Pregnant by Mr. Wrong

by Rachael Johns

  Until the noise of a motorbike approaching interrupted her quiet reflection.

  She tensed and turned toward the road. It couldn’t be Quinn because he’d sold his bike almost two months ago. Yet, when the vehicle came to a stop only a few yards away from her, even before its rider tore the helmet from his head, she knew it was him. Without his leather jacket, the white shirt he’d been wearing for the party did nothing to hide the muscles she’d become so intimately acquainted with. Despite herself, her mouth watered at the sight, but as he lifted one lean thigh over the bike to get off, she remembered that what he looked like didn’t mean a blasted thing. His sex appeal had never been up for debate—that had been what got her into trouble in the first place. It was his scruples, his deception, she had issue with.

  “When I said I didn’t want to talk to anyone, that most definitely included you,” she shouted, holding out a hand to warn him off as he approached.

  He looked past her to the fire. Before she could reply, he jogged over to the hose, turned it on and aimed it at the flames.

  She sighed as she watched him drown the fire. So much for not letting anyone interrupt her efforts. Too bad he wasn’t in time to save his jacket.

  “What the hell were you doing?” he asked, once there was nothing but a soggy mess left on the grass. “Is that my jacket?”

  “Was,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “You could have set fire to the whole building. I thought you didn’t want to be the laughingstock of Jewell Rock? If the fire department were called, Annabel would definitely have found out.”

  “You know what, Quinn? I don’t have the energy to care about any of that anymore. I’m over people lying to me and I’m not going to lie to anyone else. Unlike some people I know.” She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. “How can you sleep at night?”

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. It was wrong not to tell you I knew about the letter.”

  It was clear from the tone of his voice he didn’t think it as wrong as she did. That he thought his deception perfectly acceptable because she hadn’t told him the second she’d found out she was pregnant. Well, he couldn’t blame hormones for his misjudgment.

  “I wasn’t simply talking about us,” she said. “I’m not the only one you’ve fooled pretending to be someone you’re not. How do you think all your readers would feel if they found out who Aunt Bossy was?”

  “Do you really think any advice columnists are exactly who they say they are? I give the best advice I can and as I said, I’ve had plenty of thank-you letters from happy readers. I think the advice, not the person who gives it, is the most important thing.”

  She pursed her lips. Perhaps he had a point, but that was beside the point. Nodding her head toward the bike parked alongside the curb, she said, “You lied to me about selling your bike, as well. Made me think you were making all these sacrifices for our babies.”

  “So now you are talking about us?” Quinn threw up his hands. “I can’t keep up. And I never lied. I said I bought a car. I didn’t say I sold the bike. It’s been at the distillery all along. Which is a damn good thing considering you stole my car tonight.”

  Annoyance that he was annoyed with her flared within her. She’d had enough of this conversation. She’d had enough of him. She was desperately trying to hold on to her anger for fear of breaking into tears again in front of him, but if he stayed any longer, she’d turn into a blubbering mess. Again. She’d cried more over Quinn in the last hour than she had over the end of her five-year relationship with Callum.

  “Whatever. Can you please go now?”

  * * *

  Quinn hadn’t meant to storm over to Bailey’s place and go off at her. But he also hadn’t been expecting to find her outside setting his favorite jacket alight. Not that he cared about the jacket; it was the possibility of her burning herself that gave him heartburn. Pregnant hormonal women were a danger to themselves and to society. It was impossible to reason with them. But this wasn’t just any pregnant hormonal woman, this was Bailey—the mother of his babies, his woman.

  When he’d come round the corner, seen the smoke and Bailey standing next to the roaring flames, he’d almost come off his bike in his efforts to get to her. The thought of something bad happening to her was unlike any fear he’d ever felt. And the magnitude of his feelings hit him like a bolt of lightning.

  Callum was right—he did love her. There was no other explanation.

  His chest squeezed. It felt like the smoke in the air was suffocating him.

  It may have been the babies who made him sit up and take notice, but he suddenly knew with absolute certainty that if she lost the twins tomorrow he would still want to be with her over anybody else.

  Somehow he had to make Bailey see reason, but he wasn’t going to air their dirty laundry out here on the grass for the viewing pleasure of all her neighbors. “How about we go inside and talk?” he said, as calmly as he could.

  “Are you deaf?” she asked, not calm at all. “I said I didn’t want to talk to you. Now go home and let me go inside and get some sleep.”

  He highly doubted she’d be able to sleep so worked up—he knew he wouldn’t—but he knew better than to say so. Still, he wasn’t going to walk away without telling her how he really felt. “Can I have my car keys first?”

  She sighed and, without another word, turned and started back toward the building. He took this as an invitation to follow her to her front door, which she’d left wide-open.

  “You really should be careful about leaving your apartment unlocked like this,” he said, following her inside.

  “Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.” She sniffed and held up her hand. “And stay right there, you’re not welcome any further.”

  As much as he wanted to step right up to her and pull her into his arms and show her rather than tell her how he felt, he stopped just inside the doorway and didn’t move so much as a toe. Bailey went into the living room and returned a few moments later with his car keys.

  She all but threw them at him, and as he caught them, he started talking. “I know you don’t want to hear any of this, but I can’t leave until I’ve said it. So if you want me out of your face, I suggest you listen up.”

  Bailey’s eyes widened, but when she opened her mouth as if to object, he kicked the front door shut behind him. She closed her mouth again, seemingly resigned to his terms, but didn’t invite him in any further.

  He sucked in a breath and shoved his hands in his pockets so she couldn’t see them shaking. “When I was sixteen, Dad was working late one day and Mom asked me to go across to the distillery to tell him dinner was ready. I jumped at the chance, as I loved every minute I spent there, soaking in as much about whiskey and the family business as I could. Even though I wasn’t allowed to taste the product, I was so proud of what my dad had achieved.

  “But what I walked in on, when I walked into his office, changed my opinion of my father and a whole load of other things.” He swallowed, remembering that moment like it was five minutes ago, not almost twelve years. “I found him in a compromising position with a young woman who had just started working in the tasting room.”

  Bailey sighed, her tone soft. “Jeez, Quinn.” The mask of fury she’d been wearing slipped a little. “Could you have mistaken what you saw?”

  He shook his head. Since that day, he’d done everything he could to get the image out of his head of his dad taking his floozy from behind as she gripped the edges of his solid oak desk. But nothing had worked. He hadn’t been mistaken.

  “Until that moment,” he continued, “I’d wanted nothing more than to be like my dad. To work in the distillery, meet a nice girl, get married and have a big, happy family. But everything changed that day. I didn’t know what or who I could trust anymore. I hurt for Mom and wa
sn’t sure whether to tell her or to keep it to myself. I knew one thing for certain. I never wanted to be like my dad and that meant making sure I never got involved in a committed relationship where I could be tempted to cheat.”

  It sounded a little stupid now he said it out loud, but his logic had worked for him for years. He’d been protecting himself and others.

  “Did you ever tell your mom?” Bailey asked.

  “No. Until today I haven’t told a soul. I don’t know if she knows—I don’t think I want her to. Why spoil years of good memories? I don’t think any of my brothers or sisters know, either. Dad saw me, though. He knew I knew, and he begged me not to say a word. He told me all men cheat and that monogamy is an unrealistic expectation put upon us by society.” Quinn snorted. “He actually seemed kinda proud of what I’d seen.”

  Bailey raised her eyebrows. “Why’d you stick around? I think if I’d seen something like that, I’d have left home and gone far, far away as soon as I could.”

  “I guess to protect Mom. To be there for her in case she ever found out. To help her keep up the pretense. And I like working at the distillery. I’m not sure what I’d do if I didn’t do whiskey.”

  She shook her head, sadness showing in her eyes. He didn’t know if she was shaking her head at the situation or the fact that once again he’d enabled a lie.

  “He’s the reason I’ve never committed to a woman. And that decision has been easy to adhere to until you. I promise, although I turned you away initially, I meant what I said about being unable to get you out of my head. I turned you away because, as you said, it was complicated because of your history with Callum, but also because I was scared of the intensity of my feelings. The sex we had was explosive, amazing, but I now realize the reason it was different from other times was because I was having it with you. I may have pursued you because of the babies—I admit, I didn’t want my children to end up like Hallie and Hamish, torn between their parents—but you weren’t the only one I fooled.”

  He swallowed as he tried to find the right words. “Somewhere over the last couple of months, I stopped pretending to want to be with you. If the joke’s on anyone, it’s me, because I’ve...I’ve fallen damn hard for you, Bailey Sawyer. I think I’m in love with you.”

  The moment the words escaped his mouth he knew they were the wrong ones. Dammit, he hadn’t any practice at this.

  Her eyes widened. “You think?” she spat.

  “No, I know I’m in love with you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone ever before and I know it’s not going to change. Please, give me another chance.”

  Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Sweat pooled at the back of Quinn’s neck as he waited for her to speak.

  “They’re just words, Quinn,” she whispered, with an almost imperceptible shake of her head. “Nice words, but they’re too easy to say and so much harder to believe under the circumstances. You might actually think you love me, but what happens when the buzz and shine of being new parents wears off?”

  “It won’t!” He yanked his hands out of his pockets and stepped toward her, reaching out and grabbing on to her arms. “I didn’t believe in love, so I didn’t recognize until we were right in the middle of it, but I promise you, what I feel for you is real.”

  Bailey shook her arms free of his grasp. “This is my mother and father all over again. Getting her pregnant with me made him think he loved her as well, but it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry, Quinn, but I think it’s best we stop pretending to each other. You are my babies’ father and that won’t ever change, but I think coparents is the only relationship we should have going forward.”

  Before he could argue, she added, “Now, if you don’t mind, I really do need to get some sleep.”

  No! Every cell in his body wanted to grab hold of her and kiss some sense into her, but his head told him that wouldn’t go down well. It might only further the chasm between them. As much as he hated to admit defeat, deep down he knew if he pushed too hard, he would only make things worse, and Bailey did need her sleep.

  “Okay.” He lowered his head in one slow nod. “But can I just ask you one favor before I go?”

  “It’s okay, Quinn, I promise I won’t tell a soul about Aunt Bossy.” She lifted her finger and moved it across her lips in a zipping action.

  “That’s not the favor.” That hadn’t even crossed his mind. Hell, he’d tell the world himself if that would make her believe his declaration. “Can you please not tell anyone, not even your mother, about my dad? I don’t want to be the one to break Mom’s heart.”

  “Of course. All your secrets are safe with me.” And with that, she stepped past him and opened the front door, giving him the loud and clear message that this conversation was over.

  Quinn had never felt more defeated in his life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Bailey sat in the waiting room of the ultrasound clinic, her knees chattering up and down.

  “Are you okay, honey?” asked her mother. She put down the magazine she’d been flicking through and squeezed Bailey’s knee.

  What a complex question! Physically? Mentally? Emotionally? She was not okay in all of those areas to various degrees but was trying desperately not to let anyone know.

  “I’m fine,” she lied. “The babies are just making it difficult to get comfortable.”

  “Ah.” Her mom nodded. “I remember when I was pregnant with you, Elle and Dane. Some days no matter what I did I couldn’t get comfortable and I only had one baby at a time, but I promise you it’ll all be worth it when you finally meet those two little people inside of you. Thanks so much for asking me to come with you today. I can’t wait to see my grandbabies on the screen.”

  Bailey smiled in reply, trying to ignore the prick of remorse inside her at the thought that Quinn should be there instead of her mother. He’d been at every other scan so far, but she’d conveniently forgotten to tell him about this one.

  In the last week, she’d become skilled in the art of avoiding him. She didn’t answer his phone calls, and when he text messaged, she sent short replies and made excuses about being too busy at work to make time to meet and talk. What good would talking do anyway? He’d only try to convince her that his bogus feelings were real and she’d only end up getting angry, or worse, she might start to believe him.

  Bailey wanted desperately to believe him and that was why she couldn’t trust herself to be around him. She needed to be strong. For the sake of the babies...and her heart.

  “Bailey Sawyer?”

  The sound of her name drew her thoughts away from Quinn and she stood. “Come on, Mom.”

  The two of them hurried down the corridor and into the little room after the sonographer.

  “Lovely to see you again, Bailey,” Sherry said as she closed the door and gestured toward the examination table. Due to her need for frequent ultrasounds, Bailey felt as if she and Sherry were old friends and the routine of climbing onto the table and lifting her shirt was second nature.

  “You, too.” Bailey smiled. “This is my mom, Marcia Sawyer.”

  “Hi.” Marcia offered her hand. “I’m very excited to be here.”

  “Hello, lovely to meet you.” After greeting her mother, Sherry sat down on her stool and looked back to Bailey as she positioned herself on the table. “Is Quinn not coming today?”

  “Um...he couldn’t make it.” Her cheeks heated with the little white lie and she didn’t meet the eyes of either Sherry or her mother. Bailey had admitted to her mother that she and Quinn had decided to remove the romantic aspect of their relationship and focus on the more important things such as coparenting and friendship, but she hadn’t confessed the whole sorry story. And she still hadn’t worked out how she and Quinn were actually going to achieve these things when right now she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him, but
she wasn’t about to share her personal issues with a stranger.

  “That’s a pity. We’ll have to be sure to get some good photos for him,” Sherry said as she squeezed the gel onto Bailey’s stomach, lifted the probe and began.

  Bailey did her best to focus on the screen as that wonderful thump-thump-thump filled the room. Hearing her babies’ hearts beat had become her favorite sound over the last few months, but it didn’t give her quite the same buzz when Quinn wasn’t there to share it. And she hated him for that. She hated that she couldn’t win—whether he was here or not, either way she’d suffer.

  “Is everything still looking good?” she asked, trying to forget about him.

  Sherry moved the probe over her stomach. “Two healthy little fetuses. Twin one is slightly bigger this week than twin two, but unless things change dramatically in the next week, I don’t think your doctor will be concerned.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” Marcia bounced on her feet as she leaned over Bailey and pointed to the screen. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Bailey scrutinized the screen to try to work out what her mom had seen as panic twisted in her gut. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing.” Sherry looked over Bailey and gave her mother a pointed look. “Quinn and Bailey decided they didn’t want to know the babies’ sexes.”

  “Whoops.” Marcia slapped her hand over her mouth but didn’t keep it there very long. She glanced down at Bailey. “We don’t have to tell anyone, but knowing you’re having boys will make things a lot easier—we’ll be able to buy clothes and organize the nursery properly now.”

  “Mom!” Bailey exclaimed, wishing she could un-hear what she’d just heard. She looked back to the image on the screen—the two black blobs were now clearly identifiable as babies, but at previous scans she and Quinn had been careful not to look too closely, since they’d agreed on wanting a surprise. Suddenly Bailey wasn’t sure about that decision! Was it just another thing Quinn had fooled her into?