Chapter Eight
Trace
“I’ve seen you with that same look on your face more times than I can count over the past few weeks.”
I turned and found my mom standing in the doorway of my childhood bedroom. She looked tired, which wasn’t a surprise considering how difficult my dad’s recovery had been. She’d been at his side the entire time, worried that something would happen to him if she left. They’d been together for thirty-five years without ever spending a night apart, and she’d refused to let his stay in the hospital be the first time. It wasn’t until he was transferred to the rehab facility yesterday that she finally agreed to come home and spend the night in her own bed. It had taken both of us hours to convince her. “And I’ve seen those bags under your eyes get darker each day.”
She laughed off my concern and walked towards me. “It’s nothing a little rest won’t cure. Now that your dad is on the mend, I’ll be able to catch up on my missed sleep. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug. “Dad’s not around to take care of you, so that makes it my job.”
“I’m the parent, Trace. It’s my job to watch over you, not the other way around,” she grumbled into my shirt.
I leaned back and looked down at her. “Like that’s ever stopped me.”
“You’re just like your father,” she huffed with a smile. “But even with how serious his heart attack was, don’t think for a minute that I didn’t notice that something has been bothering you ever since you got here.”
“Of course something’s bothering me. I rushed halfway across the country because Dad almost died.”
My mom might’ve been tired, but that didn’t mean she fell for my bullshit. She never did. She’d always been able to see right through me. “Nice try kiddo, but I always know when something is bothering my baby boy.”
There was no use in trying to deny it. She wouldn’t let up until I told her everything. “You’re right, Mom. There has been something on my mind other than dad’s illness.”
She moved over to the bed, sat down, and patted the mattress so I’d know that she wanted me to join her. “How about you tell your mom what’s going on? It’s girl trouble, isn’t it?”
I chuckled softly and shook my head. “How did you know?”
She tapped her finger against the cell phone I was still clutching in my hand. I hadn’t even realized it was still there, but it wasn’t a surprise since I hadn’t let it out of my sight the entire time I’d been in Chicago. “Normally, I would think that it was a work problem that was bothering you with the way you’ve been watching that phone like a hawk every day. But you’ve gotten plenty of calls from the office since you’ve been here, and not a single one of them has stopped you from keeping your phone near at all times. Plus, that look in your eye is a dead giveaway that a woman is involved.”
“What look?”
“It’s one I’m quite familiar with since it’s what I’ve been seeing every time I look in the mirror.” She leaned against my side and wrapped one of her hands around mine. “You look like you’re missing your other half.”
I dropped my head into my hands and ran my fingers through my hair. She’d nailed exactly how I was feeling. Being away from Melody for so long was hard—and without knowing why she hadn’t called me, it was torture.
“I met someone when I moved into the apartment I’m renting while the builders finish the house. She’s my next door neighbor, but I saw her at the grocery store first. It was my first day there, and I was flat-out exhausted from the drive and the move. But none of that mattered. Not after I saw her. It was like I’d been shot up with adrenaline or something.”
“It sounds like you were hit by Cupid’s arrow to me.”
My mom was being corny as hell, like usual, but I couldn’t even deny it. I’d felt something stronger than lust when I’d first laid eyes on Melody. “Maybe,” I admitted softly.
“Oh, my,” she gasped. “Did my baby boy just admit to meeting the girl of his dreams?”
I bumped her with my shoulder. “Tone back the corny stuff or I’ll zip my lips about her from here on out.”
She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at me. “All I heard was blah blah blah, you’ve fallen in love, and you want to tell me all about her.”
“Her name is Melody. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but she’s also smart as hell and so damn sweet. Her brains and heart are part of what make her such an incredible nurse.”
“What kind of nurse is she? Does she work in the hospital?”
“No, she’s at a doctor’s office. Her boss specializes in reproduction.”
“Oh, nice. She helps make families.” My mom grinned at me. “I bet she loves babies.”
Considering how Melody had begged me to fill her up with my come and give her one, she definitely loved babies. And holy fuck...we’d had a shit ton of unprotected sex that night. Three weeks had passed. What if she was pregnant?
A big part of me hoped she was because then I could latch onto that as a reason to break through whatever bullshit reason there was for giving me the silent treatment this whole time.
“She’s beautiful, smart, nice, and loves babies. What’s the problem, then?”
“I’m not sure. She hasn’t called since I left.”
“There’s an easy solution to that.” My mom poked at my phone again. “Call her.”
“I—um—don’t have her phone number.” The tips of my ears heated, a sure sign of how embarrassed I was to admit that to my mom. “She lives right next door, and we were spending basically all of our free time together. So we kind of never got around to exchanging numbers.”
“If she can’t call you, why have you been looking at your phone like someone kicked a puppy every time it rings?”
My ears grew hotter. “We had—uh—finally spent the night together for the first time, and then you called about Dad’s heart attack the next morning. She was still asleep, and her door locked behind me when I went back to my apartment. But before I left, I slid a note under her door explaining what had happened.”
“Maybe in all the craziness you forgot to put your number on the note?” my mom suggested.
I closed my eyes and pictured what I’d written down. It’d been brief, but I was positive the number had been at the bottom. “No, I didn’t forget.”
“How big was the piece of paper it was written on? Maybe she didn’t see it.”
I’d torn off part of a piece of paper from my kitchen counter. It had been small, but should’ve been easy for her to spot when she woke up and went in the living room. “That sounds pretty far-fetched. Do you really think it’s possible?”
“Your dad just survived a heart attack that should’ve killed him.” My mom patted my hand. “With love, anything is possible.”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, shaking my head.
“And you won’t, not until you go home to the woman you love...even if you aren’t quite ready to admit it to your mother yet.”
Chapter Nine
Melody
Being around the happy couple while all I wanted to do was go home and wallow in my own misery was pure torture—especially since I hadn’t talked to anyone about the night I’d spent with Trace. It was just too painful to talk about, with him disappearing off the face of the planet the way he had.
“Finally,” I grumbled under my breath when I spotted Aubrey and Nash. Ethan and Madison had been putting the wait to good use by kissing each other’s faces off, while I stood as far away as possible.
“I’d tell you to get a room but you’ll make out anywhere, so what’s the point?” Nash teased.
“It’s sickening. Seriously.” I shivered a little, in only slightly exaggerated disgust. “I don’t need to see my boss’s tongue down my best friend’s throat. That’s practically my sister you’re defiling there, Ethan!”
My boss finally tore himself away from Madison, and had th
e nerve to chastise us all for taking too long since we had a reservation at the restaurant. I rolled my eyes, while Nash flipped him off and Aubrey laughed at our antics. Ethan and Madison led the way as we walked down the street since they’d picked a place close to our office to finally celebrate their engagement with a group dinner.
As soon as we walked into the restaurant, we were taken to our table. I raised my brows at Aubrey when Nash pulled her chair out for her and then draped his arm across the back of it when he sat down next to her. She shook her head, and focused her attention on the happy couple. “So, what’s the big news?”
I had a sneaking suspicion as to what they planned to tell us tonight. It was confirmed when Ethan took Madison’s hand and announced, “Madison’s pregnant.”
Thrilled that my best friend was finally going to have the baby she’d always wanted, I jumped out of my chair and rushed over to her. Aubrey and I hugged her. “How far along are you?” I asked.
“I’m just past the thirteen-week mark.”
“That means you’re already in your second trimester.” I gave her another squeeze. “I’d better start planning the baby shower soon.”
We sat back down, and the waitress reappeared with our drinks. After we placed our orders, we talked about baby stuff until the food came. Then we chatted about it more while we ate. And drank wine. By the time dinner was over, I was feeling a little light-headed. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in that as I overheard Nash telling Aubrey that she’d had enough.
“Nash is probably right. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow’s hangover. Want to share an Uber, Aubrey?”
Nash did not like my suggestion. “I’ll take her home.”
Madison took offense and the air around them practically crackled with heat as they argued. Madison interrupted them and dragged Aubrey and me to the bathroom.
“Okay, Aubrey. Spill,” Madison demanded as soon as the door shut behind us.
Aubrey tried to act like she wasn’t keeping anything from us as she avoided eye contact with us. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit,” I scoffed. “Nash has been all over you tonight.”
“I’ve never seen him be so openly possessive of you, Aubrey,” Madison added.
She turned away from the mirror to face us. “Apparently, Nash has decided to trample over my insistence that a relationship between us is inappropriate. He said he’s, and I quote, ‘fresh out of patience.’ He’s unilaterally decided that we are going to be together.”
“It’s about time.” Madison’s smile was as wide as mine. “Come on, Aubrey. How long did you think he was going to let you pretend you weren’t interested?”
“Who says I’m interested?”
I burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter at that. When it passed, I pointed out, “Girl, the only person you were fooling is yourself. You’re completely transparent.”
Her jaw dropped. “I am not!”
Madison chimed in, “I hate to break it you, Aubrey. But, when you aren’t staring at him like you want to rip his clothes off, you’re staring at him like you want to have his freaking babies.”
“Do you think Nash noticed?” Aubrey asked, looking so hopeful that I hated to be the one to break it to her.
Luckily, Madison beat me to it. “Yeah, Aubrey. I think he noticed. Do you really think he would have kept pursuing you if you hadn’t seemed interested?”
My cell beeped, and my heart raced with hope as I dug through my purse to find it. I’d had the same reaction every time a call or text came through in the weeks since my night with Trace. But once again, it wasn’t the person I was hoping to hear from. Instead, the text was from my brother, letting me know he’d had dinner with our parents and they both seemed great. They were getting older, so it was always a relief when he sent me updates about them.
My head jerked up when Aubrey asked, “Melody, what’s going on?”
I’d avoided having this conversation for so long, but I couldn’t do it any longer. I was a wreck, wondering what could have possibly gone so wrong. Dropping my phone back into my purse, I put my head in my hands. “I did something really stupid.”
“How stupid?” Madison asked as she moved close and tugged on my hands to peer at my face. “Oh, shit. Like an eleven on a scale of one to ten?”
I nodded.
“Only a guy could make a smart girl like you do something that dumb,” Aubrey added, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. I figured she’d know since Nash had her spinning around in circles.
“The hot neighbor you mentioned but haven’t brought up again for a while?” Madison guessed.
If I was going to spill my guts, I figured it was best to treat it like a bandage and rip it off all in one, quick action. “We got drunk together a few weeks ago, had unprotected sex because I told him I wanted to have his baby, and then he ghosted me the next day.”
“Whoa,” Madison breathed out. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was an eleven.”
Aubrey’s brow wrinkled. “How could he ghost you? He lives right next door.”
“I don’t know, but somehow he’s managed it.” I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. “I woke up that morning, and he’d just kind of disappeared. There’s been no noise from his apartment. His truck hasn’t been in the parking lot.”
Madison’s eyes were full of sympathy. “You haven’t heard from him at all?”
“Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada,” I rattled off.
Aubrey gave me a little squeeze before stepping away. “Well, fuck him then.”
“I already did. That’s why it hurts so much that he vanished into thin air after getting what he wanted.”
“If he didn’t realize how amazing you are, then he’s not worth another thought,” Aubrey added.
“Or maybe he is,” Madison gasped, her eyes narrowing on me. “You had unprotected sex with this guy a few weeks ago, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did your period come last week?”
I staggered backwards and leaned against the sink.
“Wait. What? I don’t understand. How do you know when Melody is supposed to start her cycle?” Aubrey asked.
“We joke all the time about how we’re as close as two best friends can possibly be because our periods synced up years ago,” Madison explained. “And if I wasn’t thirteen weeks pregnant, then mine would’ve started last week.”
“Holy shit.” I shook my head in denial, but Madison took it as an answer to her original question—which worked for that too since it was accurate.
My best friend ignored the glaring problems that went along with me being pregnant and jumped straight to being excited about it. “This is awesome! We’ll get to be pregnant together, and our kids can be best friends too.”
“Except you and Ethan are crazy about each other and engaged to be married, while my potential baby daddy is nowhere to be found.”
“Let’s not all jump to conclusions quite yet,” Aubrey urged. “There are plenty of reasons why your period might be late, including the stress of being ghosted by your neighbor.”
“She’s right, Miss Babies on the Brain.” I wagged my finger at my best friend. “Just because you’re pregnant, doesn’t mean that I am.”
Aubrey was correct about the myriad of reasons my period could be late, but I was about ninety-nine percent certain that all of the unprotected sex I’d had with Trace was the culprit.
“Fine, you can hide your head in the sand all you want. But you’d better take a test soon,” Madison huffed before stomping out of the bathroom.
“You really should,” Aubrey agreed softly as we followed my best friend back to the table. It was a good thing we hadn’t just let her stomp off since the waitress was hitting on Ethan and Nash. We faced her down in a united front, even though they weren’t the kind of guys who’d ever mess around on their women. The confrontation helped me to forget about the bombshell realization I’d come to in the bathroom. But then everyone got all
kissy-face again, and it only made me miss Trace even more.
By the time I made it back to my apartment building—after a quick stop at the store to pick up a pregnancy test—I was a complete mess. So much so that I must’ve missed his big truck in the parking lot when I pulled in. But the man himself was impossible to miss. I spotted him as soon as I got off the elevator since he was sitting on the floor in front of my apartment with his back resting against the door and his legs stretched out in front of him.
Chapter Ten
Trace
“If it isn’t the disappearing man.”
My head jerked up and my eyes blinked open at the sound of the voice I’d desperately missed over the past few weeks. Only I hadn’t expected the sarcasm in her tone. With her blue eyes sparking fire and her hands clenched at her sides, one of them holding a bag from the drug store around the corner, she looked as irritated as I felt. She was also as gorgeous as I remembered. Just seeing her dimmed some of my frustration.
“You would’ve known exactly where I was if you’d bothered to call me,” I grumbled as I rose to my feet.
“Call you,” she snorted, elbowing past me to unlock and open her door. “How was I supposed to do that when we’re the biggest idiots in the world? We have to be the only people ever who have somehow managed to date—or hang out or whatever you want to call it—for two months and never exchanged phone numbers.”
I followed her inside, listening to her rant and enjoying the view while she paced back and forth. “My number was on the note I left you.”
She abruptly stopped to stare at me with wide, blue eyes. “Note? What note?”
“The one I wrote the morning I left, so you’d know about the family emergency.”
Her shoulders slumped as she walked over to the couch and dropped down on the cushions, tossing the bag she’d been carrying on the coffee table. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. When I woke up that morning, other than finding your shoes in my living room and your tie in my bed, it was like you’d never been here.”
Baby Daddies: A Me, Myself & I Collection Page 10
