Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Harper
Laurel, Charlotte, and I climbed out of the cab, entered the medical building, and took the elevator up to the third floor. After signing in, I sat next to my best friends as we waited for them to call my name.
“Thanks for coming with me.”
“You know we wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Charlotte smiled.
“Yeah. We told you we’d be with you every step of the way,” Laurel spoke.
“Harper.” I heard my name called.
Getting up from our seats, I weighed in, and then we were taken to room three, where we waited for Dr. Graham to come in.
“You only gained three pounds. Is that normal?” Laurel asked. “Shouldn’t you have like gained more?”
“I think three pounds is enough right now.” I laughed.
“Good afternoon.” Dr. Graham smiled as she stepped inside the room. “How are you feeling, Harper?”
“I’m feeling great, Dr. Graham. Except for being tired all the time.”
“That’s perfectly normal in your first trimester. As soon as you hit your second trimester, that will subside. Lay down for me and pull up your shirt.”
She grabbed the transducerand pulled the ultrasound machine closer to the table. After squeezing the warm gel on my belly, she placed the transducer on me, pressed down, and began moving it around.
“Here’s your baby, Harper.” She smiled.
Tears filled my eyes as I watched the screen and saw my baby for the first time.
“And here’s the heartbeat. Nice and strong.”
Charlotte and Laurel both gave my hands a squeeze as they watched the monitor.
“Ah, look at that little peanut,” Charlotte spoke.
“Everything looks good, Harper. Your baby is growing right on schedule.” Dr. Graham took a cloth, wiped the gel from my belly, and helped me up.“Here are a couple of pictures for you, and I’ll see you in one month.” She smiled. “If you have any difficulties or something doesn’t seem right to you, call me.”
“Thank you, Dr. Graham.”
As we walked out of the medical building, I couldn’t stop staring at the picture of my baby.
“That was so cool,” Laurel said. “Who’s in the mood for Thai?”
The restaurant was pretty crowded, but we were lucky enough to get a table by the window. After placing our order, I picked up my water, took a sip, and prepared myself to tell them I’d slept with Grayson.
“So, Harper, how’s Grayson doing?” Laurel asked.
“Funny you should ask. I slept with him two nights ago.”
“What?!” Charlotte blurted out. “And you’re just telling us now?”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I wanted to wait until today to tell you in person.”
“How was he?” Laurel asked. “We want every last detail.”
“It was magical. I can’t even put the experience into words. I’d never felt that way during sex before,” I spoke as I chewed my bottom lip.
“Shit. So now what?”
“I don’t know. The other night, I made dinner for him, and he brought me a dozen pink roses. Then the next morning, he bought me a cranberry muffin from Starbucks and gave it to me when I got into the office.”
“Isn’t that what you shared the first time you met?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“That’s so romantic. It sounds like someone is in love,” Laurel spoke.
“I’m going to his place for dinner tomorrow night, and he asked me to stay the night.”
“Shit. Seriously? I need to meet this guy,” Laurel said. “It’s not fair that Charlotte already did. I feel left out.” She pouted.
“You’ll meet him soon. I promise.” I let out a light laugh.
“Don’t you think this is happening a little too fast?” Charlotte asked.
“Maybe it is, but it just feels right. I think he’s the one. The man I’ve been searching for my entire life.”
“Whoa.” Charlotte put her hand up. “You barely know this guy. The timing seems weird to me. You decide tohave a baby on your own, and then suddenly, this guy appears in your life, gives you a job, moves you into the building his company owns, and doesn’t give a shit that you’re pregnant with someone else’s baby. I don’t know, Harper. Something is bothering me about this whole situation. Grayson Rhodes is a millionaire,and he’s number one on the New York’s most eligible bachelor’s list. Guys like him don’t settle down. Especially with a woman who’s pregnant.”
I was growing angrier by the moment listening to her spew her words.
“You sound like you’re jealous, Charlotte.”
“I’m not jealous, Harper. I’m being honest with you. This isn’t like you, especially after what happened with Kevin. The most important thing in your life is that baby you’re carrying, and that’s what you should be focusing on. Not a man like Grayson Rhodes.”
“Charlotte, I think you should just stop,” Laurel spoke.
“Why? Because I love her enough to express my feelings about this situation. I don’t trust a man like him, and you shouldn’t either.” She pointed at me.
“What’s this really about?” I asked. “Are you implying I’m not good enough for someone like him? That I’m only destined to date assholes?” I voiced louder than I should have.
“That is not what I’m saying. I don’t want to see you get hurt again. You’re trusting way too quickly, and I think you’re not using your head when it comes to Grayson Rhodes.”
“No!” I stood up from my chair. “You’re just jealous because you can’t find a decent man of your own. You’re just a lonely hairstylist who keeps getting ghosted by every guy you meet up with. I’m not hungry anymore. I’m going home.” I walked away.
“Harper, wait!” Laurel exclaimed, and I ignored her and left the restaurant.
I was furious with what Charlotte said. How dare she? She’d always been honest and opinionated, but she took it too far this time. I went home, threw my purse down, and started the water for a bath. I was hurt. So hurt by my best friend’s actions.
The last time I’d heard from Grayson was last night when he texted me goodnight. I needed to reach out to him, so I sent him a text message.
“Can you talk for a minute?”
A moment after I sent that text message, my phone rang, and it was him.
“Hello.”
“Hey. I only have a few minutes. I’m on my way to a meeting. Are you okay?”
When I heard the sound ofhis voice, the anger I’d felt went away.
“Yeah. I just wanted to talk for a minute.”
“I can tell by the sound of your voice that something is wrong. Talk to me, Harper.”
“It’s silly. I just had a fight with Charlotte, and I said some things I shouldn’t have.”
“What did you argue about?”
I couldn’t very well tell him that the argument was about him and how Charlotte didn’t trust him.
“It was really nothing. I’m sorry to have bothered you with this. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Don’t apologize. You’ll work things out with Charlotte. She’s your best friend, and the two of you can’t stay mad at each other for very long. Listen, I just got to my meeting, so I have to go. Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Thanks for calling.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll call you later tonight.”
“Okay.”
I ended the call, climbed into the bathtub, and then changed into my pajamas. It was only four o’clock, but I didn’t care. I was tired, and I just wanted to be comfortable. Plus, I wasn’t going anywhere the rest of the night, and I had projects to work on that Curtis sent me.