course they were. He stood out. His low voice as he spoke to the lady at the check-in desk was enough to catch anyone’s attention. But the view of his backside in those jeans was also very hard to look away from. The lady closest to him sat up straighter and crossed her legs. She also adjusted her bra, pushing her boobs up so that her cle**age was hard to miss. A flash of anger shot through me, and I felt my face get hot. I glared at her as she kept her attention completely trained on Grant. She flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder and tugged her skirt up just a little so more of her thigh was showing. What the hell?

Grant turned around with the clipboard, and his gaze instantly found mine. For a moment, I felt better. Then the blonde’s voice stopped him.

“Grant Carter?” she cooed in a sultry voice that couldn’t have been her real voice. Grant stopped and glanced back at the woman who had fixed herself up for his attention. He paused and then smiled. My stomach felt sick.

“Melody?” he replied, as if he wasn’t sure if that was her name or not.

She beamed up at him like he had said the most wonderful thing in the world. I was officially nauseated. And I was jealous. Completely jealous. Because he was smiling at her. “What are you doing here? Never expected to see Grant Carter at my gyno’s office.” As if she hadn’t seen him walk in with me.

Grant turned to me, and his grin grew. “I’m here with my . . .” He paused. It was only a brief pause, but in that moment, it felt like he had sliced me with a knife. He didn’t even know what I was to him. He hadn’t thought about it. “Girlfriend,” he finished, before winking at me and turning back to Blondie with the big boobs.

Blondie barely glanced my way, and then she did a double take. When I walked next to Grant in a room full of women, no one paid attention to me, so I hadn’t been recognized. I hated that my face was so well known now.

“Is that . . . oh, my God, it is,” she said in a surprised voice.

Grant moved fast. He was in front of me, taking my hand and pulling me up against him in seconds, moving me toward the door leading out of the waiting room. “She needs privacy,” he informed the lady at the desk, and she seemed to understand completely and nodded as he closed the door behind us.

A nurse met us in the empty hallway. “This way,” she said as she opened a door to an exam room and waved for us to go inside. “Have Miss Manning fill out the paperwork, and I’ll be back shortly to get it.” I was a little dizzy from how quickly that had happened. Grant had moved fast. He hadn’t taken time to say good-bye to Melody or make any explanations.