5. Bernadette

Though part of me had been hesitant about taking what felt a little like a handout in terms of a job from Lucas, I also knew that it was unlikely I was going to find anything as good so quickly. And the idea of being able to support myself and take some stress away from my mother was more than enticing enough.

What I had not known, though, was that I would be working so close to Lucas himself.

I had expected to maybe work at the front desk, or with one of his other associates, or at least in a separate room from him. But Lucas had other plans, and I had no choice but to go along with them.

When I arrived at the small and unassuming office building on the first day, I was directed by the very sweet older lady at the front desk to head up to the highest floor of the building and go into the first door out of the elevator.

I thanked her, then headed up, only to find that the first door was, in fact, the very large office of Lucas, complete with a desk that was waiting for me.

He smiled as I entered, standing up to come over to greet me.

"I didn't know I would be working with you," I said, taking his hand.

His eyebrows came together in a knot of confusion. "Sorry, I thought that had been obvious. Well, no problem; the fact is that I really needed an assistant as the company continues to get more and more busy. Don't worry, it's not too much work, you'll just be scheduling appointments for me, filing paperwork, screening calls, things of that nature. I can walk you through anything that you need help with."

"You don't have to worry about me," I replied. "I'm sure I can figure things out. Besides, it's probably best if we keep things professional."

"I guess it is. Well, this is your desk, let me show you around."

I was very aware of Lucas's hand on my lower back as he showed me over to my desk and gave me a mini tour of everything. It made my heart beat fast inside my chest and caused warm sensations to fill my stomach. I knew he probably meant nothing by it, but I was still sad when its presence left as he returned to his own desk.

"There's some paperwork for you to sort through, and I just need you to screen any calls that come. Think you can do that?" he asked.

I nodded. "Of course, shouldn't be too difficult."

"Good." He gave me a warm smile that sent flutters and butterflies all through my stomach. I hoped that my cheeks weren't showing the heat that I was feeling. Clearly, this was going to be a long day, and an even longer job if I didn't get over whatever it was that I felt for him.

Over the next few weeks, my feelings for Lucas only seemed to grow stronger and stronger.

I attributed part of this to the hormones that were now coursing through my body from the pregnancy, but part of it was also the way that Lucas approached our new working situation.

Working so close to him was one thing. I had a feeling that there was probably somewhere else where I could have worked in proximity to him that would have still allowed me to complete all the tasks he needed me to without being constantly in his presence.

But part of it was also the way that he treated me. It definitely wasn't the way that a boss should be treating an employee. Instead, he graced my ears with jokes and anecdotes throughout the day and always seemed to be finding an excuse to wander over to where I sat and place a hand on my shoulder or touch me in some other way.

This always sent so many electrical signals coursing through my body, heat sparking from wherever the point of contact was. I wondered if he even noticed how red my face became, or how flustered my words sounded whenever he was that close to me.

If he did, he probably just attributed it to nerves, instead of what it really was: attraction to my best friend.

To make matters worse, he continued to treat me as a friend would instead of as a boss, taking me out to lunches or making me eat with him. In this way, I only knew him at the company and had no one to really confide in or tell my worries to. But who would listen to me anyway? They would probably laugh and find it absolutely absurd.

It was on one of these days that things finally changed.

Lucas came over to my desk right before lunch was about to start with the widest smile on his face.

"That new sushi place around the corner is finally open today. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to check it out?" he said, leaning his elbows on my desk. He had that kind of smile that you just couldn't refuse. I couldn't refuse it, that was for sure…even if today had been the day I'd been telling myself I'd eat with some of the other employees.

"All right, fine," I said.

Lucas tilted his head to the side like a little puppy, reaching out to play with a strand of my hair. "Did you not want to come? You don't sound very eager?"

"No, I just had work I was going to do during lunch, but I can't refuse that face."

He laughed. "You know there's no need for you to work so hard. It's not like I'm going to fire you for slacking off because you took a break to eat lunch with me."

"I know." I couldn't bear to tell him the real reason why I hadn't thought I was going to have lunch with him today. Some small part of me feared that he might take it as a sort of betrayal and that was the last thing that I wanted. Besides, that also wasn't how it was at all. I just wanted someone to confide in with all the craziness that was going on in my life.

But I supposed that was what I got for hanging with the people that I did in college. A pregnancy and no other friends besides Lucas. At least, no friends who would actually care what was going on in my life if I wasn't inviting them to some crazy party.

"It's settled, then." Lucas straightened back up. "Let's head out to lunch, my treat."

I sighed and stood. "It's always your treat, when will you let it be mine? I'm definitely making enough to treat you to lunch every once in a while."

Lucas threw his head back and laughed. "Seriously Bella, it's okay. I know you may feel indebted, but that's the last thing I want. Just focus on your own health and saving up, and I'll make sure that you're taken care of."

"You know I can take care of myself."

He shrugged. "Sure you can. I never said that I doubted that. But it's not about that now, is it? Sometimes you have to let other people show you their love, and this is the way that I show mine."

If the two of us had been together, I could picture him right then leaning in to press a kiss to my forehead. But that was a dream that would never be true. I couldn't see bringing it up now, especially since we were in an even more precarious position than before. I didn't know how he would respond or what he would do if he didn't feel the same way.

Would things be awkward between us? I knew that was something that I couldn't deal with, especially not in my fragile and emotional state.

So instead of giving in to the fantasy that was playing itself out in my head, I followed him out of the office and down the street to the new sushi place that had just opened.

It was, of course, packed. But Lucas seemed to know whoever was in charge of seating and entered into an easy conversation with them. It wasn't long until the two of us were seated inside the busy little restaurant with menus in front of us and a promise from the owner that he would make sure our orders were brought to us as soon as possible.

"You certainly have a lot of connections," I remarked as I browsed through the menu.

"I suppose I do. They definitely come in handy at a time like this."

"How do you know the owner?"

"Let's just say I made an investment and it's paying off," Lucas said with a wink.

"Oh?" I smiled, raising my eyebrows. "Did you even taste their food before investing in them? Or did your greedy little stomach decide it was time for a new sushi restaurant?"

"Do you really think so lowly of me?" Lucas was grinning. He clearly enjoyed this kind of banter. "I already knew the owner, and the menu that he proposed sounded too delicious to pass up."

"Well, let's hope it lives up to expectations," I said, opening the menu in front of me. Everything on it did indeed look very delicious, so I wasn't surprised that Lucas had made sure the restaurant had opened its doors. "Can we share some things again?" I asked, not really wanting to make a choice.

"Sure, why not." He shrugged his shoulders with a smile and then helped me choose out a couple of items for the two of us to try. Despite my earlier argument, I was glad that he was paying for this place. The items that we had chosen weren't exactly cheap. And while I definitely could have afforded them, I don't know if my heart would have been able to take it.

After we ordered, we sat there in of silence for a while. It got me thinking, and I realized there was something I wanted to ask Lucas.

I was already having to dress in a particular way to hide the bump that was becoming more apparent by the day, and I knew it was only going to get worse. There was only so long that I would be able to hide the fact from my mother that I was pregnant, and I needed some answers on what I was supposed to do when the day happened that I was no longer able to hide it anymore and she started asking questions.

"Lucas?"

"Yes? What is it? Did you change your mind on the order?"

"No." I shook my head. "Actually, there was something I wanted to get your opinion on. When do you think I should tell my mother what's going on? There's only so much longer that I can hide this big of a secret from her." I gestured to my stomach. "She's already beginning to notice a pattern with the morning sickness. I think she's getting suspicious."

Lucas sighed. "In my mind, it's better to wait until the last moment possible. I think she'll be more understanding if you were trying to deal with it yourself."

"But what if she isn't? What if she kicks me out?"

"Then you can come to stay with me." He gave me a lopsided grin. "In fact, why don't you do it right now? It'll be easier to hide things from her that way, and you can just tell her you finally found your own place."

I shook my head, feeling as if I was about to cry. There were a million reasons why I couldn't do that. And on top of that, there was no way that I could tell him any of them.

If my feelings for him continued to grow, I worried that I would ruin our friendship for good.