“Yes, Josh. The baby and I are both fine. No red flags. I had the first ultrasound in March. All good. Just to be crystal clear, I am keeping this baby.”
“Of course you are,” he said.
She let out a shaky breath. “Well, I was never planning on having more kids. It was just going to be me and Dillon. Didn’t I tell you that?”
“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand. “You said that you would never get married again and that you felt a bit guilty because you would never be giving Dillon a little brother or sister.”
She scoffed. “Best-laid plans, huh?”
His eyes were kind. “You said that after losing your mom and then your dad and then TJ. You realized that the more people you love, the more people there are to lose.”
“That’s exactly what I said, and I meant it, too.” She bit her lip and hung her head. “But, well, now there’s this baby, and so I’m thinkingonemore, and that’s all. This baby, and that’s it.”
He let go of her hand, but only so that he could wrap his arm around her.
She indulged herself and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How did you know?”
He pulled her a little bit closer. Then he stroked his hand lightly down her arm and back up again. It was soothing, the way he touched her. He made her feel safe. “In the pastfew weeks,” he said, “you’ve been acting…preoccupied. I really did get the feeling there was something you were trying to tell me.”
She laughed, a small, pained laugh—more like a sob, really. “You’re right about that.”
“I didn’t really figure it out until tonight, though. You look…softer without your clothes on.”
She laughed. “My boobs are bigger and my stomach is rounder. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“Yeah.” He rubbed her shoulder. “You look even more beautiful than before.” When she scoffed at that, he added, “It’s true, Rile. You do.” He actually did seem sincere.
She met his eyes. “Well. Thank you.” He kissed her, a light brush of his warm lips to hers. She confessed then, “I kept promising myself I would tell you, but I could never get the words out. And now I’ve gone and blurted it out to you during Shane’s birthday weekend…”
He squeezed her shoulder. “It’s all right. It’s good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Tonight is a good time to tell me. I needed to know and the sooner the better. I already missed that first ultrasound.”
“I’m sorry. But I do have the pictures. I’ll send them to you.”
“Thank you.” He stroked her hair. The fond touch warmed her heart—and made her want to burst into tears. “You know,” he said. “I’m not a bad bet as a dad. In case you haven’t noticed, I happen to like kids.”
“You are a great dad,” she said sincerely. “The best. And, well, you should know that, while I do want this baby, I’m not after a ring, and I’m perfectly capable of raising this child on my own. You can just think it over, decide how involved you want to be and then let me know.”
He stopped stroking her hair. His eyes had narrowed and his lips had become a grim line. “Come on, Riley. You have to know me better than that. Are you actually suggesting that I might just…walk away from my own kid? Or my kid’s mother, for that matter?”
Now she felt ashamed. “Of course I don’t think that. I mean, I know you’re no deadbeat. I’m only trying to make it clear that I’ll be okay with whatever you’re willing to offer. You can just take it slow, think it over, figure out what works for you.”
He looked at her for the longest time. She had no idea what might be going through his mind. But he didn’t look happy, that was for sure.
She said in a small voice, “Listen. If you want me to go—”
“No. I do not want you to go.”
“You sure?”
“Damn right, I’m sure. In fact, I want you to take off your clothes and get back in this bed with me.”
