He glanced at her profile, and the wan tone of her skin. “Have you been sick?” Jacob knew next to nothing about pregnancy and babies, but everyone knew about morning sickness. And that it didn’t just happen in the morning.
She nodded. “A little, not too much. Smells, more than anything, seem to set me off. The food in there was fine. The smell of the beer, though...was a little rough.”
“Sorry.” If he’d known he would have ordered differently.
“No, it’s okay. The tonic was perfect. Fizzy water with lime is my current go-to.”
“I’m just a few blocks. This way.” He started down the pavement and she kept step with him, her flats slapping lightly on the surface.
“No heels?”
“Not tonight.” She’d dressed down in jeans and the sweater and looked very cuddleable. “I’ve been saving them for the office. You’ll also be surprised to hear that I’m off coffee. The smell turns my stomach. I’ve started drinking my sister’s herbal teas.”
“You? Without caffeine?”
That coaxed a smile out of her. “I know. That’s how I knew. I smelled coffee and made a dash for the bathroom.”
His head was still swimming with the fact that she was pregnant and he was going to be a father. He had no business having a kid. He wasn’t the kind to settle down. While the danger was lessened, he still put himself in the line of fire in his job. He and his dad had muddled through as best they could, but he wanted more for his kid. Not just muddling through, but he had no idea how to do that. Especially how to do that when he lived in London and Charlie was in Paris.
Moreover, what did he have to offer that the Pembertons couldn’t provide? Never before had the gap in their lives seemed so large.
Their steps grew slower as they turned onto his street. “Richmond is lovely, isn’t it?” Charlotte said. “Look there, that little house with the cute door and the little garden. It’s like something out of a storybook.”
“I like it here. I started out by renting the ground floor for my business, and then ended up buying the building. It didn’t make sense for me to pay for two places when I could make my home upstairs. It’s a bit bigger than this place, though.”
When they finally stopped in front of his building, her eyes widened. “Oh. It is big. Larger than I expected.”
“The entire business is run from the ground floor. I have three employees plus me on staff, and everyone else works remotely, including my tech team. I live on the top two floors.” He turned to her. “Private security is lucrative, Charlie. I know you’ll say you don’t need it, but I can support my child.”
He unlocked the door and guided her through to the stairs that led to the second floor. As her steps echoed behind him, he had a sudden, jarring thought. She’d said she could do it on her own if she wanted to.
Did that mean she was considering not having the baby?
A war went on within his heart. He’d always supported a woman’s right to choose, and this was certainly unplanned. At the same ti
me, supporting her would come at a personal cost. A lump grew in his throat. He hadn’t planned to be a father, but life didn’t go to plan hardly ever. He would support her either way, even if it hurt.
“Are you all right?”
He’d been standing in front of the upstairs door for several seconds, but hadn’t opened it. He turned the knob and went inside, flicking on a light. “I’m fine. Just got into my head for a moment there.” He turned to face her. “Charlie, I have to ask you. Are you considering terminating this pregnancy?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHARLOTTE STARED AT HIM, stunned by his question. Had she given him that impression? If she had, it wasn’t deliberate. But she was very glad he’d asked her here and not in the pub.
“Can we sit down or something, please?” She’d said she was fine in the pub, but truthfully she hadn’t eaten any dinner and wasn’t feeling super great. Even the tonic water hadn’t settled her stomach. She was hungry, plain and simple.
“Of course.” He led her to a leather sofa and she sank down into the rich cushions. She looked around as he took a seat in the chair next to the sofa. This place suited him, and she liked it quite a bit. Rich wood and leathers, but lots of windows, which she guessed overlooked Richmond Green though she couldn’t tell now, in the deep of twilight. It was masculine but it was also ridiculously cozy. The kind of room where you could curl up with a book and a glass of wine and let the worries of the world fade away.
Maybe, because of his profession, that was just what he needed.
She clasped her hands and looked up at him. He was waiting for her to respond, but not pressuring. She answered him as plainly as possible. “I’m not now. I did consider it as one of my options, but I’ve decided to keep the baby.” His expression was inscrutable. “Would it have been a problem if I had?”
He held her gaze. “I would have supported you either way. But I’m not going to lie. I find myself relieved.”
She appreciated his honesty. And was glad to know he had feelings about it. She certainly had gone back and forth for a while. It had been hard telling the family, too. Charlotte was often the perfect by-the-book child. She was the one who didn’t make ripples or waves. A baby in the family was a big ripple.
And this was the first grandchild. A grandchild her father would never meet. She felt the pain of that every day.