Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (big screen ebook reader txt) 📗

and drawing out my ideas. The images I showed off to Becca were far different than what I ended up with, but I was happy with the final results. It was even better than I had imagined.

I needed to add another coat of sealant spray to make sure the paint remained intact for as long as possible. But that would have to wait until the next day. The first coat needed a chance to dry and cure, so I decided I would return the next morning to truly finish it off.

“It looks amazing,” a woman said as she walked past holding the hand of her little child.

I remembered her as one of the mothers I had seen a few times before while working on the project. I smiled at her.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m just finished it up.”

She nodded. “I’ve been watching the progress. It’s great.”

“Thank you so much.”

The little girl tugged on her hand, trying to compel her to the playing field. She laughed and waved at me. I returned the wave and watched them walk away before packing up my tools. I was still smiling from the compliment when I got into the car and drove home.

Thinking about nothing more than the rumbling of hunger in my stomach, I unlocked the front door. I was considering indulging a particularly strong craving for Indian food as I walked into the house when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Stopping in my tracks, I turned to look.

The movement I noticed was Ethan flipping a pregnancy test around in his hands as he sat on the couch and stared at it. My breath caught in my throat, and heat shot up the back of my neck and onto my cheeks. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, and cold sweat broke out on my skin.

Instinctively, my hand went to my pocket to find my phone. Only, it wasn’t there. I remembered I’d stuffed it into my bag along with my paints. That meant it was in the car. My hand moved out of my pocket and brushed briefly across my belly. Thinking about the vulnerable, fragile baby inside, my fear shifted to anger.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, demanding his attention. “Get out of my house.”

Ethan looked up at me coolly, unaffected by the intensity of my voice. He glanced down at the pregnancy test again, then at me, holding it up.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“You went through my drawers? How dare you.”

It was the only way he could have gotten the test. As shocked and unsure of my emotions as I was the day I found out I was pregnant, I still wanted to remember it. I’d kept one of the tests I took and tucked it away in my drawer as a memento. Now, Ethan was holding it.

His face still devoid of emotion and his body language disturbingly calm almost to the point of being subdued, he looked at the plastic stick again.

“There’s no result on it,” he said.

“They fade.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was too surreal to be standing there in my living room, explaining the function of a pregnancy test to Ethan. I still couldn’t figure out how he even got into my house. Now I was wondering what else he had gone through, how much more he violated my space.

“So?” he asked.

It wasn’t an entire question, but I knew exactly what he was asking. Part of me hesitated. If I denied it, maybe it would be safer. But on the other hand, maybe not. Besides, I was tired of bending to him. He didn’t control my life anymore. He wasn’t even a part of it. I wanted him gone, and he needed to face reality.

“I’m pregnant, Ethan.”

His eyes widened, and he put the test down before standing up like he was going to take a step toward me. I held my ground even though I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. His tone surprised me, sounding almost happy. “This is incredible.”

“What?” I asked.

“We’re going to have a baby,” he said.

I shook my head adamantly. “No, Ethan. No, we are not going to have a baby. I’m having a baby. You aren’t the father.”

“Of course I am.”

“Listen to me. This is not your baby. This is Jordan’s baby,” I said.

He shook his head, a look approaching maniacal on his face. “That’s supposed to be our child. We’re supposed to have children together.”

“No. We aren’t. I broke up with you. It’s over between us. It has been for a long time. You need to move on and leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that, Hannah. Especially now. You’re pregnant, and I’m going to make it right,” he said.

He was starting to really scare me. There was something off about his tone. He didn’t sound like he was thinking clearly.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“You don’t need to worry,” he said. “This is all going to be just fine. I read somewhere that if a woman is married to someone other than the biological father, it doesn’t matter. When the baby is born, the husband is automatically the father. It’s on the birth certificate and everything. No one has to know anything else.”

“We aren’t getting married,” I said. “You’re being completely crazy.”

Ethan took a threatening step toward me. His eyes flashed and his expression became angry and bitter. He made a menacing movement that put him between me and access to the front door. I couldn’t get out of the house, but I needed to get away from him. I ran as fast as I could to my room and slammed the door shut.

My hand shook as I locked the door, then ran into the bathroom and locked myself in there. If I’d been able to fit into the linen closet or in the cabinet under the sink, I probably would have gotten in. I wanted to put