Unexpected Delivery (Paradise Place Book 8)

by Natalie Ann

  Just because she and Evan had a nice routine of Friday night through Sundays together, and dinner one night during the week, didn’t mean that was a love match.

  Though the baby inside of her might prove otherwise to some. There was so much they were going to have to figure out. Like the house she bought...she didn’t want to leave it.

  And there she was putting thoughts in her head for no reason. Evan might not want anything to change in their relationship. It’s not like they couldn’t walk across the street whenever they wanted to see each other.

  She was pulling out of her driveway to go into the office for a meeting. It was a late morning start for her and that worked in her favor since she was moving slower than normal. She wasn’t in the office much and liked it that way.

  Then she wondered how she’d like being in an office all day if she got this other job.

  No, that was different. So much was different now in her mind and her thoughts.

  She had to get out of her own head.

  And when she was seated at the conference room table and the sales numbers went around the room, she wasn’t the leading salesperson anymore. Not for the past month at least.

  “So someone has caught up to you, Parker,” Alyssa said.

  “It’s not that hard to do,” she replied. Alyssa had always been on the bottom and still was. She didn’t work as hard as the rest of them and wouldn’t either. Some people had their client list and were content to skate by.

  Parker just wasn’t one of those people.

  “I doubt I will here long,” Steven said. “It must have been a bad month for you, Parker.”

  She smiled. She’d worked as hard as she did every month. “Or a good one for you. My sales are steady like always. So congrats on getting the top spot.”

  Steven was a good guy. She liked him well enough. He’d been around about ten years and had a wife and kids. He talked about them enough. She liked to see anyone succeed that tried.

  “You’ll have to tell me your secret,” Steven said.

  “No secret. Just hard work.” She didn’t have the heart to say she wouldn’t be on top much longer. Not only if she got the new job and left but also when she was out on leave after the baby was born. Even when she had a child. How the hell was she going to go home and care for a baby at night when she was out the door at six and not home till after seven half the time?

  Evan was gone just as much. This was such a nightmare, but she was damned if she was going to be a stay at home mom. It’s not who she was or would ever be. She’d go nuts.

  At the end of the meeting she was getting ready to leave, but her supervisor called her over. “Everything okay with you?”

  “Yes, why?” she asked Bob.

  “You’re quieter than normal. I don’t have to tell you not to worry about Alyssa’s comments. You’re right—your sales are steady as can be. Steven got lucky. He picked up two new customers and they put in big orders.”

  “Good for him,” she said. “Seriously. I’m happy for him.”

  “I’m sure you’re ready to hit the road then. Knowing you, you’ll want to make sure August numbers put you right back on top and there aren’t that many more days left in the month.”

  “If I get there, I do,” she said smiling.

  Weeks ago—even months ago—she would have had that mentality to be back on top. Today, she wanted to figure out what tomorrow would bring.

  And tomorrow brought her phone ringing while she was in with a customer. She ignored it when she wanted to grab her phone out of her purse where it was vibrating, but she wouldn’t do that. It’d be rude.

  But the minute she was out of that building and walking to her car, she pulled her phone out and saw the number and knew it was St. Peter’s calling.

  She got in the car and took a deep breath, then returned the call. She was put on hold and then patched through to the CEO, Kyle Collins. “Parker. So glad you called me back right away.”

  “Yes. I was with someone.”

  “I’ve got great news for you. Or for us,” Kyle said, laughing.

  Her heart was racing as much as waiting for the host’s arm to drop to start a competition on the reality show that she feared would hurt her chances. Now she felt the smile fill her face, then a little laugh escape. “Do you?”

  “I do. And it’s not to tell you that you’ll be on Survivor again.”

  “Please no,” she said. “Once was more than enough in this lifetime.”

  “Believe it or not, that might have been your tipping point for me calling and offering you the job.”

  “Really?” she asked. “And yes. I’d love to accept.”

  “I didn’t even give you all the details yet,” Kyle said.

  “I know enough of them and that I’d love to show you guys what I can do for the hospital. I’ve got a lot of ideas.”

  “I’m sure you do. Some were impressed with your presentation last week. A few others watched you on TV and said anyone that worked that hard for a team was an asset. The way you handled yourself at the end was beyond what many said they’d do.”

  “Thank you. I don’t ever want anything to look badly or reflect poorly on myself.” Of course she wondered what they’d all think when they found out she was pregnant. Not a conversation she’d be telling them anytime soon. Not that they could take their job offer back, but still, right now, there was too much to focus on.

  “If you aren’t busy and can come in today, we can go over some details and let you look over the offer, maybe get some signatures and discuss when you could start? I’ve got to imagine you need to give more than two weeks’ notice.”

  “I’d like to give three or four. I’d have to talk to everyone and see how they’d want to handle it, but I’ll know more in a few days. I can make time this afternoon if you want?”

  “That would be great. How about three? Will that work for you?”

  “I’ll be there,” she said and disconnected the phone.

  Stupid hormones had tears in her eyes and she didn’t even care. The first thing she did was drive back to Paradise Place and see if she could find Evan’s truck. She wasn’t that far away, having most of her visits in and around the Capital District today so it worked in her favor.

  Normally she’d be running schedules through her head on when she could fit those in since she wasn’t going to see them this afternoon, but not anymore.

  She found Evan after the third house she tried, remembering him saying what was going on this week. They did talk about their jobs at times and she paid attention and remembered.

  “Parker,” he said, looking up from where he was standing with a bunch of guys outside. He had jeans and work boots on, a T-shirt with Butler Construction on it and a tablet in his hands. His large hands that she loved on her body so much. “Is everything okay?”

  She ignored all the guys around him looking at her. Some were smiling others looked curious. She didn’t care. She moved toward him and said, “I got the job.”

  “Shit yeah,” he said, setting his tablet down on the bench and picking her up, then swinging her around. “I knew you would.”

  “I’m glad you knew that because I wasn’t so sure.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “About twenty minutes ago.”

  “And you drove right here to tell me?” he asked, grinning.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Not at all,” he said, giving her a kiss.

  “People are watching us.”

  “So? If you cared that much you would have called me and not come here in person.”

  He was right.

  “That’s true. We need to celebrate tonight. I’m going over there at three to look the offer over. I don’t have all the details but it’s fine.”

  “You don’t have everything?” he asked. “I’m surprised to hear that.”

  He’d pulled her away from the guys to talk. “I know enough. I want the job. It pays a lot more than what I’m making. Th
ey gave me a range and that range was close to double at the top.”

  “Damn,” he said. “You might be making more than me.”

  She snorted. “Please. Let’s not go there. And it doesn’t matter.” They’d never talked about their income before. That would be tacky, but she was sure that conversation might come at some point once he found out about the baby. “It’s local, it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I’m up for it.” And she was positive they’d be flexible for when the baby came and she could work from home while she was on leave.

  “You like a challenge,” he said. “I feel like I don’t give you enough of one.”

  If he only knew. “I’ve had enough excitement in my life. But I’m going to go now and try to get one more visit in before I have to be there. I’ve got to call my brothers and tell them too.”

  He ran his hand down her face so gently it was almost a whisper. “Can I tell you how much it meant that you told me first?”

  “It didn’t occur to me to go anywhere else,” she said honestly.

  And a few hours later she was walking into Jeremy’s office before meeting with Kyle. Marcus was in surgery, but she’d left him a message. Jeremy said he wanted to see her quickly before she went to her meeting.

  Her brother pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “It seems surreal in a way. I never saw myself doing this years ago.”

  “Things change in our lives. I still stand firm you wouldn’t want to have Kyle’s job even though I know you could do it. You’re going to shine at this one and you know it.”

  “I think I will. I can’t wait to start.”

  “When will that be?” Jeremy asked.

  “A few weeks. I’ll talk to Bob tomorrow. I’ll probably give more than two weeks, but no more than four.”

  “I’m guessing you told Evan already. He has to be thrilled.”

  “He was happy for me,” she said. “I went right to him on site to tell him.”

  “You’re in love with him, aren’t you? And don’t lie to me.”

  “I am.” It was best her brother knew how she felt because she had a feeling once they found out about the baby, all hell was going to break loose. “He doesn’t know. I’m trying to figure out how to tell him.”

  “He’s not stupid and probably knows.”

  “And if he does and isn’t saying anything, then maybe he’s not feeling the same,” she said, though she didn’t want to believe that could be the case.

  “Men are different. You know that. Go meet with Kyle and fill us in. I’m sure Mom and Dad are going to be over the moon too.”

  “I didn’t even tell Mom I was interviewing for it,” she admitted.

  “You didn’t?” Jeremy asked, but he was grinning.

  “I didn’t want to hear her opinion on it. If she said it was great it might make me not want it out of spite. That would be stupid, but sometimes I feel that way with her. I’ll call Dad when I’m done. I’ve been talking to him more anyway.”

  “Marcus and I went over the other night when Mom was gone. I don’t think things are really good there.”

  “For their marriage or for Dad?”

  “Both. Now isn’t the time to talk about it. You’ve got other things to be happy about. Go do it and we’ll catch up again. But this is about you and good news. Don’t let anything bring it down.”

  “I won’t,” she said. “Not happening.”

  25

  My Decision

  “Pizza?” Parker asked when Evan walked in her front door. “That’s your celebration dinner?”

  “I said I’d take care of dinner tonight,” he said, hoping he hadn’t disappointed her. “You didn’t think I was going to cook it, did you?”

  “I suppose not,” she said. “I could go for it though.”

  “You said you were craving it the other day. I realized we haven’t had it once and I didn’t picture you the type to get one by yourself and eat in the car or at home.”

  “No,” she said. “I like pizza, but I won’t or can’t eat a whole one and it’d be wasted if I bought more than a slice. Nor would I eat that on the road. It’d be my luck to drop it on myself and have to go into an appointment with a stain flashing for all to see.”

  “No more worrying about that,” he said, moving over to set it on the counter. She brought over two plates and leaned up for a kiss. “Congrats again. I’m so proud of you.”

  “You are?” she asked.

  “Of course I am.”

  Then he realized he’d never said that about another woman before other than his sister when she graduated from college as a physical therapist. He and Christian went in together and got her a flashy watch she’d been eying as a gift. That watch was what led him to connect the dots Kaelyn was sleeping with Harris when he saw it at Harris’s house one day.

  “I’m not sure if I ever told you that I always saw myself working in hospital administration. Not sure why. I think I just wanted to be my brothers’ bosses one day.”

  He laughed. “That’s funny. I bet they wouldn’t like that.”

  “I’m not sure. They would do their own thing regardless. But Jeremy told me I’d never be able to do it anyway. I think he was right.”

  “I think you could do about anything you put your mind to,” he said. The only other person he’d ever thought that of was Kaelyn and even then he wasn’t sure his sister was as tough or independent as Parker was. Maybe it was because she didn’t necessarily have to be.

  His family had always been a great support system to each other and it seemed Parker didn’t have as much of it as he did.

  “I could, but I wouldn’t be happy,” she said. She put her head down after she took a big bite, like something more was going on in her mind.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I mean, I don’t know.”

  He started to eat too. “You do know. Are you afraid of what they might say at work when you give your notice?”

  “No. People come and go all the time. That doesn’t bother me. I don’t think I ever expected to be there forever. At least not in this position. I told you that. I was starting to realize how little time I had to do things and, well, it’s going to be even crazier soon.”

  “Yeah, learning a new job takes time. But you’ll be fine.”

  She sighed. “So, my new job isn’t the only news I’ve got to tell you.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, frowning. She was looking nervous for some reason.

  “I’m pregnant, Evan.”

  “What?” he asked, his mouth open. He shut it fast before the food in it spilled out onto the floor.

  “You heard me. I’m pregnant. I’m due April first. And no, it’s not a joke. I went to the doctor’s last week to have it verified.”

  There was so much going through his head. “So that is what? The first time we had sex?”

  “That’s the guess. It’s yours,” she said fast.

  “I would hope the hell it was,” he said faster. “I wasn’t even thinking that. Shit.” He put the pizza down on the plate and ran his hands through his hair. “You said you were like really wet or something.”

  “I’m wondering if the condom leaked. I don’t know. Nothing is foolproof.”

  He knew that from Kaelyn. Seemed that the same thing happened to them. “How are you feeling about it?”

  “Nervous. Scared. I’m having the baby,” she said firmly.

  “Damn straight you are,” he said stronger. She held her hand up and he stopped her. “No. I get it, it’s your body and all, but that is my kid in there too. And I know you. You aren’t one to do that. It’s not who you are.”

  She dropped her hand. “No. I’m not. I don’t need you telling me what to do when it’s my decision.”

  “I’d like to think it’s both of ours.”

  “You can think all you want, but that isn’t the case.”

  He started to pace. Why was she getting so
defensive with everything he said? “Why the hell are we talking about this when there are other things we need to figure out?”

  “I don’t know. I’m focusing on all the wrong things myself lately. I’m thrilled about the job because the thought of being on the road while I was pregnant and had a child at home was freaking me out.”

  “You’re moving in with me,” he said, holding her stare.

  “No.”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Evan. I just bought this house.”

  “So? You’re carrying my kid. You can’t be in this house alone. You can’t do it all and I don’t give a shit if you think you can. I want to be there to help you and I can’t if I’m not here.”

  “Oh, because walking across the street is so freaking hard,” she said sarcastically.

  “That isn’t why I asked you to move in.”

  “You didn’t ask me,” she said, crossing her arms. “You told me I was.”

  “That’s right,” he said. “And no one tells you what to do or how to do it. You’ve got to do it all yourself even when maybe you can’t.”

  “Who says I can’t?” she said.

  “You just said you were freaking out thinking about how you were going to do this with your job yet you didn’t even think to tell me I was going to be a father. You’ve known what? A few weeks? How far along are you?”

  “About nine weeks. They go by your last period, not when you conceived which was about seven weeks ago. I’m never late. When I was over a week late I took the home test. Then had to wait to get in the doctors to confirm it.”

  He wanted to throw something but knew that would make matters worse. “And it never occurred to you in that time to say anything to me? Maybe I would have liked to know.”

  “What if I wasn’t though? Then you would have gotten worked up and stressed for no reason.”

  “I get it. So you think I’m not strong enough to handle it?” he asked. “You’re the tough one of us?”

  “Don’t put words in my mouth,” she shouted back. “I’ve had to come to terms with this. We’ve known each other less than three months and now I’m pregnant. I haven’t had sex in longer than I can even remember and the first time I have it again I get pregnant. Now I’ve got a new career I’m going to be starting and how is that going to look? It’s bad enough I’m starting out and will have to go on leave to have the baby, but then I’m single on top of it.”