"Nick…"

"I know what you are going to say."

"I don't think you do."

"That you are pregnant, and I have a baby on the way with someone else, that we shouldn't- "

"You should take me on a proper date, I haven't had a proper first date in years."

"Oh."

"What? Do you not want to go on a date with me? way to give a girl mixed signals Nicky."

I was smiling at him now, daring him to make his next move, daring him to accept my proposal like I had his. He was still staring at me slightly confused at the turn of events and if I was honest, so was I, even if it was just a little. Nick finally seemed to gain control of his brain again and smiled back at me before responding.

"Don't call me that."

Just four simple words that had nothing to do with our romantic relationship or the new situation at hand, but it had us both on the same page again, both of us understanding the other.

"And where would madam like to go on her first date then?"

"Oh, I don't know, somewhere upmarket, posh, not like this place I was going to eat lunch in today as you know what? I never got to order any food, just terrible service."

"Sounds it, the owner probably got too distracted by a beautiful woman to command the staff, I blame him."

He always did that, I teased him, he flirted but now the blushes were obvious, now we both knew how we were feeling, now we both knew that it meant more. He grasped my hand with his thumb rubbing my knuckles and even this gesture felt different than before, more intimate like it just meant more now.

"So, what is it you want to order for your lunch?"

"Well, since I only have…"

I glanced down at my phone screen for an indication of the time and was awarded disappointment as I knew I would have to be back in the office in fifteen minutes, having blown through my break.

"I'll just have something small; I haven't got long anymore."

"I'll run it to the chef and got you a top-up."

It was then I noticed that I had gulped down all my water, probably in one of my may nervous panics over this midday. I longed for more time, to feel what this new relationship with Nick was, to process that I was actually pregnant and to just feel the moment in life as for once things were going my way.

Nick really was fast in his approach as he came running back to the table in record time with a full glass of water and a smile that seemed to be permanent now. Everything felt different yet didn't at the same time, I was feeling different but not. Nothing made sense right now and instead of fighting it or trying to understand it, I just let it be.

"How was this morning in the office?"

"Oh, it was alright, I was just powering through, barely got any sleep you see."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, there was this guy, he came round to my flat last night, wouldn't shut up."

"I would have kicked him out."

The light playful bantering was back as though it never left, and I couldn't help but revel in the fact that it was back and better than ever. Now our flirting was real, now it meant something as we had finally grown-up and stopped being cowards by confessing that we both liked each other, and we were willing to give it a go.

"I tried, but he wouldn't shut up about how great I was, how amazing he thought I was, I think he had a bit of a crush, to be honest."

"Did you tell him you have a boyfriend?"

"I have a boyfriend?"

"Yes Mrs. Connor, you do, so accept it. Next time a man comes confessing how much they like you call up your hotshot boyfriend to show him the door."

"I think if he came by again, I'd rather show him my bedroom door."

I pushed the flirting, I took it one step further, he didn't react at first, I was beginning to feel like an absolute idiot, embarrassing myself already, but then he replied.

"Lucky guy, I think he might turn up tonight if he heard that offer."

"See, I'd only let him in if he bought some left-over cake from his restaurant, seeing as I am pregnant and everything."

"He'll have to see what he can do."

I knew both of us were looking like loved-up idiots and definitely too flirty and too comfortable with each other. I hated to admit it, but this was even better than I thought we could be, and it had only been just over five minutes since we agreed. Our hands were joined and our faces mere centimetres apart, just about to touch, hesitantly, when a cough sounded to pull up apart and a plate of picky bits was in front of us from a smiling Steph. We were obvious enough that she knew our relationship had changed, this was going to fly around the street, and then it hit me. I needed to tell Peter, he needed to hear from me that the woman carrying his baby was dating Nick and not from someone else.

Nick started to dig into the food, looking at me in confusion when I was lost in thought, I could let Peter now later, right now I needed to enjoy the moment with Nick. We both ate in silence, our thighs touching in the booth and our arms side by side as we smiled at each other now and then like loved-up teenagers. Something just felt right about this whole situation and I wasn't ready for it to end. As the plate was cleared and our attention had nowhere else to turn to, we faced each other again, neither knowing what to say first.

"Did you want anything else to eat, sorry I shouldn't have been such a pig your pregnant now, so you should be eating – "

He was rambling and it was cute how much he cared.

"Nick, it's fine, I've been pregnant for about an hour, officially, I'm not going to starve."

"I know, it's just – "

"And I have this man bringing round cake later so…"

"He said he would try."

"Then I will try to answer the door."

He knew I was kidding; I knew I was kidding, there was no way I was going to not let this man in my flat, he had been there too many times to count, and I can't remember turning him away. Except when Peter was thereafter he finished knocking me up, that's hardly going to happen again though. We were back to smiling at each other like dopey teenagers and just before I could get too lost in him, I realised not only where we were but the time, I needed to get back as I had a phone call scheduled with a supplier.

"I should go…"

"I should get back to work too."

Neither of us moved though, neither of us moved an inch to do what we needed to, still stuck in this weird spell of each other, like stuck in the orbit of the sun, but rather than a burning star, it was each other. It was new, you can never go wrong with new when it feels this good. Finally, I did drag myself up and Nick was quick to follow, but now we were staring at each other standing, instead of sitting, so not much had changed.

"I really do need to go."

It was like when you were a kid on the phone to your first boyfriend telling them to hang up first, hoping that they would do it so you wouldn't have to but also hoping they didn't so that they knew you cared as much as they did.

"I'm going to have to – "

My words were cut off by his lips on mine, he kissed me to stop my reasoning, to stop my escape, or maybe just to kiss me, whatever the reasoning was, I didn't object, it was definitely the perfect way to end this never-ending lunch break. His hands were on my waist, mine were finding their way around his neck as the kiss grew more passionate than anything we had ever shared before. It was so much more and so much better than the pecks I had placed there when we were talking to Sarah, a million times better than the drunken peck in this exact restaurant. Although I never wanted it to end, we were in public, we were in his place of work, I needed to get back to work and now I knew there would be many more of these moments to come for us, I pulled away.

"That was something."

"You can say that again."

We smiled again and I was too embarrassed to look around to see who had been watching, whose attention we had grabbed my having a make-out session in the middle of the Bistro during the lunch rush. Just when I thought I was free though, I passed Erica on the way out, I had no choice but to apologetically smile at the woman as less than hours had passed since she and Nick had broken up and she had just caught him making out with me. The guilt was back and this time I tried to not let it consume me, I tried to let it go as I walked back into my office and fiddled around with paperwork in an attempt to keep my hands and mind busy, it didn't work.

Even if I was on the phone shouting at suppliers, haggling for a better deal, wanting the best outcomes for the factory, my mind was everywhere. I swivelled on my office chair, still being extremely bossy and probably rude down the phone as Sally's eyes watched, eager to learn how I did everything. Nowadays I didn't have a moment of peace and quiet, I didn't have privacy as both Alya and Sally wanted to know what it took to be and run this place, yet the truth be told, you just did it you didn't learn. Even with the office this full, I still needed help, I still needed an experienced pair of hands to help, especially someone I trusted when I went on maternity. My mind went back to the conversation I had with Simon the other day about his dad working here, as soon as I thought it, I shook it out of my head knowing what a disaster it would be.

We were slowly rolling into the afternoon with no new meltdowns or dramas, for that, I couldn't be more grateful, everything for once was calm and I was able to actually be productive, getting more work done than I thought I would. A beep from my phone distracted me, I pulled it out from my bag and saw a new text flashing brightly on the screen as if mocking me for thinking it was going to be a peaceful afternoon. It was Peter.

'I'm sorry about earlier, I definitely overreacted, keep me in the loop for the next appointment.'

Did he apologise? That's a first for Peter Barlow, even when he knew he was wrong an apology was still not on the table, it was a change that I welcomed wholeheartedly. He had matured even in the small time he had been gone which gave me hope for our future, raising a baby together, working together as parents for the baby, I was carrying.

'It's fine, we sorted it and were level-headed in the end, I will let you know when I get the letter.'

I thought maybe that would be the end of it, but I was quickly dragged into texting back and forth with Peter, feeling the need to reply and actually wanting for him to continue the conversation.

'Next time, I'll start level-headed as well, thank you'.

'You're welcome. Honestly, I expected you to react at some point, I did drop a bomb on you this morning.'

'A surprise, not a bomb. A pleasant surprise'

'well, I'm glad.'

'Me too.'

He was feeling like I was, the baby wasn't the worst that could happen to me and I didn't hate the fact that I was pregnant, was there going to be issues? Yes. Was it the perfect way to get pregnant? No. Did any of that change how I felt about this baby already? No. I was going to have this baby and try my hardest at being the best mom I could for the rest of my life, no matter what and I couldn't wait. Just as I was about to reply to Peter, a new text came in this time from Nick.

'what time can I come over to yours?'

'I'll let you know when I get back and then swing by whenever you are free.'

'Ok xxx.'

So, he sends kisses at the end of his texts? I guess I was still learning things about my new boyfriend, not necessarily bad or good, just learning and I couldn't wait to learn more about Nicholas Tilsley as a boyfriend instead of a friend. It was going to be a change, even if slight but I was ready for it, just like he was. It was a warm feeling and I had to control the mild blush I was feeling just from the fictional kisses on the text.

The moment was broken as Michelle came into the office wearing a smile, it was fake, her eyebrows were raised in suspicion, and knew she wanted to talk about something serious, something to do with me. Did she know I was pregnant? How did she know already? I knew I needed to tell her, but I just wasn't ready right now, I wanted to find the right time, whenever that would be. Her eyes glanced over and Alya and Sally until they were back on me and I knew she didn't want them here for our conversation. One day she might remember that this is a business and we had phones if she wanted to chat.

"Sal, can you go check how Kirk is doing on the packing and check it for me. Alya, go for a walk or something."

Sally left smiling smugly at Alya thinking she had gotten more responsibility but Alya knew it was just to get rid of them, she was a smart girl and could tell by the look on Chelle's face that she meant business. She moved over to Sally's chair before sitting and staring at me, as if daring me to lie, I couldn't.

"So, anything interesting happen today?"

Did she have flaming eyes everywhere?

"No, don't think so, I did get a better price on some of that pink silk, a win is a win you know."

"Hmm."

Oh god. How did she know? And who deep of a whole was I going to dig? I knew that I should just come clean tell her that I was pregnant as she obviously already knew but something in me was holding it back, not wanting to say it out loud, because of that, the interrogation continued.

"What about you? Anything interesting happen over at the pub?"

"Oh, just idle gossip you know, but some things you overhear can be really interesting…"

Who else knew I was pregnant and gossiping it about? if I found out Peter had blabbed, I was going to kill him and everyone he loved. Michelle was becoming more and more frustrated as I continued to leave her hanging instead of confessing like she longed for me to do.

"This street does love gossip."

"Yeah, we all do, apart from when it's about someone we care about, we want to be supportive but if its news to us it can get ugly, hypothetically."

Mere hours ago, I was praising me and Nick for finally growing up, communicating, and getting to be together, yet here I was later on acting like a child with my best mate, both of us refusing to come out with what we knew. I was still mind blown by how she found out when I had only found out this morning, gossip really did travel fast on this street. Her eyes were never leaving me, and I felt like how Ryan must have grown up under her watchful eye.

I was being stubborn by not coming out with it and so was she, so I tried a different tactic, distraction, although with her it probably wouldn't work.

"Got anything planned for later?"

"Why, you want to do something?"

How did she turn it back on me?

"No, I have plans, just thought I would ask, you know take an interest."

"What are your plans?"

"Oh, Nick is coming round, we'll probably watch some TV or something, you?"

As soon as I said Nick's name the mask of fake friendliness slipped, and I started to see her anger and hurt from not being told. I felt horrible seeing this and wondered how much she knew, did she know Nick wasn't the father or did she assume he was, did she not agree with me hanging out with Nick whilst I was pregnant? She groaned at me and huffed, shaking her head in disbelief at me as she was starting to get frustrated that I still wasn't giving up what she wanted. So, she took the direct approach.

"Carla, I know, for God's sake, why didn't you tell me?"

"Know what?"

"Just admit it."

"Fine."

Then we both snapped at each other at the same time, quiet enough that the workers wouldn't hear but loud enough that the anger was heard.

"I know you and Nick are dating."

"I'm pregnant."

I'm like writing this story as I get to see areas I definitely need to improve on and my issues, hopefully doing this can help me and you are enjoying this story even with my faults.