“Of course I remember you, Dani,” he said, using her name as though proving his point. Her name was about the only thing he remembered about their night together. Well, that and the fact that they were both drunk. Not a good way to start off being parents together, but that was never the goal.
“I wore a condom,” he said, more to himself than to her. “I had to have worn a condom. I’m always careful.”
“Yeah, well, I was too drunk to notice if you wore one or not, and you weren’t in much better shape. If you did wear one, they aren’t foolproof,” she reminded.
Dani stared him down as he tried to think back to their night together, as though remembering would give him the answers that he needed. She looked pissed, and he couldn’t blame her. She was a newer nurse—bright-eyed, eager, and far too young for him. He’d told himself it was a one-time lapse in judgment. They had one drink too many at a hospital mixer. He had one moment of weakness and made one giant mistake, apparently, because now that mistake had a heartbeat.
“This isn’t a joke,” she said, her voice tight as she stared at him. “I took three tests, and for the record—you’re the only manthat I’ve been with this year, so yeah, I’m positive that you’re the father, asshole.”
Jonnas winced as he leaned back against his desk. He deserved every nasty name that she could think of calling him. He sat there, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that his carefully controlled world had just been detonated. “You’re sure it’s mine?” he asked again, as though the first few times that she had said that to him still hadn’t sunk into his skull.
Her eyes flashed. “You were the only man I was with all fucking year. Are you even listening to me, Jonnas?” Her words hit him harder than he expected as they finally began to make sense to him.
He studied her—really looked at her this time. Dani’s hands were shaking, but her chin was lifted defiantly as though daring him to ask her that question again. She wasn’t here to flirt with or manipulate him. She was here because she was terrified, and he was the only person who could help or hurt her.
“If you’re pregnant with my kid,” he said slowly, “we’ll do this the right way. We’ll get a paternity test. We’ll make sure.”
“I knew you’d say that,” she whispered. She almost sounded disappointed in him, and he had to admit, he was feeling that same way about himself right now.
“And if it’s mine,” he added, stepping closer, lowering his voice, “I won’t walk away. I won’t abandon my responsibilities.”
Something in her expression softened. “You don’t even know what kind of responsibility this is,” she whispered.
Jonnas met her gaze, something steady and dangerous settling in his chest. “Try me,” he growled. Because for the first time in his life, the idea of being someone’s Daddy wasn’t just a fantasy. It was becoming his reality.
“I’ll get the paternity test set up and let you know the details. I’d rather do it at Mercy Hospital across town, so thatno one here knows my business. I’m not sure that I’m ready to announce to HR that I’m pregnant,” she said.
He barked out his laugh, “You do know that I am HR, right?” he reminded.
She rolled her eyes at him, and for a split second, he could remember the sexy, spirited woman he had taken home with him the night of the hospital mixer. “I know which department you work for, Jonnas, but I’m betting that you don’t want our news broadcast to the entire staff just yet, either. If we go to Mercy, we will have a better chance of keeping our secret until we’re ready to tell everyone.” The thought of telling anyone about him possibly getting a young nurse on staff pregnant terrified him. He’d be written up, or worse, lose his job, if his boss found out that he had taken her home, drunk, and spent the night with her. He needed to think this through, and she was right, Mercy would give them more privacy and time to figure things out.
“Fine, make an appointment at Mercy, and I’ll be there,” he ordered. She gave him a mock salute and turned to leave his office, running right into Elias as he pushed his way into Jonnas’s office.
“Oh, sorry,” Elias grumbled, looking at the coffee that he was now wearing down his lab coat. “I didn’t know that you were busy, Jonnas.” Shit, he had forgotten about his coffee meeting with Elias. He wanted to talk about the new hospital wing being built and where he wanted his office. The meeting had completely slipped Jonnas’s mind, especially since Dani stormed into his office with her news about possibly changing his life forever.
“No worries, I was just leaving,” Dani spat. She shot Jonnas a dirty look over her shoulder, and he was pretty sure that she was silently telling him that he had ruined her life. Yeah, well, the feeling was mutual. She brushed past Elias and out of his office,leaving his best friend staring him down as though he knew exactly what Jonnas had done—and it wasn’t good.
“What the fuck was that about, man?” Elias asked. He walked across the room, handing Jonnas his coffee. “I only spilled mine, so you’re in luck.” He took off his lab coat and tossed it onto the sofa that sat in the corner of the room. “So, you want to spill the beans, or should I guess?” he asked. The last thing Jonnas wanted to do was play guessing games with his friend.
“I forgot about our meeting,” Jonnas covered, trying to avoid the truth.
“Yeah, you and I both know that’s not what I’m talking about. How about you tell me why my wife’s best friend just stormed out of here looking like she wanted to rip your head off?”
“Fuck,” Jonnas swore. “I fucked up, man,” he admitted.
“I figured,” Elias said. He sat down in one of the leather chairs across from Jonnas’s desk and waited him out.
“You remember the mixer here at the hospital, back about three months ago?” he asked.
“Yep, and I remember you drank way too much, and I told you to get a cab and go home,” Elias said.
“Right, well, after you left, I decided not to take you up on your sage advice, and I stayed at the party and had another drink,” Jonnas admitted.
“Shit,” Elias growled. “Tell me that you didn’t screw Dani.”
“God, I wish that I could tell you that, man, but I can’t, and now, I think that I fucked up both of our lives.” Saying it out loud wasn’t easy, but he found a way to choke out the words. “She’s pregnant, and she says that the baby is mine.”
“Fuck, Jonnas,” Elias shouted. “I thought that you had given up fucking pretty nurses at the hospital. You do know what will happen to you if your boss finds out, right?” He had a pretty detailed picture of what would happen to him if Jessica found out that he had gotten a nurse pregnant. It would mean his job,and he couldn’t let that happen—especially now that he might be a father.
