4: Chapter 4

RYAN

“Marco, what are you doing here?” asked Ryan, shocked to see Marco at her front door at seven in the morning on her day off.

“I got the results,” he said, holding his phone up.

“I know; so did I.” She blinked at him sleepily.

“I tried to call you.”

“Yeah, I was busy last night,” she said, rolling her eyes as he walked right past her into her house. “Come on in.”

“Do you own this?” he asked, glancing around the clean, minimalist front hallway.

“My house? No, I’m renting.” She liked her house, but she was barely here what with work taking up so much of her time. It hadn’t seemed worth it to go through all the paperwork to buy.

He nodded. “Pack your things.”

“I beg your pardon?” She turned to him, hands on her hips, half-convinced she must’ve heard him wrong.

Marco sighed and followed her as she retreated to the kitchen. “We’re having a baby together.”

“I know that. What does that have to do with me packing?” Ryan flipped on her coffee pot, then remembered she’d already brewed some coffee a few minutes ago. “I’ll let you know about every doctor’s appointment if you want to go.”

He shook his head before flinging himself into one of her kitchen chairs. “I think we should at least try to have a relationship. Be real parents to this kid.”

“Fine,” she said, pouring them both cups. “We can go out to dinner some night.”

He leaned back in his chair. “We will. You’re still moving in with me, though.”

Her pager went off before she could respond further. She glanced down at it and groaned. “I have to go.” She chugged the still-hot coffee as fast as she could, put her cup in the sink, and headed to her bedroom to get dressed.

In the en suite bathroom, she splashed some water on her face and pulled on her cleanest pair of scrubs. It really was supposed to be her day off. It wasn’t fair that she had to deal with an emergency call-in and Marco Livingston at the same time.

When she stepped out, Marco was sitting on her bed. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“I thought I’d pack for you,” he said, and she realized he’d successfully located her suitcase under the bed.

“I never agreed to move in with you,” she protested.

He shrugged and went to open her closet. “I didn’t ask if you wanted to move in; I said you were moving in, end of discussion. Are you going to stand here and argue with me or go to work?”

“I don’t have time for this,” she said, throwing up her hands and snatching her phone from the bedside table. “I’ll call you when I can.”

He laid her suitcase on her bed and started folding her shirts into it. “Tony is outside. He’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“I have a car,” she said, deciding not to fight him about the packing for now.

“I won’t have you driving my son around in that death trap; it’s unsafe. I’ll pick you up when you’re finished.”

She wanted to argue with him, but she didn’t have time; she had an emergency surgery to do. “We’re not done here,” she warned, and then she turned and walked away.

As Marco had suggested, a limo sat waiting for her in the driveway. “Ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath as she slid into the backseat. Then she glanced up at the driver. Tony? She thought Marco had said his name was Tony.

“Not you, sorry,” she said. “I appreciate you giving me a ride. It’s your boss who’s ridiculous.”

Tony made eye contact in the rearview mirror. “Don’t be too hard on him; he’s trying.”

***

“He did what?” Anna demanded incredulously. It was several hours later in the hospital break room; Ryan’s surgery had gone well, and now she had time to be outraged about Marco.

“Woke me up at seven demanding that I move in with him, told me my car was shit, and started packing my stuff,” she said, listing off his crimes on her fingers.

“Maybe he just wants to try, see if you guys can be together?” Anna suggested.

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Anna.”

Anna reached for her hand. “I am on your side. But there’s nothing wrong with trying to be a family.”

“I’m going to check on my patients and then go home for a nap,” Ryan announced, ignoring this. The pregnancy and her hours were really draining her.

She was happy to see that neither Tony nor Marco was waiting outside for her. Happy, and also a little annoyed that this meant she had to catch a cab. When she got home, she found that Marco’s car was still in her driveway.

“Fucking shit,” she swore as she walked up to her door. As she approached the bedroom, she called, “Why are you still here?”

Marco pointed to the many suitcases now spread across her floor. She didn’t think she even owned that many. Had Marco gone out and bought her new suitcases?

“Packing,” he explained. He held up a vibrator. “I don’t think you’ll be needing this, though.”

“Give me that,” she snapped, taking it from him.

He laughed. “I’m willing to bet I can help you out a lot better than a piece of plastic.”

The sad thing was, that offer was actually tempting. Ryan was tired and insanely turned on from pregnancy hormones; she wanted nothing more than to push this stupid, sexy billionaire down on the bed and ride him until his dick fell off.

Instead, she tossed the vibrator aside, where it landed on top of some clothes in an open suitcase.

“I need a shower,” she announced, disappearing to the bathroom. A moment later, she came right back out. “Where’s all my shampoo and shit?”

“Packed,” said Marco, pointing to the same bag where she’d thrown her vibrator.

“Fucking hell,” she said, grabbing soap, shampoo, conditioner, and—why not?—the vibrator as well.

She continued to curse him under her breath as she eased her body under the warm, soothing spray. After a good wash, she felt relaxed enough to grab the vibrator, wanting to work out some of her frustration another way.

The on button clicked, but nothing happened. Apparently she had failed to charge her favorite toy. She swore again, louder.

“Need any help in there?” came Marco’s voice from outside the door. It sounded like he was biting back a laugh.

She yanked the door open, securely holding a towel over her boobs. “No.”

He caught his breath when he looked at her, eyes hot as they trailed up and down her dripping curves.

She bit her lip. It was harder to stay mad at him when he looked at her like that.

“Listen,” he said, earnest now. “You don’t…~have~ to move in with me. I can’t force you. I mean, I could, probably, but that would make me a kidnapper.”

“You are coming across like kind of a psycho,” she said, but she could hear that her voice had lost its bite.

“I had every intention of asking you out the morning after we slept together, but you ran away. Now…it feels too late to just go on a date like there’s nothing else at stake.”

“It’s not too late,” she said. “I already said I’d go on a date with you. I’m pretty busy with work, but…”

“Let’s cut to the chase,” he said decisively. “This pregnancy may not be an ideal situation, but I’d really like to see if we can be a couple. And I think living together is the best way to do that.”

She had to admit, it made some sense. “If we can’t stand each other—” she started.

“Then you can move out. And I guess I’ll be, like, a weekend dad. But I don’t want that. It would be better for him”—he moved forward to put a gentle hand on her stomach through the towel—“to live with both parents. Right?”

She nodded. “You’re right, and I’m willing to try. Let me just put some clothes on and you can show me where you live.”

Hopefully she’d at least have her own room. She really needed to charge her toy and get some alone time, stat.