Page 61 of The Mistletoe Mix-up

“Those won’t affect me. Anything medical, they test for.”

Robert sighed. “Do what you want. You always have, and there’s nothing I can do about it. However, you’d be better off picking a man you at least know than going off and having a stranger’s child.”

Her dad stormed right for Sam, and when they spotted each other, Sam stepped out from behind the tree, trying not to look suspicious. “I was just picking out a tree for one of our elderly customers.”

Her dad pointed at Sam. “This guy would be better than anything you got cooked up right now. At least we know who his family is.”

Sam took another step into the aisle until he could see Wren. She shuffled her feet from side to side, giving him an embarrassed look. “I guess I don’t have a partner to find a tree with, huh?”

“I can help you find a tree,” Sam said, guilt eating him up inside. Not only had he eavesdropped, but then he’d allowed himself to be ammunition in her dad’s argument.

“Thanks,” she said, holding the tree saw in her hand, “but you don’t have to. I’m sure it’s really busy up there.”

“I don’t mind if you want the company.”

“What about the other customers?” she asked.

“Other . . . Oh—” Sam grinned sheepishly. “They can wait.”

“Then why not?” she said, sounding tired and defeated.

They walked along the rows of trees in silence for several minutes, neither of them willing to break the ice. Finally, Sam couldn’t stand the tension anymore and said, “So, I know I’m supposed to pretend like I didn’t hear anything—”

“But you did,” she finished for him.

“Sorry about that,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I was going to try to catch you alone to talk to you about what happened yesterday, but then I heard you arguing with your dad, and I didn’t want to get in the middle of it. Only I couldn’t get out of there without somebody noticing me, and I decided it was better if I didn’t move.”

“It’s fine, Sam. If anyone was going to overhear us airing our dirty laundry, I’m glad it was you. At least you can relate to some of it.”

“Yeah, it took me back for a minute. Your dad can sure be . . .”

“Overbearing? Unreasonable? Obnoxious?”

“There are probably a few more adjectives I could come up with, but I’ll keep them to myself.” Sam went back and forth in his head on whether to broach the topic and ended up diving in with, “Not that it was any of my business, but did I hear that you want to have a baby?”

“Yes, I do,” she said defensively. “I don’t feel like I need to be married or in a relationship to do that, but apparently the rest of my family doesn’t agree.”

“Why do you care what they think?” he asked, shoving his free hand into his jacket pocket. “It’s what’s best for you.”

“Yes, but I also believe that a child needs a village, which is something you lose if your family doesn’t support you. I just wish they could understand this hole inside of me. It’s like a driving force of need.”

“Sometimes you can build a new family if your real family isn’t being there for you the way that you need them to be.” Sam thought about the Winters and all the friends he’d met since moving back. “If that is the case, you find people who will step up and have your back no matter what.”

“I guess before I completely cut my family off, I should first figure out how I’m going to do this. I don’t want to have a one-night stand with someone I don’t know and end up with an STD reminding me of my mistake the rest of my life.” She sighed, tugging on a strand of her hair nervously. “I posted an ad on a dating site, but so far the few potential responses I’ve gotten haven’t panned out.”

Sam blinked at her in surprise. “Your profile picture wouldn’t be you in a black nightie with your back turned?”

Wren’s face flushed. “You found that.”

“I did.” Another thought occurred to him, but he was afraid to ask. “When we had sex, you said that I didn’t have to wear a condom. I realize that I should have asked, but are you on the pill?”

Wren’s gaze dropped to the toe of her boot. “No.”

“So, when we had unprotected sex, was that you trying to use me to have a kid?”

“No!” She audibly swallowed, her voice low and shaky. “When you were asking me, your hands were doing spectacular things, and I got carried away. I wanted to feel you and figured one time wouldn’t hurt.”

“Then the next night you came back for seconds?” he asked, sifting through his thoughts to figure out how this development made him feel. If any other woman had omitted important information like whether they were on the pill, he’d be losing his shit right now, but with Wren? Getting her accidentally pregnant didn’t send him into a blind panic, and that made him wonder if he’d officially entered a mid-life crisis where his biological clock was ticking, or if he just wanted to make Wren happy because he had such strong feelings for her.