Pregnant by Mr. Wrong

by Rachael Johns

  “We’re not going.” Marcia’s eyes narrowed at Quinn as if he were the wolf and her daughter Red Riding Hood.

  “Until you tell us what is going on between you two,” Nora finished.

  “I thought that would be fairly obvious.” When neither of their mothers said a word but simply folded their arms and raised their eyebrows in unison, he added, “Fine. At least give us a chance to get dressed. We’ll be out in a moment.”

  With obvious reluctance, their mothers retreated. As the door closed behind them, Quinn turned to Bailey, who looked as if she could burst into tears or throw up at any moment.

  “Are you alright?” He reached out to her, but she leaped out of bed and rushed for his bathroom. Seconds later he heard the telltale signs of morning sickness.

  He found her kneeling on the floor, stooped over his toilet as she heaved up the contents of last night’s dinner.

  “There, there,” he crooned as he crouched beside her, held her hair out of her eyes and rubbed her naked back. “It’ll be okay.”

  A strangled moan escaped her mouth. A few moments passed, then she looked at him—her eyes wide and accentuated by her long lashes, her cheeks turned a deep crimson. “Are you crazy? That is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me. My own mom would have been bad enough, but your mom, as well! I’ll never be able to look either of them in the eye again.”

  Even in her mortified, postsick state, she looked gorgeous and he had a crazy urge to draw her into the shower and have her again. To hell with their moms waiting impatiently on the other side of his bedroom door. Instead, he stroked her hair. “Relax—we’re both adults. If anyone is in the wrong here, it is them.”

  She let out a maniacal giggle. “So wrong.”

  “Come here.” He pulled her against him and heaved them both off the cold tiles. “Let’s get dressed and go and face the music. Or rather, The Moms.”

  At these words, Bailey cursed—something she rarely did.

  “What is it?” he asked at the terror in her voice.

  “My clothes. They’re still strewn all over your living room floor.”

  He swallowed a curse of his own. “You can wear some of my sweatpants, that T-shirt, and I’ll find you a sweater.” He went to kiss her forehead, to try to calm her, but she shook her head furiously.

  “No. You’ll have to go and get my own clothes. I can’t face them dressed in your gear. Please?”

  He wanted to reason with her that him going out there alone to collect her clothes from wherever they’d landed was an equally bad idea, but she pushed him toward the door as if it was a done deal. “I’ll have a quick shower and freshen up while you’re getting them.”

  Women. Quinn grabbed a pair of jeans and yanked them on, then pulled a clean T-shirt out of his drawer and put that on, too. Hoping the moms might be in the kitchen helping themselves to coffee or something, he opened his door without making a sound and tiptoed out toward the living room. He moved like a burglar in his own place. This was like no walk of shame he’d ever done before and unfortunately he found his mom and hers perched on his couch waiting when he emerged. Between them, in a neat folded pile, were Bailey’s clothes. Her bra and panties right on top.

  His mom picked them up and held them out to him. “Looking for these?”

  He didn’t even glance Marcia’s way as he snatched the pile and hurried back into the bedroom to find Bailey with a towel wrapped around her.

  “That was a quick shower.”

  “No point delaying the inevitable.” She took her clothes and made no comment about how nicely they were folded.

  Bailey dressed faster than he’d ever seen a woman do, and then she looked at him. “What’s our story? Are we going to tell them about the babies?”

  As much as he’d wanted to shout the news from the rooftops yesterday, now he wasn’t so sure. Not after seeing the venom in Marcia’s eyes.

  “Maybe one shock at a time. We’ll tell them we’re together. Give them a couple of weeks to get used to that, and then give them our wonderful news.”

  Bailey nodded as if she were cool with this plan (or as cool as she could be in this awkward situation), and then he took her hand and together they walked out to face The Moms.

  Quinn addressed their mothers as Bailey lowered herself into the armchair opposite the couch. “Can I get you a tea? Coffee?”

  “I couldn’t eat or drink a thing, not when I’ve just discovered you are taking advantage of my daughter in her heartbroken state.”

  “I’m not heartbroken,” Bailey said.

  At the same time, his mom piped up. “Now hold your horses, Marcia, I won’t have you speaking about my son like that.”

  “Well, if the shoe fits!”

  Nora ignored her friend, looked to Quinn and then to Bailey. “Just tell me one thing—is this why you broke up with Callum?”

  As he waited for Bailey’s response, he wondered how his mom would react when she found out they’d betrayed his brother. He wasn’t proud of his actions—which reminded him far too much of his dad’s indiscretions. He might have a reputation for being a bit of a man about town, but this was the first time he’d done what he did with a woman who wasn’t a hundred percent available. He’d always wondered if his mom knew about his dad, but he’d never broached the subject, not wanting to be the one to break her heart.

  “I would have ended my relationship with Callum whether Quinn was involved or not,” Bailey said. “We weren’t right for each other. We had different hopes and dreams, and if you must know, there wasn’t any spark.”

  She looked to Quinn and he could almost see the electricity zapping between them.

  Marcia rubbed her forehead. “I need something for a headache.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Mom,” Bailey said, turning back to her mother. “I thought you wanted me to put myself out there again, start dating.”

  “I didn’t mean with someone like Quinn.”

  “How dare you!” Nora turned full-on to face her friend on the couch. Although she’d brandished the wooden spoon a few times when they were kids, Quinn had never seen such rage in her face.

  “Oh, come on. Everyone knows Quinn’s reputation. He’s left broken hearts all over town and beyond.”

  He begged to differ—when he hooked up with a woman, he made sure they knew the score beforehand—but he couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

  “Maybe he just hadn’t met the right woman yet!” yelled his mother.

  “Maybes aren’t good enough where my daughter is concerned!” Marcia shouted, her fists bunching as if she were trying not to use them.

  He had a terrible vision of their moms rolling around on the floor, tearing at each other’s hair, cat-fighting like a couple of schoolgirls, and him having to pull them apart before they killed each other. As they glowered at each other, he glanced down at Bailey and saw the same fear echoed in her eyes.

  I think we should tell them, she mouthed.

  He nodded. Things couldn’t really get any worse than they already were. Maybe the twins could salvage their moms’ friendship. Feuding grandmothers was not what he wanted for his kids.

  He took hold of Bailey’s hand and cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, she blurted, “We’re pregnant! Well, I’m pregnant. But the babies are Quinn’s.”

  “You’re what?” Marcia gasped, her hand rushing to cover her mouth.

  His mom leaned forward. “Did you say...babies?”

  “Yes,” they chorused.

  Then before either mom could recover enough to say another word, Quinn said his piece. “I know you might not think very highly of me, Marcia, but I want you to know I’m a hundred and ten percent committed to your daughter and your grandchildren. I hope that you, and the rest of our families, will understand we never me
ant to cause any hurt or harm to anyone, and that you’ll be able to be happy for us going forward. Because if not, I have no qualms about showing you both the door. I won’t have any negativity surrounding Bailey and our children.”

  He heard Bailey sniff beside him and he thought maybe he’d been too harsh, but when he looked down at her, she was smiling up at him. She held out her hand and he took it, united as they waited for a response.

  Marcia was first to break the silence. “Are you going to marry her?”

  Quinn squeezed Bailey’s hand. The thought of marriage still gave him the heebie-jeebies, but he pasted on a smile. “I’d love to.”

  “But,” Bailey added, “it’s not the dark ages and so we’re just taking things slowly and seeing where they lead.”

  Before her mother could respond to that, Nora leaped up from the couch and rushed over to them. She stood in front of him, grabbed him by the ears, pulled him toward her and gave him a big kiss. “I’m so happy I could burst! If Callum wasn’t engaged and happy himself, I might have to reprimand you. But it looks to me like things turned out how they are meant to in the end.”

  Hmm... Quinn wasn’t sure Callum would see it like that, but hopefully he’d get over it eventually.

  His mom turned and spoke to Bailey. “Congratulations, my darling girl.” She stooped and placed her hand against Bailey’s stomach. “You look after my grandbabies. Lord knows I’ve been waiting long enough for some more.”

  Bailey’s mother wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. She slowly heaved herself up off the couch and went over to her daughter. She hugged her and congratulated her but barely grunted to him. Was she thinking about Bailey’s dad and likening Quinn to him as Bailey had first done?

  Whatever. He would win her round just as he had done Bailey and prove to her he was nothing like Marcia’s first husband. Or his own father.

  Chapter Eight

  “You bastard!”

  Quinn stumbled back as Callum’s fist landed smack in the middle of his face. Pain exploded in his head as blood spurted from his nose. Instinctively he reached his hand up to try to ease the ache. Or was it to clear the mess? He wasn’t sure. Fact was, despite the news he’d just landed on his brother, he hadn’t expected things to get physical.

  For one, Callum’s anger seemed a little unreasonable considering Bailey was no longer his girlfriend. And it wasn’t like he’d been nursing a broken heart since the breakup. Bailey obviously hadn’t been the great love of his life.

  For two, Callum had never been the fisticuffs type. He believed words were mightier than the sword, whereas Quinn and his other brothers had been in more brawls in their lives than he could count. They’d disagree, they’d shove each other around, then they’d share a bourbon afterward and all would be forgotten. Once, when they were little, Mac had actually broken Blair’s arm; by the time the plaster had set they’d been best buddies again. But Callum had always been too sensible, too mature, too responsible to resort to physical altercations.

  The expression on his face now told Quinn his brother was almost as surprised as he was at his actions. He opened his mouth as if to apologize but shut it again immediately, folding his arms over his chest instead and lifting his chin as he narrowed his eyes at Quinn. Callum’s anger Quinn could handle, but the hurt he could also see almost broke him. They’d always had a tumultuous relationship, but right now Quinn felt guilt and self-disgust like he’d never felt before.

  “It was only one time,” he found himself saying. “I swear nothing else happened until you broke up.”

  Callum raised one of his dark, bushy eyebrows. “And then you discovered she was pregnant?”

  Quinn swallowed—trying not to wince as he tasted blood—and lowered his head in one heavy nod.

  “I thought you, of all people, would be more careful. If you couldn’t keep it in your pants, the least you could have done was to use protection. It’s one thing disregarding family so much that you could sleep with my girlfriend, but to take advantage of Bailey like that, I just...” Callum shook his head. “You repulse me!”

  “Now just hang on a minute.” It was one thing taking a punch to the nose—he probably deserved it—but Quinn wasn’t gonna let Callum get away scot-free. “If you don’t know why Bailey came running to me, then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. If you’d paid more attention to her, actually made her feel like she mattered as much as your work did, then she wouldn’t have needed my comfort and support in the first place.”

  “You’re blaming me for you accidentally getting my ex pregnant?” Callum blinked. “You’re incorrigible.”

  His guilt was rapidly diminishing. “At least I’m doing the right thing by her now.”

  “And I suppose you want me to give you a gold medal for that? You’ve well and truly got yourself trapped, haven’t you?”

  Quinn’s hands fisted, but before he could say or do anything else, Sophie appeared around Callum’s office door. “What on earth is going on in here? We can hear you shouting in the tasting room and it’s not good for busi—” Her words faltered and her eyes widened as she registered Quinn’s face. He could only imagine what a mess he must look. “Oh, my God. Callum, did you hit Quinn?”

  Callum shrugged one shoulder. “He deserved it.”

  Her usually smooth brow creasing, Sophie asked, “What did you do?”

  “Bailey and I—” Quinn paused to wipe a bit of blood as it trickled down his chin “—we’re a couple, and we’re having twins.”

  “Holy macaroni,” Sophie said after a few moments’ silence. Then she turned and grabbed a box of tissues off Callum’s desk. She yanked out a big wad and thrust it at Quinn. “Does Mom know?”

  “Thanks.” He lifted the tissues and pressed it against his nose. “Yes, we... She and Marcia found out this morning.”

  “You’re just lucky Dad isn’t still alive,” Callum said. “Mom might think her baby boy can do no wrong, but he’d—”

  “Don’t bring Dad into this,” Quinn warned.

  “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  “Now, now, boys.” Sophie held a warning hand out to each of them. “This news is...” When she couldn’t seem to define it, she changed tack. “Now isn’t the time or place to discuss this. We have customers to serve and Quinn’s nose needs ice. Callum, I’m guessing you’d rather see to the customers than Quinn?”

  Callum made some kind of sound like a wild beast ready to launch at his prey. “I can see to myself,” Quinn objected.

  Sophie wasn’t having any of that. She ordered Callum to summon some professionalism and go out and schmooze with their customers, and then she sneaked Quinn out the back door.

  “For a little sister, you’re very bossy,” he said.

  She marched him round the side of the building, ignoring his observation. “So you’re the real reason Callum and Bailey split up?”

  “No, the writing was on the wall anyway,” Quinn said as they turned the corner and walked straight into Mac and Lachlan, who were outside the soon-to-be extended café in deep discussion about the renovations. They stopped talking when they saw Quinn’s face.

  “Did you walk into a door?” Lachlan grimaced. He’d never been able to stomach blood.

  “More likely an irate boyfriend,” Mac said, the beginnings of a smirk appearing on his face. He’d barely smiled since coming home last year, so at least one good thing had come from all of this. “Whose toes have you stepped on now?”

  “Try an irate brother,” Sophie said. “I’m going into the café to grab some ice.”

  “What did Blair sock you for?” Mac asked, stifling a laugh. “Did you borrow his bagpipes without permission?”

  Lachlan snickered like a girl.

  “Actually, it was Callum who did the honors.” Although Quinn’s words were muffled a little by the bloody tiss
ues pressed against his nose, the way they both stopped chuckling made it clear they’d heard. They were likely trying to remember if Mr. Perfect had ever hit anyone else before in his life.

  By the time Sophie returned with the ice, Quinn was halfway through telling Mac and Lachlan the whole messy situation.

  “I get why he punched you,” Lachlan said as Sophie tried to tend to the wound with the ice.

  “Ouch,” Quinn objected. The ice almost hurt more than the initial blow.

  “Really?” Mac mused. “Callum and Bailey were well and truly over before all this came out, so what’s the big deal? Aside from the fact that dumb-ass here needs to learn how to change a diaper.”

  Quinn tried to glare at Mac, but his face had swollen so fast that even doing that hurt. “I know how to change a freaking diaper.”

  “The big deal is the bro code,” Sophie said, and Lachlan nodded. “You don’t mess with a friend’s or a brother’s girl. It would be like me or Annabel stealing each other’s boyfriends.”

  Lachlan nodded, but Mac raised an eyebrow. “You or Annabel would actually have to have a boyfriend for that to be a problem, and I don’t recall either of you going on a date since I’ve been home. I thought you were a lesbian now, anyway.”

  Sophie poked her tongue out at him. “Like you can talk. You’ve barely left your house or have spoken to a woman since you came home.”

  “I speak to you and Annabel and Mom. Oh, and Chelsea and Bailey.”

  “We don’t count.’

  “I guess you’re all gonna take his side, then?” Quinn said, Sophie and Mac’s bickering amplifying his headache.

  Lachlan, Mac and Sophie exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

  “Nah,” Mac said, speaking for all of them. “Taking sides is too much effort. We’ll just bitch about you when we’re with Callum and vice versa.”

  Lachlan lifted his hand and lowered it onto Quinn’s shoulder. “We all make stupid mistakes, buddy. The important thing is you’re doing the right thing now. And we’ll all be there for you and Bailey and our new nieces or nephews.”