* * *
Nikki had protested, but Kevin drove her home from the clinic. They drove in silence. Given the many confusing thoughts she was having, she figured he was lost in thought too.
When they passed by one of the local colleges, Nikki’s gaze was drawn to the wide-open spaces and people milling about. “I’d like to get out here.”
“Here?” He slowed the car. “Why?”
“I need air, space, time to think. I want to walk and feel the breeze against my face. I want to deal with everything I’ve learned in the last couple of days. Alone,” she added softly.
He hesitated, but slowed the car even more.
“I’m an adult. I can take a walk and grab the subway home. I can even take a cab if it makes you feel better, but please give me the space and respect I need.”
He pulled into the first open space on the side of the road. “Do you have money on you?”
“Do you think I’m a complete incompetent? I’ll be fine. I just want some time.”
He nodded. “Then you’ve got it”
“Thank you.” She got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She didn’t look back to see if Kevin watched or pulled away.
She walked for an hour on the Boston Common, watching the college kids alternatively lounging and studying by the water. Young and carefree. She used to be like them. She shook her head. She’d been one of them, yes. But like them? Maybe not. She’d always felt older than her years—due in part to the constant need to challenge her family’s concept that she was their baby.
And now she was having one of her own. With her hand over her stomach, she turned and headed toward the T—Boston’s subway system—to take her home. She took her seat and the ride passed in a blur, as she was still dazed by the morning at the clinic, and the sonogram picture in her purse.
No sooner did she get inside the apartment building and up the stairs, when what sounded like hammering reached her ears. She rounded the corner and came to her apartment. Curious, she walked faster.
She headed down the hall to find her door open wide, and Kevin on his knees, tools spread around him as he worked to replace the lock he’d damaged during his earlier break-in.
She came up behind him and leaned close. The heavenly scent of aftershave assaulted her senses. “Hi,” she whispered in his ear.
He jumped back and the screwdriver went flying out of his hand. “Damn, you shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that. Especially a man with a sharp object,” he muttered.
Nikki grinned, happy to have gotten the upper hand, even over something so trivial. It gave her hope for the future.
He grabbed for the wayward screwdriver. “The least you could do is say thank you,” he muttered.
“Thank you. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that I wouldn’t need the lock changed if someone hadn’t overreacted.”
“Don’t remind me.”
She stepped around him, intending to head inside her apartment. Instead she turned and knelt down beside him. “We have to come to some sort of agreement. A meeting of the minds.”
“What kind of agreement?” he asked.
“You have to let me live my life,” she said, thinking of their earlier argument in the doctor’s office.
The one revolving around her keeping her job. Thank goodness the doctor had agreed with Nikki—as long as she felt up to it and there were no signs of distress, she could continue working.
“I wish it were that simple, Princess.”
She shut her eyes against the sound of his voice and that word. “It’s as simple as you make it. I’m keeping my job.”
He nodded, recalling that the battle lines had been drawn. “Then I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
It did figure. The one time she didn’t want Kevin around, he had no intention of leaving. She’d just have to ignore his presence in her life, as difficult as she knew it would be.
She was responsible for herself and the life growing inside her. She welcomed the challenge. She just wished Kevin didn’t feel the same.