Chapter Four - Key card

"What sort of question is that?", Lucas asked Angel. He was a bit embarrassed and he didn't like the fact that she was making a big deal out of it.

"You are avoiding my question Lucas', Angel said, she was getting upset herself.

"I think you should leave ", Lucas said calmly, he got down from the bed and went to take a shower. By the time he was back, she was gone. Lucas was relieved, he wasn't in the right state of mind to deal with Angel.

Angel was his best friend's kid sister. Immediately Angel came back from Canada, he made it her mission to seduce Lucas. Out of respect for his friend Kingston, Lucas had told him about his younger sister's advances. Kingston told her that Angel was simply infatuated and would calm down soon but the reverse was the case. She fired on, one particular evening, Kingston and Lucas had come back to his bachelor pad to watch football together and what greeted them was shocking. Angel was waiting in Lucas' sitting room stark naked. Kingston left immediately, furious and embarrassed. At some point, Lucas decided to have a talk with Angel, "I am not looking for a romantic relationship right now", he had said hoping to put her down gently. But that didn't help, she suggested they become friends with benefits, and for two years, their arrangement worked for both of them.

Until a few minutes ago when couldn't get it up. As he slept that evening his thoughts centered on Claire, he just had to see her again. There was something about her that drew him in, he just had to see her again.

After his meetings the following morning, Lucas stopped by the mall to buy a few items. He had no idea what she would like but he decided to buy her a life-size teddy bear, and a few toiletries. As he approached the hospital, Lucas became worried. He hoped she had not been discharged, he just had to see her again.

He was happy when he got there and he was told he could go in and see her.

"Mr Steele, you came back", Claire said with a smile, Lucas could see that she was better.

"pls sit", she said as she pointed to a seat close to the bed. He sat down and just stared at her with a smile on his face, Lucas couldn't hide the joy and relief that she was still there at the hospital.

"You seem to be content just looking at me", Claire said with a smile, his stare was making her feel a bit shy.

"I am sorry for staring. You're just so beautiful", Lucas said, "and please call me Lucas", he added.

Claire couldn't stop herself from giggling, she had never been so openly admired by a man as handsome as Lucas.

For most of her life, Ethan was her only definition of male beauty. But as she looked at Lucas, she knew what people called a sex god. His lips, eyes, jawline, and full head of hair were just the parts of him, she could see. She found herself wondering what the rest would look like. a part of her knew she would be pleasantly surprised. As she admired him openly, Claire looked up and saw that Lucas had seen her admire him.

She blushed and covered her face and Lucas laughed.

They both sat in silence for a while before Lucas broke the silence.

"I thought about you all night, is everything alright with you.", he asked, "I mean health-wise ", he added.

Claire couldn't understand why she felt so comfortable around Lucas, he was literally a stranger.

"I am pregnant ", she blurted out, and my blood pressure was usually high that day.

Lucas stayed mute and Claire concluded that she had scared him away with news of her pregnancy.

Truthfully she preferred he walk away now, than stick around and hurt get later.

"And the father?", he asked.

"We just got divorced", Claire answered.

When the silence between them lingered for too long, Claire started rambling, "I am not looking for a lover right now. I am have been through a very difficult marriage and right now I just want to have a healthy pregnancy. And most importantly I need a house, I need a place to build a home for my child. I don't want to go back to a hotel room".

"then let me help you. I have a couple of homes I can show you", Lucas said.

And that was how it started a week after Claire moved into a well-furnished duplex.

Lucas was everywhere, he helped with the interior decoration of her apartment, he joined her for her prenatal classes. Lucas couldn't get enough of Claire, he would bring over breakfast or cook them himself. Sometimes if he had meetings early in the morning, he would order food for her. Dinners were their special time, after which they would play games together. Claire didn't know anyone could enjoy her company so much, Lucas genuinely looked like he enjoyed being with her. One night she woke up with a panic attack. Why was Lucas caring for her so much, her thought drifted to Ethan and she remembered how he couldn't stand being in the same room with her. One thing was sure, she was going to confront him.

Throughout that day, Lucas was on her mind. That morning he had sent her breakfast because he had an early meeting.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she was.

What did an extremely handsome man like Lucas want with an ordinary woman like her, a pregnant one at that. Her thoughts were distracted by a knock on her door.

Lucas had complained that morning, that he had lost the key card to her apartment, Claire assumed that was why he was knocking. Normally he would just let himself in.

She looked at her watch, this was two in the afternoon. Claire doubted Lucas would come so early, but she also wasn't expecting anyone else. So it had to be him, Claire looked through the peephole and sighted Lucas' face cap. She unlocked her door and opened it. It wasn't Lucas, it was a woman, one she had never seen before.

"Sorry, looking for someone ?", Claire asked.

"I think I have found her", the woman replied.