Free Her Baby Secret (Friends & Lovers Book 1) by Jaye Diane

was exhausted.
    Robyn turned off the bedside lamp and picked up the remote to turn off the television but before she could turn it off, there was a knock at the door. Sighing, Robyn got off the bed and went to the door, opening it quickly. Her stomach seemed to drop when she saw Devin standing there, looking so sexy and handsome that she wanted to melt.
    He'd changed into a white T-shirt that put all his muscles on display, along with green flannel pajama bottoms. Her fingers twitched as she remembered running her fingers over his hard sculpted chest, loving the light sprinkling of hair that trailed down to his waistband.
    “Can we talk?” He asked, stepping into the room and closing the door before she could answer.
    She turned the lamp back on and sat on the bed wordlessly, resigned to this confrontation. She could refuse to talk to him but she didn't want to cause a scene. Her parents, as well as his, were sleeping in bedrooms right down the hall. And there was, of course, the fact that she missed him. She wanted to be near him despite that fact that she shouldn't want to, even if only for a few minutes.
    “I don't want us to hate each other, Robyn,” He said simply, standing in front of her. “We were great friends... I don't think it’s right that our...failed relationship...should stop us from being friends again.”
    Robyn knew that he was trying to extend the olive branch but each of his words felt like a stab to the heart. She was in love with him and he wanted to be friends ? She swallowed a lump in her throat.
    “Why wouldn't you talk to me that night?” Robyn demanded. “When you broke up with me, why was I not even worth talking to then ? What was different between then and now?”
    “I'm sorry,” Devin said, having the good sense to look shameful. “I was so wrong to act like that. All I can say is that I was mad and hurt. I guess I let my pride get in the way.”
    “What?” Robyn asked incredulously. “ You were hurt and mad? How do you think I felt? You're the one who dumped me.”
    “What did you expect me to do, Robyn?” He sounded a little irritated. “I wasn't going to sit around in a bad relationship where I clearly wasn't wanted. I don't blame you for that. I just wish you would have told me how you felt. But that's over with now. I don't want to keep bringing up the past. I'm worried about our future.”
    Robyn's mouth was hanging open and she couldn't even speak, so profound was the level of shock she felt. He was blaming their breakup on her? What the hell was wrong with him?
    “A bad relationship?” She squeaked. “What the hell are you talking about, Devin? You're not making any sense right now. You're trying to put this all off on me, as if it's all my fault?”
    “Of course it's not your fault,” Devin said, frowning. “I didn't mean it like that. But it started becoming so obvious that your feelings were changing... Anyway, can we move on? I want us to get past this. You mean a lot to me, Robyn.”
    Robyn was having trouble processing everything that he'd said. He'd dumped her out of the blue and somehow thought that it was all her fault? It didn't make any sense.
    “I'm really not understanding this,” Robyn whispered, the godawful tears stinging her eyes. She willed herself not to cry but she had no control over her emotions. “What are you talking about, my f-feelings w-were ch-changing? What does that mean?” She ended on a wail and slapped her hands over her face in horror.
    Stop it right now, Robyn! She berated herself. But it was too much. It was all too much. All these weeks of missing him, the pain present all day, no matter what she did. Now he was here, on Christmas Eve, telling her that not only did he blame her for their breakup but that he wanted them to be friends? She threw herself back onto the bed and pulled the pillow over her face, weeping uncontrollably.
    She felt the bed dip and Devin picked her up, pulling her onto his lap. She buried her face in