by Kally Ash
“Yeah,” she said softly. “Me too.”
19
“Yo, Beau,” John called, knocking on his closed bedroom door. He finished his last set of crunches and sat up, sliding his towel from the edge of his bed.
“Yeah?”
John stepped inside the room, shutting them in together. The guy looked fucking nervous.
Weird. “What’s up?”
“Lisa’s here.”
“Excuse me?”
Licking his lips, John looked behind him like he could see her. “Lisa’s here and she’s in a pretty bad way.”
He was on his feet in a heartbeat. “What do you mean she’s in a pretty bad way? Is she hurt?”
“Not that I can see, but I can tell she’s been crying.”
Crying? “Fuck.” He strode past John and walked through to the kitchen where he found Lisa with her back to him.
“Lisa?” he asked softly. If she was upset, he certainly didn’t want to throw gas on the fire. She turned around and he got his first look at her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears pooling there even now. Her cheeks were streaked with mascara, so he figured this wasn’t her first crying jag.
She took a step closer but stopped herself almost forcefully before throwing herself at him. “Oh, Beau,” she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. Awkwardly, he rested his hand on her back, unsure what was going on. Glancing over his shoulder to John, he wordlessly asked him if he had any idea what to do. His friend simply shook his head slowly.
Prying her off him, he tried to look in her eyes. “Lisa, what’s going on?”
More tears welled and fell, and despite her mouth opening and closing like she was talking, no sound came out.
Leading her over to the couch, he sat her down then took a seat beside him. To John he said, “Some water? Please?”
“Right.” He got busy in the kitchen, bringing back a glass and setting it on the table in front of them.
“Thank you,” gulped Lisa, seizing the glass and draining it. When she put it back on the table, her hand was visibly shaking.
“Now,” Beau said gently, “Tell tell me what’s going on.”
She stared at him, her eyes filled with... fear. “I’m pregnant, Beau,” she whispered. The tears started again, her whole body shaking with racking sobs.
“Fuck,” John said and Beau looked at him sharply. He shrugged as if to say “sorry?”
She eyed her body, looking for the physical evidence. “It’s okay, Lisa. Does the father know?” And if he did, why the fuck was she telling him all this? What did he have to do with it?
“You’re the father.”
He sat back in his seat, creating some distance between them, like just being in her presence could impregnate her further... if, in fact, she was pregnant.
“How could you be…” His question died on his tongue.
She rolled her eyes, and somehow that action surrounded by tears seemed off. “We did make love before you broke up with me, but if you don’t believe me...” She began rifling through her purse, producing a plastic pee stick and thrusting it in his face.
He stared at the little pink cross in the window, feeling as if his whole life were spinning out of fucking control. Emotionlessly, he said, “We used protection—every time. The only possible way you could be pregnant is if you slept with another man.”
For a split second, her expression morphed into something he couldn’t quite read before sliding back into that of a tortured woman. “I never cheated on you,” she replied, affronted.
“That’s not what I meant. All I meant was I can’t possibly be the father because there was absolutely no chance condoms failed when we were still sleeping together.”
She shrugged, her shoulders shaking as her crying increased.
“What are you going to do about it? Are you going to keep it?”
Her head jerked up, like a puppet on a string, and she stared at him. Slowly, she started shaking her head. “I can’t keep it.”
He stood up, unable to sit still anymore. “Why not?”
Her crying got louder, more violent, as she said, “I can’t raise this baby by myself.”
“You wouldn’t be by yourself.”
“Yes, I would!” Her scream cut through him. “You and I are clearly not getting back together.”
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to keep his voice level. “No, we’re not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be there to help you... if this baby is mine. Please, Lisa. I don’t want you to terminate the pregnancy if the only reason you can’t keep it is because of money. I can support the child if you need me to. I can’t, however, give you the emotional support you need. We’re never getting back together again and this won’t change anything.”
As if by magic, her tears dried up, her sobbing quieted and she looked at him like she’d just won the biggest prize at the fair.
“Do you promise?”
“I can’t do that until I see you take the pee test again. I need to witness it myself.”
Her mouth sank into a frown. “You don’t believe me? Fine. I still have one test left from the pack.” She dipped a hand into her bag, pulling out a plastic stick. She showed it to him, tapping the vacant window that would confirm or deny the pregnancy. “I can take it right now and prove to you that I’m pregnant.”
“The bathroom is down there.”
Seething, she walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Beau followed, standing right outside, his ear practically pressed against the thing. He heard the rustle of clothing then the sound of liquid hitting water. Blowing out a breath, he waited for the toilet to flush before barging into the room.
Lisa placed the stick on the countertop, her arms crossed over her chest in defiance. He didn’t give a shit what she thought though. This was his goddamn life here.
“How long do we have to wait?” he asked impatiently.
“Three minutes.”
His eyes darted to the test, waiting. “What’s that line?” he asked, pointing at a faint pink line appearing.
“It’s the control line.”
“Right.” His hands clenched into fists. “Right.”
Two minutes to go.
“It’s going to be positive, Beau,” Lisa said confidently.
“Are these things ever wrong?”
She shrugged. “Getting a false-positive is a possibility, but they’re very rare.”
“I still want you to get a blood test to absolutely prove this.”
One minute.
“Fine.”
Come on, come on, he thought. This is taking forever. He checked his watch, watching the second hand moving slowly around the face. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the test window, not yet.
“It’s time.”
He stepped forward, swiping the test from beside the sink before Lisa could reach for it. Letting out a breath, he uncurled his fingers and read the result.
Fuck.
“See?” Lisa beamed. “Pregnant.”
Practically throwing the test back down, he turned away, pacing down the hallway. Pregnant. Pregnant. Lisa was pregnant.
“Beau?” she called from behind him. “You saw me take the test. What now?”
He shook his head. He needed this to be one hundred percent confirmed—no chance of getting a false-negative.
“You need to get a blood test to prove it. After that, we can discuss how we’re going to proceed.”
A small smile broke out on her face. One hand went to her stomach as she hugged him. “Oh, Beau, I knew you’d figure out what to do.
“I’ll let you know the date for the blood test, baby,” she said with a wink before disappearing through the front door. He stood there, dumbstruck for just a moment. Behind him, John pulled open his bedroom door. He hadn’t even noticed when the guy had ghosted from that conversation.
“What the fuck, Beau?” John asked. “Pregnant? You got her pregnant?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s possible
, but she showed me the stick test. It was definitely positive.”
“If I were you, man, I’d be wanting a blood test to confirm that shit.”
“I told her the same thing.” He sat back down on the couch, cradling his head in his hands. Lisa was pregnant. His ex-girlfriend was pregnant and was claiming it was his. What was he supposed to tell Vee? How would she react?
“What are you going to do?” John asked, sitting down beside him.
“I have to tell Vee. We promised we wouldn’t lie to each other again.”
“How do you think that’s going to go down?”
“Knowing Vee? Not well. Fuck! I did not see this coming.”
“Do you think she could be lying?”
“Lisa? About the pregnancy?”
John shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”
“Come on, John,” Beau replied, trying more to convince himself than his friend. He’d be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. “She may have been a little clingy and neurotic but to pull that off?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t think she’s that unbalanced, but I would be proceeding with caution if I were you.”
“Right,” he replied. “And the first thing to do is get this pregnancy confirmed by a medical professional.”
20
Beau pressed the buzzer on Vee’s apartment building, wiping a hand over his brow as he waited. It was damn near a hundred degrees in Hollywood today, and he regretted wearing the chinos he currently had on.
It had been a little over a week since Lisa told him about the pregnancy, and it had been one hour since he’d received the last text message from her inviting him to go baby clothes shopping or asking if he’d thought of some names to shortlist. The woman was putting the cart before the horse, so apart from a few vague, noncommittal replies, he did his best to ignore the constant stream of questions.
“Hi.”
Beau’s head jerked up at the sound of Vee’s voice, a smile forming on his lips. She was taking him in from head to toe, her eyes lingering on his hips. She was dressed in tight jeans and a sleeveless blouse, the color complementing her dark hair and green eyes.
Leaning in, he placed a kiss on her cheek, murmuring, “You look beautiful.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she replied, sliding her hand into his and tugging him down the sidewalk toward his car. By some miracle, he’d gotten a parking spot right outside her building. He looked down at their joined hands, marveling at the transformation in Vee. After their heart-to-heart in the car, where they’d put it all out there and decided that honesty was the best way forward, she’d become more affectionate. He was beginning to see glimpses of the girl he had back in college—the girl who only showed her real self to him when they were alone.
She’d always been prickly with other people, but that was just how she protected herself. The only people who really saw her were him and his mom.
Jogging ahead, he opened up the door for her, shutting it after she slid inside. Rounding the front of the car, he checked for traffic then hopped into the driver’s side.
“So, where are we going?”
“Not far. I’ll direct you.”
Beau pulled out into the flow of traffic, following Vee’s directions. They ended up winding into Hollywood Hills where obscenely large houses lined the streets.
“It’s this one here.” Vee pointed at a property that looked like it had just been built.
He whistled through his teeth. “This is Max’s place?”
“His new one, yeah. He dropped a lot of money getting this place designed especially for him, Erin, and Gigi.”
He looked out at the house again. “How much does a bar manager make?”
“Well, when Max’s father passed away, he left him an inheritance.”
“It must’ve been substantial.”
“It was,” she said, opening up her door. Beau followed, joining her at the front of the car. Man, his mom’s old Honda looked like a piece of shit compared to the other cars parked in the driveways of the houses surrounding them. “Are you ready?”
Stretching out his hand for hers, they walked together to the door.
A young woman opened the door, her eyes lighting up when they saw Evangeline.
“Oh my god, Vee!” she squealed, wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. Evangeline laughed, squeezing her back just as tightly.
“Congratulations, Gigi,” she said softly, pulling back to look the girl in the eye. “I’m so happy for you and Max.” Turning to Beau, she said, “Gianna, this is Beau.”
He was shocked when she hugged him too. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
She had? “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too. And congratulations on your engagement. Max is a great guy.”
Gianna’s cheeks flushed with color. “He’s the greatest. Now, come inside. Erin is going to be so happy to see you, Vee.”
As they followed Gianna deeper into the house, Beau leaned in and whispered into Vee’s ear, “Who’s Erin?”
“E-lene!” a small voice cried and his head jerked up. A young girl—probably no older than two—was running toward Vee with her arms open and a look of absolute joy on her face. Vee dropped into a crouch, ready to catch the little ball of energy. She caught her with an oomph, the pair of them toppling over onto the ground. When Vee began to tickle her, the girl shrieked with laughter.
“I see she found you,” Max said, stepping into the room. “Come on, Erin, off Aunty Evangeline.” He hoisted the little girl off Vee then offered her a hand up. Turning to Beau, he said, “It’s nice to see you again, Beau.”
Beau held out his hand to shake Max’s. “You too. Congratulations on your engagement.”
“Thank—”
“Where’s my grandbaby?” someone asked.
“She’s here, Mom,” Max called, turning around to pass the little girl over to a rather stylishly dressed older woman.
“Evangeline, it’s so nice to see you,” she said, placing a kiss on Erin’s head.
“It’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Parker.”
“Erin seems to like you,” he said to Vee.
At the mention of her name, Vee smiled. “She’s a great little kid.”
He stared at her, practically seeing the lives they could have—they could get married, buy a house together, then maybe a year or two later, they could think about having kids. He could already picture Vee playing with their daughter, who would look like her, and maybe later on there could be another little boy to help grow their family. They could be happy.
They would be happy.
“Would you like a drink?” Max asked. He blinked, realizing Vee wasn’t standing beside him anymore.
“Sure, a drink would be great.”
Max nodded, walking toward the bar where about fifty bottles of different types of liquor were set out on the counter. Pulling open one of the bar fridges under the counter, he pulled out two beers, handing one to Beau.
“Here’s to a long and happy life together,” he said, holding the bottle out to Max.
“And here’s to you making Vee a happy woman again.”
His brows rose in surprise. He knew he’d made her happy, but if other people were noticing, that had to be a good thing.
“What are your plans, then?”
“Plans?” Like for life?
“Yeah, what are you planning on doing to keep making my boss happy?”
He turned his head when he heard her laughing somewhere deeper in the house. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do, Beau.”
He glanced back at the other guy. “I guess I do too, but it’s too soon.”
“I’m not talking about getting married tomorrow, but do you think that’s where you’re heading?”
Under normal circumstances, Beau would never stand for a guy—who’s practically a stranger—telling him what he should do, but he respected Max and would listen to him since he
knew Vee and had welcomed her into his family, if Erin and Gianna’s reactions had been any indication.
“That’s exactly where I’m heading. I just have to make sure Vee is on board with that too.”
Max took a sip of his beer. “She will be—if not already, then she will be soon.”
“How are you so sure?”
“I’ve known Evangeline for three and a half years. We started working at Temptation at the same time. When she bought out the club a year ago, she made me manager because we think the same way and do business the same way. We understand each other, and in all that time, I have never seen her acting like this. Keep treating her right and everything will fall into place.”
The doorbell rang then and Max excused himself. Beau went to look for Vee, finding her in a small playroom tucked away behind the dining room. She was playing with Erin on the floor, both of them sprawled out on their stomachs, coloring together. He leaned against the doorframe, watching them for a moment.
“Pur-pur, pwease,” Erin said, holding out her little hand for a crayon. Evangeline passed her a purple crayon, smiling.
“Very nice manners, Miss Erin.”
Erin beamed at her before her focus was back on her picture.
“She’s really good with her,” Gigi said from beside him. He turned, surprised that he hadn’t heard her approach. His gaze went back to Vee.
“She is.”
Gigi let out a sigh, her hand going to her stomach.
“Not feeling well?” he asked.
A secret smile formed on her lips. “No—it’ll pass though once I have something to eat.”
Beau nodded, then gestured to Evangeline. “They have a good relationship, these two.”
“They do. Vee has been having dinner with us every Sunday for the past year or so now. She and Erin have a special bond.”
“I can see that.” He pictured her playing with their own child, the strength of the vision so strong that he could swear he was seeing it before his eyes right then.
“How long have you and Vee been together? Max mentioned you only a few times.”
