Aoife smiled weakly. ‘And you’ll be a great mum,’ she said softly. ‘But are you sure you’re ready? You’re so young. And there’s your career to think of …’
‘Is anyone ever ready?’ Sive said, injecting more confidence into her voice than she felt. She desperately wanted to reassure her sisters that she was okay. ‘You know I’ve always wanted to have a family. And who’s to say if I’ll be able to have one when I decide the time is right? You can’t always choose the perfectconditions. This is a chance to have a baby, and I want to take it, because who knows if I’ll get another one?’
‘How do you think Ben will feel about it?’ Aoife asked, a little worried frown wrinkling her brow.
‘I honestly don’t know.’ Hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t imagine Ben’s reaction to the news. ‘I think he’ll want to be a proper dad … but I could be wrong.’ She’d been mistaken about Ben before. She hadn’t known him as well as she’d thought.
‘Do you think there’s any chance he’ll want to get back with you?’ Mimi asked. ‘Play happy families for the sake of the child?’
‘No, definitely not.’
‘Would you want him to?’ Aoife asked gently.
‘No.’ Sive was surprised by her spontaneous answer and how right it felt. ‘I’d like him to be involved, obviously. But for the child’s sake, not mine.’
‘Listen to you, starting to sound like a mother already!’ Mimi said.
‘What if he doesn’t want to be involved at all?’ Aoife asked.
‘Then I’ll be a single mum. I’m having this baby regardless.’
‘And what about Sam?’ Mimi asked, her face falling.
‘What about him?’ Sive frowned. ‘I told you he’s definitely not the father.’
‘I mean, what about the two of you?’ Her eyes widened, realisation obviously dawning. ‘Is this why you’ve been pushing him away?’
Sive shrugged, her smile slipping. ‘Well, obviously I can’t let anything happen between us now.’
‘It was going to, though, wasn’t it?’
‘Probably. But this changes everything.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Mimi said. ‘It might not put him off. Give him some credit.’
Sive was touched that Mimi was sticking up for Sam now. ‘You don’t have to convince me what a sweetheart Sam is. Butthat’s kind of the problem. I don’t want him to feel like he has to stick by me out of some sense of decency once he finds out I’m pregnant.’
‘I think Sam would be very happy to stick with you no matter what.’
Sive wasn’t so sure. ‘What guy wants to get lumbered with a girlfriend who’s having someone else’s baby? Besides, he’s too young to be tied down with this sort of responsibility.’
‘He’s the same age as you.’
‘That’s different. It’s my baby.’
‘So you’re just going to back off with him?’
‘What else can I do? It wouldn’t be fair to let him get involved and then pull this enormous bait and switch – oh, by the way, your girlfriend’s pregnant with someone else’s baby!’
‘Tell him now, then. Let him decide for himself.’
‘I can’t tell Sam before Ben. Nothing had happened between us anyway. We can just carry on as we are – as friends. It’s probably for the best.’ Sive wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince more, herself or her sisters.
‘Is that what you want?’
‘Not really,’ she admitted. ‘But it’s how it has to be.’
‘So how far along are you?’ Aoife asked, as if sensing that Sive wanted to change the subject. ‘When’s it due?’
