She gave me a wan smile. “We … we need to talk.”
My concern was growing by the second. I couldn’t stop glancing over at Callie as she sat on the sofa, twisting her fingers nervously. I’d never seen her so antsy, and the fact that she didn’t look well was freaking me the fuck out.
I brought over the glass of water she’d asked for and sat on the sofa opposite. There were dark circles under her eyes. “Are you sick?” I blurted out, palms sweaty at the thought of something being seriously wrong with Callie.
“I … I did go to the doctor this morning.”
No.
Fear rose up inside me. Shewassick.
The Adair men were cursed after all.
Hadn’t Uncle Lachlan thought that for years before he met Aunt Robyn? The Adair men were cursed to lose the women we loved. There was a long line of evidence to support the theory, leading all the way to my birth mother, Francine, dying in her sleep from an aneurysm. Anytime I thought of what it must have been like for Dad waking up to find her gone, I couldn’t … the idea of Callie …
“Lewis, no.” She leaned toward me, suddenly recognizing the terror on my face. “I’m not sick. Sorry. I … Lewis, I’m pregnant. I’m just over five weeks pregnant. And since you’re the only person I’ve had sex with in the last three months …”
The baby was mine.
Holy fuck.
First, I experienced a wave of relief that Callie wasn’t ill.
Then terror.
Then more relief that the baby was mine.
Then more terror.
And finally, an overwhelming mix of terror, relief, hope, and more terror.
Callie’s anxiety registered through all of that. “Fuck.” I pushed up off the couch and sat down next to her, taking her hands in mine. “Don’t look like that. You must know I’m going to be there for you and our baby.”
“You’re not angry.”
I frowned. “Callie, you didn’t make the baby alone. And …,” I winced, “I used two really old condoms that night, so it’s probably my fault.”
She burst into laughter, and I couldn’t help but grin in relief as she full-body cackled at my confession. As her amusement tapered off, a tenderness and sorrow crossed her face. Then she was throwing her arms around me, and I melted into her, breathing her in and holding her close.
“Thank you,” she whispered tearfully.
“For what?” My voice was gruff.
“For being you.” Callie eased out of my arms and I reluctantly let her go.
“So …” I exhaled heavily as the reality of the situation weighed down on me. In less than eight months, I’d be a father. To a tiny human. That wasn’t terrifyingly daunting or anything. “What’s the plan? What do we do?”
“Well, I have my first antenatal appointment in three weeks, and we’ll go from there. For right now, the doctor says I’m healthy. I’ve got some morning sickness and I’m a bit tired, but otherwise I’m fine.”
Which explained her peaky pallor. I reached for her hand and folded it into mine. “That’s great. I want to be there for everything. But what I really meant was … what do we do? My mind hasn’t changed, Callie. I want you. This hasn’t changed my mind about that. Has it changed yours?”
She nervously licked her lips. “We have a lot to talk about.”
Hope filled me because she hadn’t said a flat-out no. “Could we talk about it on a date? Would you go on a date with me?”
Callie stared at me in awe for a second, and after the past few weeks of rejection, I honestly didn’t understand her current expression. But I was relieved as any man could be when she whispered, “Aye, Lewis. I’ll go on a date with you.”
Twenty-Four
