Maid for Him.

Chapter Three

***

Breaking out into the warmth of the sunshine, Tess removed her cardigan. She shoved it into her bag and made her way towards the subway. The thought of getting home and putting her feet up kept her powering forward, through the crowds of people. GG let her go early, and she'd jumped at the chance, finding spare pools of energy these days was becoming almost impossible. Hopefully, when she got home she could relax and stop obsessing over her late-night visitor.

She realized she'd gotten ahead of herself. The surprise of seeing Cole standing there after all these months and to see he wasn't the vulnerable character she'd created in her head since she'd seen that photo of him in the wheelchair, had thrown her. In some way, him, being abled-body made it easier to fight him if he tried to take the baby. The last thing she would want to do was to take his happiness if he was already in despair over his accident and not being able to walk. Yes, the fact he looked like the old Cole helped immensely. That was the Cole she hated, the Cole who deserved to suffer. If he even so much as thought about suggesting he take the child she'd use GG's swords to rip him apart.

"You shouldn't be out walking by yourself at this stage of pregnancy."

At the sound of Cole's voice, Tess spun around to face him. "Oh, for goodness sake, don't be ridiculous."

"What if you go into labor?"

"I'm more concerned about being followed by a stalker. Speaking of stalkers, what are you doing here Cole?"

"Just looking out for you." He fell into step with her as she rushed, to the best of her ability, along the path.

She stopped briefly to face him, "I don't want, nor need the likes of you, looking out for me. Now leave me alone."

She continued on down the street, trying her hardest to ignore the fact he was watching her. She weaved between the swarms of people rushing around on their lunch breaks. That was New York for you, people never seemed to rest. Everything was a rush, squeezing in dry cleaning drop off, shopping and doctor's appointments during lunch breaks. Everything but eating their lunch, unless it was coupled with a business meeting and some million-dollar deal. She didn't feel like she fit in here anymore.

Tess glanced behind her checking to see if Cole had been lost in the crowd. Unfortunately, he was still there, striding along, like a man on a mission. It gave her a twinge of excitement to know, she was that mission. Cole's hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her out of the crowd and into a small café. "You need to eat and we need to talk, come on."

He guided her to a small booth in the furthest back corner. It was a quaint little place with yellow lighting and polished wood floors. Each booth had a small lace curtain that could be pulled across for privacy. She didn't argue with Cole, she was hungry and hadn't eaten properly for days, she'd been too busy and too tired to bother.

Rubbing her pregnant belly, she noticed how round and hard it had become. Thoughts of her future child danced through her mind, would he be tall like his father or petite like her? Would he have Cole's deep brown eyes and the chiseled jawline that Cole insisted was a Washington men's trait? Would he be kind-hearted and artistic, a little bit crazy and quirky like her or serious and academic like his father?

She was keen to meet the little guy but the added complication of Cole could be a blessing or a disaster. The fact remained, she couldn't keep working and she couldn't afford the place she had. Something needed to give and maybe this was the universe's twisted way of helping her out. She picked up the cardboard menu that coupled as a table number. They had unwittingly sat at number three, her lucky number. As silly as it might seem she saw this as a sign that everything was how it should be.