Pregnant by Mr. Wrong

by Rachael Johns

  “Callum will come around eventually,” Sophie added. “I’m sure this is something we’ll all laugh and joke about at Christmas lunches years from now. And I for one can’t wait to be an auntie again.”

  “Yeah,” Mac agreed. “And you guys having twins should keep Mom busy and take the pressure off the rest of us for a while. Well done, little brother.” He clapped Quinn on the other shoulder.

  “What’s going on?” Chelsea appeared behind them. They’d been so consumed by their own conversation they hadn’t heard her arrive.

  “Oh, my!” She gasped when she looked at Quinn. “What happened to you?”

  “Your fiancé,” Lachlan informed her.

  “What?”

  “I’ve got to get back to the tasting room,” Sophie said, linking her arm through Chelsea’s. “Come with. I’ll fill you in on the way.” Before Chelsea could say another word, Sophie was whisking her away. She called back over her shoulder. “Do you want me to tell Annabel your news, Quinn? I think she’s less likely than Callum to get physical, but we shouldn’t take any risks. Any more knocks and you won’t be the prettiest McKinnel anymore.”

  As his brothers laughed again, Quinn aimed his middle finger at Sophie. “Go ahead, be my guest. Tell Blair, as well. I’ve had enough of family for one day.”

  Right now all he wanted to do was head back to his house and take a good look in the mirror to assess the damage before he met Bailey later in the day to go over some party details. She was stressed enough already about what people might think about their situation, and in wanting to protect her from Callum’s wrath, he’d insisted that telling his brother was something he needed to do alone. Now, with his nose throbbing and blood soaking into his favorite T-shirt, he was questioning this decision. If Bailey had been with him, maybe Callum would have showed a little restraint.

  * * *

  “Where are the others?” Bailey asked her mother when they met outside the coffeehouse on the main street of Jewell Rock where she’d been expecting to meet her whole family for brunch. This did not bode well.

  When her mom left Quinn’s house a few hours ago, Bailey had suggested they all get together for brunch so she could tell her stepdad and her siblings the good news. In public, and with her younger children in tow, Marcia would be less likely to harp on what she saw as the negatives in this situation. Bailey had hoped that maybe her mother would have mellowed over the last couple of hours, gotten used to the idea of her and Quinn together and maybe even begun to feel excited about becoming a grandmother.

  Judging by the still-stern expression on her face, this was a pipe dream.

  “I told them when I went home,” she said, leaning forward and kissing Bailey on the cheek. There was little warmth in the kiss. “I thought it would be good if we had some mother-daughter alone time to discuss everything.”

  Oh, boy. With a heavy heart Bailey followed Marcia inside. They sat at a table in the corner and both ordered poached eggs on grilled polenta cakes, even though Bailey was no longer feeling hungry at all. The moment their waitress went off to fill the order, Marcia looked to Bailey across the table and let out a long, heavy sigh.

  “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?” She pursed her lips into a fine line as she waited for Bailey to respond.

  “Most definitely.” There was no point pretending her mom was referring to anything other than the situation with Quinn and the babies. “It was never an option to end the pregnancy or give the babies away.”

  Marcia looked appalled. “Of course not. I would never suggest that, but Quinn...”

  “Quinn is my babies’ father. He wants to be involved and I’m not going to make that difficult for him.”

  “Clearly not,” Marcia said, a sarcastic edge to her tone. “But I can’t help thinking this is history repeating itself. Your father wanted to be involved initially as well, but men are never really ready for fatherhood, even when it’s planned. I’m not suggesting you cut Quinn out of your babies’ lives, but I have to admit, I’m worried about you giving him any more of yourself. He reminds me too much of your father—he’s too good-looking for his own good, as charming as they come, but...”

  Bailey didn’t want to hear what her mother thought of Quinn, because he wasn’t like her father and their situations were not the same. She held up her hand and cut in before Marcia could say another word. “The pregnancy might have been unplanned, but Quinn wanted to be with me before he found out about the babies. From what you told me about you and my biological father, he took advantage of your teenage crush and then freaked out at the consequences. I know you only want the best for me, Mom, and that you’re saying all this with the best intentions, but I’m not nineteen like you were and Quinn isn’t a child, either.”

  “I hope you’re right, but I want you to know that if things don’t work out with Quinn, then Reginald and I will be here for you and the babies.” Her mom reached across the table and squeezed Bailey’s hand—for the first time she sounded warm, loving, softer. “I can’t wait to be a grandma and Elle is very excited about being an auntie. Dane said you better be having boys.”

  Bailey summoned a smile and resisted the urge to tug her hand away. “I wish you’d brought them,” she said, directing the conversation away from Quinn. “I feel like I haven’t seen them for ages.”

  “Well, you’ve been busy.”

  “Yes, I have.” She ignored her mother’s obvious meaning and instead launched into a spiel about what she’d been up to at the hotel lately.

  Their meals arrived and Bailey forced herself to eat as fast as she could so she could make her excuses. She didn’t want to linger a moment longer in her mom’s pessimistic company.

  Why couldn’t her mom, of all people, just be happy for her?

  Outside on the footpath, she texted Quinn as she walked briskly toward her parked car. She wanted to go back to yesterday, to the excitement of first seeing her babies on the screen and then to the hours following, where she and Quinn had whiled away the time making love and plans for the future.

  Have you told everyone? How’d it go?

  She beeped her car unlocked, climbed inside and was just turning the key in the ignition when he replied.

  Um...

  Bailey closed her eyes, sighed, then opened them again and typed another message.

  That sounds ominous. Are you home now? I’m coming over.

  Sure. I’ll see you soon. But don’t freak out. I’m okay.

  Perplexed at what he could be talking about, she drove as fast as was legal to Quinn’s place. He was waiting for her out front. One look at his face and she freaked.

  “Oh, my gosh!” she shrieked, reaching out to cup his cheek. He winced as if his whole face, not just his previously beautiful nose, now smashed up and triple the size it used to be, hurt. “Who did this to you?”

  He raised an eyebrow, slowly as if even that slight movement caused pain. “Let’s see, which one of my brothers might be particularly angry that I’m hooking up with his ex.”

  She gasped. Of course it had to be Callum, but at the same time, she couldn’t imagine him getting this worked up about her. “I’ll kill him,” she said, surprised by her own rage. “He could barely find the time to spend with me when we were together and now this! Who does he think he is? Why can’t our families just get over themselves and play nice?”

  “Relax,” Quinn said, reaching out to her. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and rubbed gently but firmly, the simple action causing a heady sensation that almost made her forget why she was in a snit. “I’m guessing things didn’t go so well with your family this morning?”

  She seethed at the memory. “I don’t want to talk about it.” But then her mouth went directly against the wishes of her brain and spilled out the whole sorry story.

  “She’ll come round,” he s
aid when she’d finished raging. “If not before the babies are born, she’ll take one look at their cherubic little faces and forget how they got their start.”

  “Hmm.” Bailey hoped he was right. “But maybe we should cancel your mom’s party? Between my mom and Callum, I’m worried there might be a scene and I don’t want to ruin Nora’s birthday.”

  “No way.” Quinn shook his head adamantly. “Your mom and Callum will just have to accept the way things are now. And I’d like to think that both of them are mature enough to put any grievances aside. We’re doing this. We’re doing it together. And it’s going to be awesome.”

  Bailey wasn’t a hundred percent sure if he was talking about the party now, or parenthood, but either way, she nodded. Quinn was right—the babies and their relationship were a thing. A thing that their families would just have to get used to.

  And if they don’t? Would she and Quinn survive that? The question was too terrifying to contemplate.

  Chapter Nine

  “What are you doing? Put that down.”

  At the sound of Quinn’s voice, Bailey looked up from the box she was carrying across the newly erected marquee to see him coming toward her. She stopped walking as he came to a stand in front of her.

  “I’m fine. It’s not heavy.”

  “You’re carrying my twins,” he said, taking the box from her grasp, his hands brushing against hers as they did so. “Any kind of lifting is off limits, especially when I’m around to do it for you.”

  She rolled her eyes but was secretly pleased by the way he was looking after her. And at least when she didn’t have her hands full, she could admire how edible he looked in faded jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, pushed up his arms after a couple of hours of exertion. Now that the swelling and bruising had finally gone down on his nose, if anything, he was even better looking than before.

  Bailey’s mouth watered as an almost irresistible urge to kiss him swept over her. If they weren’t in the middle of a marquee, his brothers carrying and positioning the tables and chairs all around them, she would have. Yet, although both their families now knew about their relationship and the babies, and were accepting in various degrees, they’d been “out” for only a few weeks and she wasn’t quite ready for public displays of affection, however much her hormones berated her for this reticence.

  “Where do you want this?” he asked, a knowing smile on his face as if he could read her illicit thoughts. For a second she had no idea what he was referring to. “The box,” he clarified, his tone amused.

  “Oh, right. Well, it’s got the place cards, the menus and the little goodie bags to go on the tables, so you can put it over by the boxes of tablecloths and cutlery.”

  “As you wish.” Quinn nodded as he headed off in that direction.

  Bailey smiled at his Princess Bride reference—she’d told him it was her favorite movie, then they’d watched it together, and ever since he’d been quoting Westley every chance he got. It never failed to amuse her. She paused a moment, trying to recall what she’d been up to before he distracted her with his sexiness.

  The marquee hire company had arrived mere minutes after Annabel and Sophie had whisked Nora off into town with promises of a long lunch and shopping. As far as they could tell, Nora didn’t have a clue about the surprise party. Bailey couldn’t wait to see the surprise on her face when she returned later and was greeted by forty of her closest friends and family.

  The marquee had been erected without a hitch, and Quinn, Mac and Blair had been carrying tables and chairs over from the café ever since. With Lachlan busy preparing the food, the others were watching Hamish, and even he’d been doing his best to lend a hand, following Quinn and his other uncles around like a shadow. Callum was noticeably absent, having chosen to assist Chelsea and Claire, Blair’s ex-wife, who were due to arrive soon with all the decorations. Claire, a florist, was bringing blooms that would brighten up the venue as well as other 1950s paraphernalia to hang on the walls and ceiling.

  Bailey had every confidence it was going to look magical, but her stomach did a little tumble at the thought of working alongside Callum and Chelsea. Although they were all making an effort to achieve a new normal that had mostly included avoiding each other, tonight they all had to be in the same space. She prayed Callum and Quinn would think of their mother and refrain from making a scene. One day, she hoped, they’d all be able to be together without any resentment and awkwardness over the fact she’d started out with the wrong brother and that it would be something they could all laugh about. Or, better still, forget.

  Aside from this little bit of anxiety, she was feeling on top of the world. True to the books that Quinn had bought, the beginning of the second trimester had signaled the end of her twenty-four-hour morning sickness and a definite increase in her appetite. Not just for food but also for sex, something Quinn had been more than happy to accommodate. Her insides heated at this thought and she felt her cheeks glow as the man in question returned, this time piggybacking Hamish, with Blair and Mac close behind.

  “What’s next?” Quinn asked as Mac wiped perspiration from his brow.

  “Why don’t you all go take a break and get a drink?” she suggested. “Then I’ll need the stage set up for the band, and the others should be here soon with the flowers and rest of the decorations. How about we reconvene in twenty minutes?”

  Mac and Blair didn’t need to be asked twice. As they turned and headed toward the exit, Quinn repositioned Hamish on his back and spoke to Bailey. “You should come and put your feet up for a few moments, as well. Let’s go see how Lachlan is going in the café. Hamish, how do you feel about a milk shake?”

  Quinn’s nephew shrieked his affirmative reply and Bailey laughed. Until recently, she hadn’t noticed the special bond between these two, but it was just another indication of what kind of dad Quinn would be. She couldn’t believe she’d ever doubted him.

  She walked beside him and Hamish as they headed the few hundred feet to the café, which was closed today for the party. Mac, in charge of the renovations and extension, had told his mom he needed to do some work that required the closure for the weekend.

  As Quinn held open the door for her, Bailey could see that this was a believable excuse. “Wow,” she said as she gazed around. The transformation from comfortable café to flash restaurant was well and truly underway. “Mac has been busy, hasn’t he?”

  “I think work keeps his mind off other things,” Quinn said.

  He didn’t need to state what those other things were. Until last year, Mac had been a professional soccer player, but he’d returned home to lick his wounds after messing up a goal in a big match and the breakup of his long-term relationship that had followed. She wasn’t sure if the two things were related, but either way, she felt for him.

  Lachlan came out of the kitchen to greet them. Despite this being a family function, he still looked the part in his chef’s whites and the hat he’d once told her was called a toque.

  “Well, what do you know. It’s my favorite son, my favorite brother and...” He stalled a moment and looked to Bailey. “And my favorite incubator of my first nieces or nephews.”

  Bailey shook her head but couldn’t help smiling. “You McKinnels are all smooth talkers, aren’t you?”

  Lachlan grinned back as Hamish rushed over to give him a hug.

  “I’m your only son,” he exclaimed. “And what’s an intu-bator?”

  “It’s something, or someone in Bailey’s case, that keeps babies safe while they’re growing and readying themselves to face the world.”

  “Bailey’s having twins,” Hamish said. “Like Hallie and I are twins.”

  “She sure is.”

  Quinn took her hand and led her across to a bar stool, one of the only seats still available in the café. The rest of the furniture was now in the marquee. “I
’m gonna make milk shakes,” he told Lachlan. “That okay with you?”

  “Yes, sure, I’m all on track.” Lachlan glanced at his watch. “Charlii and Reagan should be here soon.”

  Charlii and Reagan, who worked in the café, had agreed to do an extra shift for Nora’s birthday. Everyone loved the McKinnel matriarch and was only too eager to do anything for her. They’d help Lachlan in the kitchen and then serve the food to the guests in the marquee. A friend of Sophie’s and another young girl who worked in the tasting room of the distillery were also coming to serve drinks. Bailey just hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything—this was the first event she’d handled entirely on her own, and although it wasn’t a huge gig, if the party guests had a good time, then word would spread fast in Jewell Rock.

  “I feel a little bad,” she said to Lachlan, “that you’ll be stuck in here most of the night working and won’t be able to properly enjoy your mom’s party.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll pop my head in when I can, but as long as everyone loves the food, I’ll be as happy as Larry.”

  “If the aromas already wafting out here from the kitchen are anything to go by, I’d say that’s a done deal.” Even though they’d chosen to continue the 1950s theme with the food—alcoholic milk shakes and root beer floats, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and fries on the menu—with Lachlan catering they wouldn’t just be your run-of-the-mill diner cuisine.

  He beamed at the compliment and then lifted Hamish onto the stool beside Bailey. “You felt them move yet?” he asked, nodding toward her stomach.

  “I’m not sure. The books say it’s still too early, but I swear I’ve felt the odd flutter.”

  “Danielle felt movement early with the twins, as well,” he said. “I guess when there are two babies in there, it’s a bit more cramped, so everything is amplified.”