by Marla Monroe
Her apartment was cozy and in a fairly nice neighborhood. Certainly better than where she had lived in Round Rock. She found that there was an entire community there complete with a grocery store, bakery, Starbucks, and laundry.
Briana settled in quickly and loved her new job. She still thought of the guys on a regular basis. Especially since she figured out that she was pregnant. Somehow someone’s condom had leaked. It didn’t matter whose baby it was. She would cherish it regardless. Working from home would be perfect for being a single mother.
She struggled with the thought that she needed to inform them. They had a right to know. She finally came to the conclusion that she had to tell them. She had their phone numbers. She tried Dillon first. He didn’t answer. It went to voice mail. She left a message that she needed to talk to them. He didn’t call back. She called Gavin’s number, but he didn’t call back, either. She didn’t have their address. They weren’t listed in the phone book.
What more could she do? She wasn’t going to tell them over the phone that she was pregnant. She just couldn’t. She’d done her due diligence with no results. Her conscious was clear as far as she was concerned.
It didn’t make her feel any better about it. She felt like she was betraying them by not telling them. She tried calling them one more time. This time Dillon called back. He sounded tired.
“Um, if this is a bad time…” she began
“No, what do you want, Briana?”
“I need to see you and Gavin. It’s important, Dillon. Please?”
“No, it’s not a good idea. Gavin is finally doing better. I don’t want to dredge it all up again.”
“It’s important, Dillon. I wouldn’t put myself through this if it wasn’t.”
“I’m hanging up, Briana.” The phone went dead.
Briana sat down crying once again, but that was that. She’d tried.
She concentrated on her job and doing her best. She realized she needed to go to the doctor and get prenatal care, but she hesitated since she didn’t have insurance. How was she going to pay for all of it?
Finally, she set up an appointment with a free clinic for the next Thursday. She was between three and four months the best that she could figure. She’d never been regular. It was another reason she needed to see a doctor. She sighed and wrote in the appointment on her calendar, not that she was likely to forget.
It was nearly quitting time. She’d worked some each weekend to account for any time she spent away from the computer, so she didn’t feel guilty about taking off and hour early today. It was Friday, and the weekend was ahead of her. She’d fill it with shopping and other errands. She wouldn’t give herself time to dwell on what-ifs.
She did the laundry and put it away before calling it a day and heading for bed. She tossed and turned like most nights, but finally settled into sleep. Early the next morning someone was pounding on her door. She frowned. She didn’t know anyone other than the people from work. Why would they be banging on her door on a Saturday morning at only eight o’clock?
She slipped a robe on and stepped into her house shoes. When she got to the door, she looked through the peephole and nearly passed out. It was Dillon and Gavin. She leaned her head against the door, trying to get her emotions under control. One of them banged against the door again, hurting her head.
Briana opened the door, and they stood on the threshold looking much like they always had before the breakup.
“What do you want?” she asked in a tight voice.
“You wanted to talk to us.” Gavin said.
“That was before. This is now.”
“We want to apologize. Can we come in?” Dillon asked, sounding contrite.
She let out a deep breath and nodded, stepping aside.
They walked in and looked around at her modest living area that joined into the open kitchen.
“Can we sit down?” Dillon asked.
“Sure. Make yourselves at home. Would you like some coffee?” She couldn’t believe she was being so polite, as if they were guests. They were her ex-lovers, for God’s sake.
“I need to apologize for how I treated you, Briana,” Gavin began.
“It’s okay. It’s water under the bridge. There’s nothing to forgive. You weren’t serious, and I was trying to make it into something it wasn’t.” She so didn’t want to rehash it all now.
“No, it’s not. Because it’s not over,” Dillon said.
Briana panicked. Had they found out she was pregnant? How?
“Please, hear me out,” Gavin said, surprising her.
She merely nodded her head. She couldn’t speak. If they knew, she wasn’t sure what that meant for her.
“I pushed you away because I felt more for you than I had ever felt for another woman. You needed some kind assurance that you meant more to us than an affair, and I used that as an excuse to pick a fight. I’m sorry, Briana.”
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this now.”
“I’m hoping you’ll give us another chance to show you how much we care about you.” Gavin swallowed and watched her intently. There was something in his eyes that had never been there before. Vulnerability.
“How did you find out?” she finally asked with tears in her eyes.
“Find out what?” Dillon asked.
“Don’t play games with me. You didn’t want anything to do with me a few weeks ago. Now all of a sudden you want to pick up our relationship where we left off? I’m not buying it. Somehow you found out I was pregnant.”
She had to give it to them. They acted shocked well enough. Dillon’s mouth even hung open.
“You’re sure?” Gavin asked in a strained voice.
“Don’t try and make out like you didn’t know. I can’t believe you had a sudden change of heart after all this time.”
“We didn’t know, Briana,” Dillon said in a small voice.
His eyes had lit up, and he looked happy for a while. Then he sighed and dropped his head.
“You don’t believe us. We honestly didn’t know. I swear to you,” he said.
“How far along are you?” Gavin asked.
“I’m not sure. Three or four months.”
“You haven’t been to a doctor yet?” Dillon was appalled.
“I just figured it out when I called you.”
“You should have gone to one immediately to get on prenatal vitamins,” Gavin said.
“I’m taking over-the-counter ones. The pharmacist assures me they are just as good as the prescription ones.” She felt like she had to defend herself.
“It’s okay, baby. Calm down. It can’t be good for the baby,” Dillon said, flashing Gavin a stern look.
“This is even more reason for you to give us a second chance, baby,” Gavin said.
“No, it’s not. You’re just saying that because of the baby,” she said.
He ran a hand through his hair and glared at Dillon. “You say something. Convince her we’re serious.”
Dillon let out a breath. “I can’t convince her if she thinks we already knew about the baby. How were we supposed to know, Briana? You haven’t been to a doctor for us to find out about it. Does anyone know you’re pregnant besides you?”
“Well, no,” she admitted.
“So how could we have known, Briana? Don’t you see? We came to see you because we want a chance to show you we’re serious about a relationship with you. An exclusive relationship.”
“I don’t know. It’s been a long time. I’ve finally gotten past it all and started over. I’m doing well here.” She didn’t know what to do now.
Her heart throbbed nearly out of her chest at the thought of starting over. Why had they changed their minds? What had happened to make Gavin drop his anger at her?
“Please, baby. Give us a chance. We’ll make it up to you. You mean so much to us,” Gavin said.
The emotion in his eyes convinced her it would be a good thing. Besides, there was the baby to consider. He or she deserved
to know his or her dads. God, how was she going to explain that to him when he grew up?
“Okay. I’ll give us a chance. I can’t promise anything.”
Both men let out a breath and smiled. Gavin pulled her out of the chair she’d been sitting in and into his arms. Dillon walked around behind her and squeezed her shoulders. Then he put a hand down over her abdomen. She closed her eyes to hide her pain. Please don’t let this be a cruel joke, God.
Gavin pulled back and kissed her all over her face. Then he stepped back and looked around.
“Where’s the phone book?”
“Why?” she asked confused.
“The first thing we need to do is find a doctor and make an appointment for you.”
“I’ve already done that. I go next Thursday,” she said, a little annoyed at him.
“Good, we’re going with you.”
“Oh no. Definitely not. I go by myself.”
“Not on your life. We want to be a part of our baby’s life. That starts now,” Gavin said, crossing his arms.
“How am I going to explain two men wanting to be in on the exam?”
“Doesn’t matter. There’s nothing he can do or say that’s going to stop us from being a part of this.”
She looked over at Dillon who was usually the voice of reason. He grinned and shook his head.
“I’m with Gavin on this. I want to be there.”
Sighing, she hung her head. Dillon pulled her into his arms and kissed her nose.
“I missed you so much, baby,” he said.
“What am I going to do with the two of you?”
“Well, next thing is we’re going to pack you up and move you to our house,” Gavin said, looking around.
“Oh, no. I’m putting my foot down on that. I’m living here. We are not a family. We’re starting over. That means completely over.” Briana wasn’t budging on this.
“Okay, okay. We’ll work around that for now,” Gavin said.
Briana smothered a smile. He was trying. It was something. The old Gavin had been unbending. This Gavin was trying to compromise. Dillon must have had a very long and serious talk with him.
“We’re taking you out to eat then,” Gavin insisted.
“Um, it’s morning. I don’t eat much breakfast. Think we could try for lunch or dinner instead? I really need to dress.”
Gavin smiled. “I kind of like you like you are, only minus the robe.”
“You would. Go home, you two. I have things to do today and need to get to them if I’m going to let you take me out to dinner tonight.”
“Let us help you with your errands instead,” Dillon insisted. “That’s what we used to do. That’s starting over.”
“You’re not getting me on that, Dillon,” she said with a smile. “Now go home and come back at six tonight.”
They grumbled the entire way to the door. Both men insisted on a kiss. She presented her cheek, but they balked at that and got their way. The treated her to soul-searing kisses before they walked out the door.
“Lock the door, Briana,” Gavin said.
She smiled as she closed and locked the door. Then she felt faint and grabbed the chair to sit down before she fell down. She leaned over until the dizziness passed. They’d come back for her. They’d really come back. It was more than she could take in. She’d dreamed about it over and over again, but never believed it would ever come true.
It’s not a profession of love, Briana. Stop and think this through. They haven’t said they love you. They admitted to caring about you. There’s a big difference there. But it’s a start.
Briana stood up, feeling better now, and hurried through her errands for the day so she could come home and take a nice, relaxing bath before they showed up. She had a feeling they would be early. It would be just like them.
Chapter Ten
Thursday arrived, and the three of them loaded up in the guys’ truck. She was surprised they had one. She guessed she thought they always rode their bikes. She was thankful not to have to drive. She gave Gavin the directions to the clinic, never dreaming he would blow a gasket at finding out where she was going.
“No, absolutely not! You’re going to a real doctor, not some second-rate hack. We’ll find a better doctor for you.”
“I can’t afford a doctor. I don’t have insurance.” She hated saying it, but it had to be said.
“You don’t have to. We’re paying for it,” Dillon said, obviously on the same page as Gavin this time.
“You’re bullying me,” she accused them.
“Whatever it takes for you to see reason,” Gavin said.
Instead of going to the doctor at the free clinic, they stopped off at a restaurant for an early dinner. Gavin wanted to discuss their situation over food.
“You’ve lost weight. You need to be gaining weight. Have you been having morning sickness?” he asked.
“More like any-time-of-day sickness.” She sighed.
“See, you need to move in with us so we can take care of you,” Dillon said.
They walked inside the restaurant and were immediately given a seat in the back of the building in a secluded spot. She had the feeling they’d been there before, and not alone. It irked her, but she couldn’t keep going back to that. She had to believe that was behind them, for now.
“What do you feel like eating, baby?” Gavin asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m not really hungry.”
“You’re eating something.” Dillon frowned.
“The grilled-chicken salad then,” she said.
“That’s not enough to keep you going with a baby,” Dillon fussed.
“I can’t stomach much of what’s on here. The sauce on pasta upsets my stomach. I can’t even stand the sight of beef. Chicken is about it, and the salad gives me vegetables.” She defended her choice.
“I guess you’re right.” Dillon still didn’t look pleased.
They placed their order, and then Gavin got down to business. Briana steeled herself not to let him talk her into anything she didn’t want to do.
“We’re paying for your health care, end of story,” he said.
She didn’t fight him over that. Her baby deserved the best she could give it, so she would capitulate on this.
“Fine. I won’t argue that point. I want my baby to have the best.”
“Our baby. That’s another thing, it’s all of ours, and we want to be a part of all of the pregnancy.”
“I know, sorry. I’ve just been thinking of it as my baby. I understand you want to be a part of his life.”
“Which includes the pregnancy,” Dillon reiterated.
“Fine.” She could give in to this, too.
“To do that, you need to move in with us so we can be there for all the important things. Like when you feel it move and when it first starts kicking.” Gavin slipped that in almost without her realizing it.
She frowned at him. “I’m not moving in with you.”
“Then we’ll move in with you,” he said.
“Absolutely not! I don’t have room for you. There’s only one bedroom.” Briana was astonished he’d even suggest such a thing.
“We only need one bedroom. I want to feel the baby kick me awake at night. I want to rub your back when you can’t sleep.” Gavin was really getting into this.
Briana wasn’t sure what to think. They were coercing her. She knew it, and yet she couldn’t help but think about it. They argued a good case.
“I’ll think about it.”
Gavin grinned. He really grinned. She had never seen him smile that big before. It softened her heart toward him just a little. Could he have changed his mind? Maybe this wasn’t all just an act.
Their meal came, and they ate mostly in silence. She stole glances at the men whenever she didn’t think they were looking. They looked as if they had lost weight as well. Had they been working anywhere, or were they in between jobs? She wanted to ask, but didn’t feel like she had the right.
She wa
s unsure that they could afford to help with her pregnancy, either. Still, she couldn’t pay for a nice ob-gyn by herself.
When they had finished, Gavin settled the bill and Dillon escorted her out to the truck. He helped her up before climbing in beside her. Gavin climbed up on the other side and pulled out of the parking lot. She didn’t pay any attention to where they were going until she suddenly realized they weren’t heading to her apartment.
“Where are we going? This isn’t where I live.”
“We want to show you our house. It’s only fair that you see where you could be living,” Gavin said.
“You live in this neighborhood?” she asked incredulously.
The houses were huge and well kept. This was a gated community on top of that. Where had they gotten the money? Surely construction didn’t pay that well.
“We got it for a song. It was a foreclosure and needed some work. We know our way around houses and wanted to make some changes anyway, so it worked out great.” Dillon explained how they’d altered the bedrooms and added bathrooms.
“You’ll see.” Gavin parked the truck in the drive of a nice two-story house that looked much too nice for someone like her.
“Come on,” Gavin said.
Dillon pulled her out of the truck and carried her up to the door. He transferred her to Gavin’s arms while he pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Gavin carried her over the threshold like a new bride. She immediately banished that wayward thought.
“Put me down, Gavin. I can walk.”
He carefully let her slide down his body much like he had in the past. She could feel his erection against her belly. It heated up her insides at the thought of all that male flesh. She swallowed and quickly turned around to look around.
The entrance hall opened into a living room complete with a big-screen TV and recliners, as well as a couch between them. There were shelves on either side of the TV filled with DVDs. She itched to go look at them, but refrained. They led her around into the kitchen. It was a large room with plenty of granite counter space and cabinets. The appliances were state of the art as well. She would love to cook in such a kitchen. She wondered about the men. Did they cook at all? She’d never found that out about them. There was a lot she didn’t know about them.
