The Billionaire's Pregnant Virgin

Chapter 9: A Night Out with Josh

An icy silence falls over the two of us in the garden. Cat stares into my eyes like she's never seen me before.

I cannot believe I just said that out loud, I chide myself. What is wrong with me?

"Catriona," I blurt out after an agonizing moment. "I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to—"

"Don't you have your yoga class now?" she interrupts in a sickly-sweet voice. "You don't want to be late."

She gets off the bench with the same effortless grace she must use on the runway. Her golden hair bounces after her until she's out of sight.

I bury my face in my hands, groaning into my palms. You royally messed that one up, didn't you, Isabel?

My hands drift down from my face to my neck as I throw my head back and look up at the sky. I swear to myself that I need to be more careful around the Cromwells.

I know that what I'm doing for Devin and Catriona is a very personal thing for their relationship, but they are employing me to do it. And I cannot forget that.

They're my bosses, not my friends.

A knot appears in my throat as I leave the garden to get ready for my yoga class. My head is swirling with ideas of how to set up personal boundaries, something I'll need to navigate for the next ten months or so.

***

After what feels like the longest week of my life, I'm relieved to find it's the weekend. Despite Cat's intense schedule, I actually have the night off to do what I want, to live life somewhat normally.

Even if it's just for a little while.

When I arrive at the Italian restaurant I picked out after reading good reviews, Josh is already there to greet me. He pulls me into his strong arms and hugs me tightly as the chauffeur rolls the car away.

"It's so good to see you," Josh murmurs into my hair.

"You too."

Josh always smells so good. I breathe his familiarity in, memories of all the good times we've had together over the years coming back.

We go into the restaurant and wait for a table. The hostess brings us to an undesirable one close to the kitchen. It's a far cry from the VIP seating Miguel gave Devin and me at Havana Kitchen.

After we peruse the menu and order our meals, Josh smiles at me from across the table.

"So..." he starts slowly. "Are you going to tell me how things are going?"

I fold my hands on the table and chew my bottom lip. I wonder if I should tell him just how strange things have been so far, what with my new intense schedule.

But I remember just how concerned Josh was when he found out I was going into surrogacy for the Cromwells. I ultimately decide not to worry him further and take the positive route.

Thankfully there's one good thing I can tell him.

"It's been interesting so far," I say carefully. "Devin Cromwell is actually really nice."

Josh raises one eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm," I assure him. "Like, really nice. Way different from the magazines make him out to be. Like, he took me to this restaurant he helped out just because he loves the food so much and..."

I realize the more I gush the wider the smile appears on my face. I try to temper it, but the damage is already done.

"You sound like you have a crush on him," Josh interjects.