LAUREN
âMotherfucking curse,â Lauren said, slapping the steering wheel as she drove to Loganâs event.
Instead of getting her shot at the clinic, sheâd gotten a blood test, which confirmed beyond a doubt that she was pregnant. While she couldnât determine yet which sex romp had given her the baby, she had a feeling it was that first one.
On Valentineâs Day.
It had to be because apparently, there was no other significant day for her in the year.
Her nerves were next level at the thought of telling Logan, but she wouldnât tell him tonight. She just hoped he wouldnât be able to notice anything off with her and jump to his own conclusions.
Then a thought hit her, and her stomach dropped.
~Heâll know as soon as he sees that Iâm not drinking wine.~ Then another thought compounded her anxiety. ~With all the strong smells, Iâll be in and out of the bathroom all night. Someone will definitely hear me throwing up or notice me getting dizzy.~
Her tight dress suddenly too tight, she looked down at her stomach. The doctor had assured her she wasnât showing yet, but paranoia forced her to reach over the seats and grab her coat so she could wear it tonight, which was a shame because she looked good.
Lauren had straightened her hair, worn her pumps, and put on her maroon lipstick to bounce off the dark tan of her skintight dress. It was high necked and thigh length with no sleeves, but no one would get to see that.
Leaving her car with the valet and pulling on her coat, she went to her front-door team, trying to focus and put her mind into work mode. It didnât work. She was scatterbrained; her tasks that were usually so neatly organized in her head werenât even there.
Luckily for her, her team knew exactly how she liked things, and they had set everything up the night before. The place looked exactly as she had envisioned.
The music pulsed at a nice volume, releasing a collection of soft instrumentals. The lights were at the perfect brightness, offering the huge venue a warm ambiance that was on the edge of intimate. The decor was understated, leaving the focus on the hotel itself.
The ballroom where the opening was being catered was already bustling with people celebrating Logan Hawkeâs success. They all had smiles on their faces and drinks in their hands, so she took that as her success too.
Lauren smiled tightly as she headed into the ballroom taking deep breaths. Since she declined to have her coat taken, the warmth of the space, on the hotter side of warm, made her perspire, so she quickly moved through it to the kitchen.
Checking with the caterers, she made sure they were doing okay, but the sharp smell of prawns and seafood hit her deeply. Holding back a gag, Lauren smiled tightly at the chef and backed out. She held her finger under her nose, trying to keep the sick at bay.
Turning away from the kitchen, Lauren collided with a wall of a man with a spicy scent she knew well. She tilted her head up to face Logan, and his presence dissipated her sickness along with the oxygen around her. Dizziness at seeing him again struck her, and she swayed.
He reached out and steadied her on her heels, and she sucked in a breath at the burning of his touch, stepping back.
She cleared her throat. âLogan, Mr. Hawke, hi,â she said, pulling her coat tighter and licking her lips.
He gave her a smile that was full of charm and charisma, his eyes sparkling as they roamed over her. âLauren. Nice to see you again.â He gestured with his hand toward the ballroom. âYouâve done amazing.â
She smiled and relaxed her posture. âThanks,â she said, truly grateful for the praise from her biggest client. And thatâs who he was right now. Not her ex-lover, not her babyâs father, a client.
Needing to get away from him before she forgot that, she said, âI should go. I need toââ
âYou donât need to run away, Lauren. I agreed to be professional, and so did you,â he said. Then he grabbed his lapels and stood tall. âWhich means, I wonât bite unless you ask me to.â He flashed her his billionaire smile, and she swooned.
Unable to stop the corners of her lips from curling up, she said, âIâm working.â She managed to hold back the words ~maybe another night~ from escaping her mouth, but only just. She hated how her brain broke when he was close to her, and he was really close.
His body brushed against hers, causing her back to press against the wall by the kitchen doors. She swallowed hard, looking up at him as he stared down at her. There were so many unsaid things between them, and if he kept staring at her like this, sheâd buckle and tell him.
âLogan, Iâve been looking for you,â a feminine, sweet, and perky voice said, floating over Loganâs shoulder into their highly charged bubble.
Logan turned with a start, and Lauren recognized her as the woman from his apartment building, the brunette with red lips and a stunning smile.
Hostility shook through Lauren as the woman approached, eyes friendly and hand reaching out, but Lauren stepped away from them. âIâm going to go check on the bar. Excuse me, Mr. Hawke,â she said through gritted teeth and went back to the party.
***
Professionally, Lauren was having a great night. The event was running flawlessly well, everyone who was anyone knew her name, and all the guests were having a great time on the dance floor, especially Logan and his pretty brunette.
Personally, though, she was a mess. Her head swam, her feet hurt, and her nausea was at an all-time high. Her morning sickness wasnât just a morning issue, so she hadnât eaten or drunk anything all night.
On top of that, her jaw hurt from the fake smile she had plastered on, the mask she had put in place exhausting her further. But she needed it so she didnât wince every time she looked over and saw Logan with his date.
Her last straw came with the sweltering heat caused by wearing a coat over a dress in a fully packed ballroom. Her head swimming and the room spinning, Lauren stumbled to the bathroom, holding the wall to catch her bearings as she went.
Shrugging out of her coat once inside, she sank onto one of the small settees, putting her head in her hands. Lauren took deep breaths while she waited for the floor tiles to stop spinning.
The door opened, and high heels clicked into the bathroom. They went to the sink, the water turned on then off, and they came over to where Lauren could see them, the Jimmy Choo sandals showing off perfectly manicured feet.
An equally perfectly manicured hand came into her line of sight, holding a moistened paper towel. âYou okay, hon?â that perfectly feminine voice asked.
Taking the paper towel and putting it on the back of her neck, Lauren sat up. Her vision blurred slightly, but then it focused on the tall, slender woman with luscious brunette hair and red lips.
Lauren nodded, and when the woman handed her a bottle of water, Lauren said, âThank you.â She was grateful for the water but not the company, so she avoided eye contact as she drank the cool liquid.
Her heart raced along with her mind at what sheâd say to Loganâs new fling, but at least her stomach seemed to be okay with water.
âWe havenât properly met yet,â the woman said. âIâm Whitney Hawke. My cousin has told me so much about you.â