“It wouldn’t have?” Bryn asked, sounding slightly breathless.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Because here’s the thing. I didn’t want it to just be one night with you. To be totally honest, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. Except to spend more time with you. But I didn’t want to push you, or to make you feel like I was putting any type of pressure on you. Considering you had just gotten out of a not so great relationship, and that was actually how we met in the first place, and that we had a business arrangement, I didn’t want things to be uncomfortable for you.”
Bryn laughed quietly. “And I wanted to put the ball in your court. I didn’t want you to feel like I was on the rebound or taking advantage of you. I figured you would let me know if you were interested in anything else. When you didn’t, I decided that meant we were just going to put that night behind us and work together.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, at least now we know we need to communicate a little bit better. I promise I will do my best.”
“So will I,” she said. “I’m sorry I hesitated. I really would have liked to have you be a part of it from the beginning. Nobody else knows. So I’ve just been kind of going through the last couple weeks figuring it out on my own.”
“Moving forward, I don’t want you to ever hesitate to call me. I want to know everything. I want to be there through everything,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said.
An idea popped into my head. “So, as you can probably imagine, I’m sure my family is champing at the bit to find out everything they possibly can. We’re having a family dinner tonight. Usually we have them on Sundays, but things got thrown off this week because of different schedules, so we’re doing it tonight. This week it’s at my parents’ house. I’d like you to come with me.”
Bryn looked hesitant. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m up to something like that quite yet. Not after the embarrassing scene I made at the compound. I feel like I just need a little bit more time to overcome that before I face all of them again. Maybe I could talk to them a couple at a time, rather than having the entire group together like that.”
“I understand,” I said. “They can be a lot. Especially when you’re the center of attention, which I promise you would be. Take your time. They can wait.”
“Are you sure? “Bryn asked.
“Absolutely. When you’re ready, you can see them. And, honestly, after what she pulled, I feel like I should probably have a talk with my mother before you see her again,” I said.
We spent a little more time together before Bryn got dressed and I brought her back to her car. She looked tense as we drove onto the compound. Her eyes looked back and forth like she was looking for a member of my family to pop out and ambush her. But no one was there that day, so she got to her car without incident.
I pulled her in for a tight hug, enjoying the way she wrapped her arms around me in return. As I held her close, I thought about the incredible reality that while I held her, I also cradled our baby. It was still so tiny, such a long way to grow, but it was there. Nestled within Bryn was our child, and I felt a sudden incredible surge of protectiveness.
As soon as she drove away, I headed for my parents’ house. But I wasn’t looking forward to a nice, relaxed dinner together with everybody. In fact, I hoped the other members of the family weren’t there yet. There were some things I needed to say, and the rest of the family didn’t need to be there for it.
I walked into the house and noticed the sliding glass door leading out to the backyard was standing open. My parents’ voices drifted in, and I knew they were out with the grill getting the food ready. I walked straight outside, and my father waved a pair of tongs at me from across the patio.
“Hey, Nick,” he said. “You’re early. That means you get food prep duty. Grab a knife.”
“Hey, Dad. I’m actually not planning on staying for dinner tonight,” I said.
“You’re not?” he asked.
“No. I just came by because I have a few things I need to say to Mom.”
“To me?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, walking over to where she sat on one of the cushioned lounge chairs.
She sat up straighter and looked at me with wide-eyed anticipation. “Is this about the baby? Bryn isn’t with you? Oh, I was hoping you would bring her along. I want to know absolutely everything. And I have some tips I can give her. You know, when we were talking the other day, I had a feeling there was something she was hiding. A little secret. Women can just tell these things.”
“Mom, stop,” I said firmly.
“What?” she asked, sounding startled.
“You need to stop,” I said again. “Stop all this nonsense.”
“Don’t speak to your mother so harshly,” Dad said.
I ignored him. “You need to understand just how unhappy I am right now. I’d like to know why you thought it was funny to spam a girl I’m not even dating with wedding crap. Especially right after she went through an awful breakup. And after I specifically told you I’m not ready to settle down right now. It’s not okay. It really upset Bryn. You need to let me make my life decisions for myself and accept that I might not always make the ones you want me to.”
“That’s really enough, son,” Dad said. “Whatever your mother might have done, she’s still your mother. You shouldn’t speak to her that way.”
“It’s fine,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m done. I said what I needed to say.”
My mother didn’t say anything, and there were no signs of tears in her eyes. I still felt a hint of guilt as I walked away, but it needed to be done. I needed to protect Bryn and our child at all costs. That included making sure she felt safe and respected.
The confrontation with my mother over, I headed back home. I wanted to look even more into how I could grow Bryn’s investments. I was more than capable of supporting both of them, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t accept that. She was far too independent, now more than ever, and she would want to feel capable of taking care of herself and the baby on her own as much as possible.
But maybe I could convince Bryn to use a good portion of her returns for a college fund.
29
Bryn
Monday morning came, and everything felt fresh. A fresh day, a fresh week, and a fresh perspective.
I got up and went into the kitchen for a cup of the decaf coffee Nick sent home with me. It was hilarious to see the full shelf of bags of the coffee lined up in his pantry. It looked like he’d bought a stash that would get us through the entire pregnancy. That was when I learned Nick preferred to buy whole-bean coffee for his house. He ground the beans every morning before making his coffee.
When he offered me a couple of bags of the coffee to bring back to my house with me, I told him I didn’t have a grinder. That seemed to shock him and measurably so, as if he couldn’t imagine anyone who considered themselves a fan of coffee to go about life with only pre-ground beans. He packed up his own grinder to send home with me, saying he would just stop and get another one.
It made me laugh at the time, but now that I stood in the kitchen grinding beans for the second morning in a row, it felt more meaningful. Not only did the coffee taste much better, but just breathing in the smell of the beans as they were ground reminded me of Nick. It made my heart warm, and I felt taken care of. He really was trying in every way he could to let me know he was there for me.
I was still upset about Minnie and the stunt she had pulled with the wedding planning, but I felt much better about everything else after my conversation with Nick. I could feel myself falling for him a little more every day. But I was in no way ready for a wedding. Not to anyone. And certainly not just because I was pregnant. What we had right now was nice. It was thoughtful and fun.
That was enough for me right then. I was happy about the way he reacted to the news about the baby. It was better than I’d even allowed myself to consider, and for now, I was going to take that as
a blessing. I just wanted to live in the moment.
The taste of the decaf coffee did well tricking my body into thinking it should be awake, and I was relying on that lasting throughout my pregnancy. With one mug already in me, I poured another and started breakfast. As I ate, my mind went to Trish. After much soul-searching, I’d come to the conclusion over the last few days that she really was my best friend. Which meant I should call her.
I wasn’t planning on revealing the baby news to anybody but Nick for a little while. My plan was when I told him about the pregnancy, I would tell him I wanted to keep things quiet for at least the next couple of months while we worked through the situation together. Not revealing the pregnancy until the three-month mark was already considered traditional, so it made sense.
But blurting it out in the middle of the kitchen at the racing compound in front of almost everybody in his family, save only his father, Gus, kind of threw that plan right out the window. It was all out in the open now, so it was probably time to go ahead and tell Trish. I didn’t want her to hear it from someone else and be upset I didn’t tell her myself.
“Bryn! I’m so happy to hear from you. How are you doing? Please tell me you’ve just been so busy heating up the sheets with Nick Freeman you haven’t been able to come up for air.”
“Not exactly,” I said. “But I do have a lot to catch you up on.”
“Oooo, that sounds juicy,” she said.
“Why don’t we have lunch tomorrow? Are you available?” I asked.
“Of course I am! You just tell me where and when, and I’ll be there,” she said.
Right as she was saying it, I heard a knock on my front door. I held back a massive sigh so she didn’t think it was a commentary on her and rubbed my eyes with my fingers. Minnie up to her tricks.
“I’ll shoot you a text in the morning and let you know,” I said. “But right now, I’ve got to go. There’s someone at my door.”
“See you tomorrow!” Trish said happily.
I was tempted to not even open the door. The delivery driver would just leave whatever it was this time sitting on the porch and head on his way. I’d still have to deal with it one way or another. Unless I called Nick and told him what his mother did. Then he could deal with it. Or call her and make her come pick it up.
There was another, softer knock, and I walked over to the door.
Standing up on my toes, I looked through the peephole, hoping to catch a glimpse of what the driver was holding. But I didn’t see a delivery driver. And I didn’t see a box sitting on my porch.
I stepped back from the door and took a few seconds to gather myself and figure out how I was going to handle this before opening the door. Minnie lifted her head and looked at me. Her expression was chagrined and remorseful. In front of her she clutched a large pale yellow gift bag filled with tufts of mint green and creamy ivory tissue paper.
“Minnie,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
She looked up at me. “You have every right to tell me to leave if you want to. I wouldn’t blame you. But I would appreciate if you didn’t.”
I wish I could say I immediately stepped back and let her into my home. But I didn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to. After what she put me through, I was hesitant to let her get any closer to me. But she truly did look like she felt bad, so I finally let out a sigh and stepped back, gesturing for her to come inside.
“Come in,” I said.
“Thank you.”
I shut the door behind us and gestured for her to follow me into the living room. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I don’t want to take up too much of your time,” she said.
“I’m just going to make myself some tea,” I said.
My stomach was starting to ripple a little bit, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the morning sickness or just the nervousness and anxiety of being around Nick’s mother without him there as a buffer. I went into the kitchen and put the pot on to start warming the water. Searching around in my cabinet, I pulled down a box of raspberry chamomile tea.
When the tea was ready, I carried my cup into the living room with me. I had another cup sitting in reserve on the counter next to the teapot just in case she smelled mine and decided she needed some. Which was exactly what happened. By the time I brought her cup of tea back into the living room with me, Minnie was standing in front of my bookcase, examining the titles.
“Here you go,” I said.
She turned around and reached for the cup. “Thank you.”
“Come sit down,” I said.
She crossed back over to the seating area, but before sitting down, she offered the bag out to me. I hesitated, not knowing what to expect from it. Something she had to deliver herself might just be beyond my capacity to handle. But the colors didn’t look exactly bridal, and she didn’t have the mischievous, conspiratorial glint in her eyes she did when we were at the bakery. That was reassuring.
I sat down with the bag and settled my cup onto the table so I could remove the tissue. Inside, I found a few adorable newborn outfits in neutral colors along with a stuffed bunny. I pulled the bunny out, stroking its head and gazing down at it.
The bunny I held in my hands would be my baby’s first toy. He or she would touch it and hold it. They may even cuddle and sleep with it. This one little stuffed animal could become the favorite snuggly toy my child carried everywhere with them as they grew up. The emotion hit me hard, and I looked at Minnie.
“It’s my groveling gift,” she said. “I taught my boys to buy flowers, and I figured I screwed up worse than that. The idea of all four of my sons happily settled might have overridden my common sense. I’m truly sorry I upset you,” she said.
I drew in a breath and looked down at the bunny again to try to keep my emotions under control. “You know, I might need to buy Nick some flowers.”
She laughed softly. “Why is that?”
I sat the bunny beside me and took out the baby clothes so I could look at them more closely. The little sleepers seemed so incredibly tiny. It was hard to imagine in just a handful of months, I would have a baby small enough to put into these outfits.
“He didn’t know I was pregnant until he was standing there in the kitchen,” I said. “I hadn’t told him. In fact, I wasn’t even intending on telling you. I was still grappling with the whole thing, and I didn’t tell him as soon as I found out. I just tried to kind of deal with it on my own rather than letting him be a part of it from the beginning,” I said.
“How is he responding to that?” Minnie asked, taking a sip of her tea.
I looked at her quizzically. “He hasn’t talked to you about it?”
She shook her head, looking saddened again. “He was so upset with me when he came over for family dinner, he didn’t even stay. He told me he was angry about the way I treated you, then he left. I haven’t spoken to him since.”
“Oh,” I said, not really knowing how else to react.
“I deserved it,” she said. “It was completely out of line for me to send those deliveries here and put pressure on you. I didn’t know the details of what’s going on in your life. Not that it gives me an excuse. I hope you can forgive me. And when you’re ready, I would love to know everything about this new baby coming. And I want to know more about you, too.”
“Of course I forgive you,” I said. “Thank you for apologizing.”
Minnie nodded and stood up. “Thank you, Bryn. Come visit me at the compound anytime.”
I walked her to the door and waved as she drove away. When she was gone, I took the gift bag with me to what used to be Justin’s office. Now it was gradually becoming a nursery for the baby. I hadn’t gone too far, yet. A new coat of white paint brightened up the space with the intention of adding a border or a different color when I chose a theme.
One item I had bought was a white dresser. Placed against one wall, it held an old lamp that was in my room when I was a very little girl. I carefully folded up
each of the outfits and tucked them away in the drawers. Then I brought the bunny with me into my bedroom and placed it on my bed. I wanted to sleep with it while I was still pregnant so the baby would smell me on it when it was born. Running my hand over my belly, I murmured to the baby, telling it all about its family.
30
Nick
“No, seriously, this program was designed just to make me look like an idiot.”
I laughed at Peter and shook my head. “I swear it wasn’t. I know it seems really confusing. It was hard for me to figure out at first, too.”
He looked up at me. “Seriously?”
I hesitated, trying to come up with something I could say that would make him feel less frustrated. “Well…”
I shrugged and Peter rolled his eyes, dropping backward in his chair and letting his head hang back. “That’s what I thought.”
Laughing again, I shook his shoulder playfully until he sat back up and looked at the computer. “Come on. You can do this. We’ll go over it again.”
“I’m sorry you’re having to spend your whole day trying to teach me this billing program because I just can’t seem to get it through my head,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got all the time you need. What matters is you figuring this out and getting comfortable with the program so you can use it. I promise once you do, it will feel like second nature and you’ll save so much more time every workday. Alright?” I asked.
“The pep talk is much appreciated,” he said. “I just don’t know if I totally believe you.”
I shook my head and smiled. “You’re going to be fine. Let’s just start from the beginning.”
A few minutes later we were going back through the basic process of using the new billing program I had just implemented in the office a few weeks before hiring Peter when I heard the receptionist giggle. A second later, I heard a big, bold laugh and knew my father was in the office.
The Freeman Brothers: A Secret Baby Romance Collection Page 79
