Making a Difference ~Book 2 of The Difference Series~ [BWWM] (Major Editing)

「Seven」

You know that fear that comes across when there's a possibility of change? That's how I felt deep in my gut and heavy on my heart as I stood outside the doors of my job. It was the fear of losing everything I worked for over the past two years. It was something I held firmly deep under my thumb seeing as it took a while to accomplish after being beat down by two men that were supposed to love me. The fact I was still trying to climb to the top of my dreams, made meeting Leo even worse. I wanted nothing more to make my dreams come true and something deep in my gut told me he would be no different from the past relationships I had managed to free myself from.

A black car swung into the parking lot and halted almost perfectly in front of me. Leo stepped from the driver side killing all my suspensions on who could be sitting behind the wheel. After all, we were nothing more then a small business that ran a successful blog online so it wasn't as if we had clients that came to the building. Leo pulled the sunglasses from his face and hung the arm on his white t-shirt as he flashed me a grin. "Hello there, beautiful," he greeted as he rounded the car before using it to support his weight as he crossed his arms.

I had almost forgotten today was Friday. The day that I had made a deal with the devil to retrieve my possession. This was a bad idea. But, what choice did I have? Leo was dead set on trying to win my heart even though all the tell signs said my heart was forever locked under key. "Where are we going?" I asked springing a curiosity. I wondered where he had thought he could use to win me over.

"Nu uh uh," he tsked with the grin still wide on his face. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you." I sighed. "Why don't you drive to your place to drop off your car. I can follow you. That way you don't have to drive home afterwards."

Leo wasn't dumb. He was sly thing, but I wasn't falling for it. I shook my head returning the smile. "No, it's okay."

He shrugged. "Your choice," he said before swinging the passenger door open. I bit my bottom lip rattling my brain on how I could get my flash drive back without actually going on this date with him but came up blank. This was a disaster waiting to happen just like every other guy I had been out with, but there was no getting out of it. I finally decided to stop fighting the inedible and made my way into the passenger seat of the car. Leo closed the door and rounded the car once more to take his seat again while I buckled myself into the seat. "How was work?" he asked as if trying to make conversation as we drove down the road in silence.

"It was fine" was all I could think to say. After all, work wasn't something I talked about with anyone.

"Was it busy?" Leo pressed on.

"It was steady."

"Do you like your job?"

I bit back the urge to ask why he wanted to know so much about my job and chopped it down to maybe he was trying to make small talk "It's okay."

I heard Leo sigh heavily which made me turn my gaze on him. His eyes caught mine before they landed back on the road. "Look, I'm not the enemy here. I'm just trying to learn a little about you." I played with the hem of my shirt as I sat in the seat keeping my lips sealed shut. I knew little about this man. We were doing everything backwards. We were supposed to get to know each other a date before we even considered sleeping together. I heard him sigh before continuing. "Answer me this at least, Louise. Do you really think I'm not father material?" he asked. He paused letting the question soak in for a few seconds. "Is that why you were so adamant on trying to hide this pregnancy from me without even giving me a chance to prove myself?"

The question was a literal slap in the face. I suddenly grew speechless as I thought over what he had asked. I hadn't thought about it like that and, now that there was a new light on the situation, I felt horrible for ever thinking about doing so. Maybe Kitty was right. Maybe he did deserve the benefit of the doubt. At least, at being a father. My mouth felt dry as I wet my lips and nodded slowly. "I think so," I replied. I heard Leo exhaled heavily. I looked over at him nervously as I saw him looking over his shoulder before making a quick illegal u-turn and making a left. My heart pounded heavily in my chest as a thought crossed my mind. Had I made a mistake in answering him truthfully? "Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," was all Leo offered up to me. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt bad for not giving him a second thought.

"Leo, I'm sorry," I began feeling my hands shake a little.

"Louise, just calm down. The worry isn't good for the baby. We'll be there in five minutes. I promise." I laid back in my feet trying my best to stay calm. My head rolled to the side as I watched out my window awaiting the arrival.

The drive wasn't long before Leo parked the car and switched off the engine. I found we had pulled up to some type of house that sat by a lake. "Where are we?" I asked hoping to get the answer I needed this time.

Leo looked over at me and gave me a slight smile. "My ranch," he replied before getting out the door and rounded the car to let me out. I got out the car and looked around. The house was a beautiful brick home with a blue wooden door.

I stopped admiring the home long enough to turn to Leo and ask him a new question. "Do you live here?"

Leo shook his head as he grabbed my hand into his own. "No, but I do come here time to time." He lead the way as we walked slowly along the lake. "I bought this place for the same reason I started my own practice."

"Why is that?"

Leo took a deep breath. "The truth is, I bought it for Amora." I swallowed hard as I wondered who this girl could be to him. From the sounds of it, she sounded important. My biggest fear was she was a woman in his life and I had ruined a relationship. "Let me start at the beginning. When she came into my life five years ago, she changed my life."