Embarrassed, she rambled on. “If I give the tickets to Damien, he won’t go. He’ll just come up with some excuse and work the whole day. So I thought if you dragged him there, at least he’d get out a bit.”

That little speech had been way too revealing, given the fact that Rob’s grin fell right off his handsome face. “It sounds like you know Damien pretty well.”

She shrugged.

“Why don’t you go with him? Given the way he talks about you, he’d rather be with you than me.”

She would not ask, she would not ask…

“He talks about me?”

Rob nodded. “He’s mentioned you quite a bit. And though he hasn’t said anything specific, I get the feeling something happened between the two of you in Punta Cana. And if that’s the case, I’m happy for both of you. Damien needs someone in his life.”

Rob leaned back, tipping his whole chair off the ground. He had a stress ball in his hand, and he tossed it up in the air.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted, because sooner or later people were going to figure it out, and given the whispers she’d heard from some of the other secretaries, they were already wise to her situation. It was getting hard to hide. And she wanted Rob to stop his thoughts there, because she didn’t want any rumors swirling about her and Damien. Nor did she want Rob suggesting to Damien that they could have a future together.

Rob’s stress ball plummeted to his desk. His feet hit the floor hard. “Are you serious?” He glanced at her stomach. “Well, hell, that’s the best damn thing that could have happened to Damien.”

Mandy clenched her teeth. Damn it, she was making a complete muck of this. “It’s not his.”

His eyes narrowed. “Come again?”

“Damien isn’t the father.” And for the first time, she was willing to admit that she almost wished he were.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” What did she look like?

Rob sighed. “Oh. All right. I’ll take the tickets then.” He held out his hand. “It’s a damn shame though. I thought you might be the woman who could finally get through to Damien.”

“He doesn’t see me that way.” She was still hurt and seething over that. “He thinks I’m a good assistant, and he’s curious about the baby. That’s all there is between us.”

His hand closed around one end of the envelope she held out to him. “You’re wrong. He’s attracted to you and trying to pretend he isn’t. You’re the first woman I’ve seen him have any interest in since Jess.”

Mandy dropped the envelope with the tickets. “You care about him.”

Rob nodded. “I’ve known Damien all my life. You should have seen him before. He was a great guy.”

“He still is,” she whispered.

And she meant it.