“It’s in the drawer over there.” He jumped when he realized she was right behind him.
“Oh, okay, thanks,” he said. What the hell is wrong with me?
She touched his arm, and Brenden froze. “Are you okay, Brenden? You seem a little nervous.”
He smiled, brushing her hand off him discreetly as he reached for the drawer getting the wine opener. “Nah, I’m good. Just a bit tired,” he explained.
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am,” he said, reaching for the wine bottle and uncorking the wine. He turned his back to her, and he could feel her eyes peering at the back of his head. Reaching for the glasses on the counter, he turned to face her, putting a fake smile on his face. “Come on, let’s eat.”
** ** ** ** **
“You don’t like veal, do you?” Paige questioned, causing Brenden to look up from his half-eaten meal.
“No, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “But everything else was great.” He sneaked a look at his watch and realized he’d only been there for an hour already.About now Nicholas will be trying to negotiate with Stephen for another bedtime story.
“Am I keeping you from something?”
Brenden looked away from his watch. “No, it’s fine. I’m just a bit curious as to why you wanted me over.”
She set her wine glass down and stared at the tablecloth for a few minutes, as if deciding how to start the conversation. “I want you to give me a baby,” she blurted out, then spoke again before Brenden had a chance to process what she just said. “Rather your semen.”
What the fuck? Brenden stared at her as if she had lost her mind.
“I... I can’t…” Brenden tried to explain.
“You don’t have to do anything; we won’t even need to have sex. I just need you to provide your sperm and leave the rest up to me. I won’t ask for child support…”
“I’m sorry, Paige, I can’t help you. I’m... I’m already involved with someone.” His words stopped her explanation in her tracks. “It’s a bit complicated.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding very deflated.
He didn’t know if he should tell her the rest. “Yeah,” he sighed.
“I guess it’s new?”
“Not really. He and I go way back,” he told her. “We have a kid together.”
She looked at him, and he saw the hurt in her eyes. “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you or give you a false impression…”
“No,” she said, stopping him. “It’s okay. Well, honestly, it’s not. But there’s nothing you or I can do about it. I guess I should just go with my Plan B,” she told him with a sad smile. “It’s my loss, right? I assume he’s also the reason why we aren’t getting back together?”
“In part,” Brenden answered honestly. “Like I said, we go way back.”
“Did you know about your child all the time we were together?” she whispered.
“No,” Brenden answered. He felt that it was time to leave, there was nothing else for him to say. “I’m going to get going,” he told her. He reached over and touched her hand gently. “I really am sorry I couldn’t help you.” Brenden didn’t wait for her to respond. He got up and walked out of her house, breathing a huge sigh of relief. He felt as if a huge weight was lifted off his chest. His cell phone rang, and he smiled when he saw that it was Stephen. “Hey,” he said in the way of answer.
“I know you’re out with your friend, but a certain little one refuses to go to bed without saying goodnight to you.”
Brenden chuckled as he got in his car. “Tell you what, keep him busy for the next twenty minutes, and I will say goodnight in person.”
“You don’t have to leave your friend,” Stephen told him.
“It’s fine, I was leaving already,” Brenden said to him as he looked up at Paige’s house to find her standing at the window looking out at him. Shrugging his shoulders, Brenden went back to his conversation. “I missed you guys,” he said honestly. He couldn’t believe how much he’d gotten used to being a part of their nightly routine in such a short time.
“We missed you too,” Stephen whispered.
