Tears filled Tae’s eyes, and she swiped them away. Her friend attended an out of town meeting for the writers of her magazine, so of course Tae would learn of her pregnancy at the worst possible time. She set the phone down and turned on the faucet to wash her hands and then splash water on her face. The cool liquid did nothing to lower her temperature or restore her mood. She turned from the sink and dried her hands, then headed for the kitchen. In her cabinet sat two big boxes of cereal, but corn flakes would not fix this issue.
Ice cream. She frowned, wondering at the sudden craving, not being a big ice-cream eater. Still, right now she wanted a turtle waffle bowl sundae with a chocolate-dipped cone, pecans, and caramel syrup. Making it herself was out of the question because it meant going to the grocery store to first buy the ingredients and then preparing the dessert. No, she needed a shop with the treat on the menu. None were nearby. Come to think of it, there was a Dairy Queen in South Park she could go to. The twenty-minute drive would be worth it to drown her sorrows in sugary goodness.
Halfway to the ice cream shop, Tae’s craving switched to cheesecake, and she grumbled her way to South Park mall to the restaurant with the best cheesecake to be had. She found a parking space in the busy lot and strode into the restaurant and ordered two slices of the red-velvet cheesecake. Since the day mocked her with its warm sunshine, she took her treat outside and stuffed bite after bite of the creaminess into her mouth.
“PMSing?” came the amused comment.
Tae froze, fork halfway to her mouth. She turned slowly and looked up. Of all people, Daniel stood smiling over her and blocking out the sun. She’d forgotten how sometimes when she was PMSing, Daniel drove her to the mall or to Dairy Queen to get something sweet. She’d made a poor choice coming over this way, nearer to where he lived, and the thought that maybe she’d done so on purpose made the decision worse. Her appetite disappeared in a blink, and she sat up straighter in her chair, placing her fork down on the table. “Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?”
He chuckled and sat down in the chair next to her. “We’ve been back a while. Can’t stay on vacation forever.”
What had she been thinking? The wedding took place two months ago. She’d been busy incubating Jax’s baby. At the thought, her mood plummeted even more. Daniel reached out and covered her hand. Her fingers spasmed beneath his, and she pulled them free to clutch in her lap.
“What’s wrong, Tae?”
She closed the lid on the cheesecake and stuffed the container in the bag along with the other slice. “Nothing. I’m great. How’s married life treating you?”
Concern wrinkled the spot between his eyebrows. Her heart stirred. She suppressed the sensation and looked away, but Daniel wouldn’t be put off.
“Something’s upsetting you. Tell me about it.”
Why the hell did he have to be so understanding? “I said it’s nothing.” She glanced at her phone, but she hadn’t heard from Zerita since last they texted. Even if she wanted to talk to someone other than her best friend, the last person it would be was Daniel. If anything she should tell Jax first.
She shoved her chair back and dropped her head onto her folded arms. The mere thought of telling him sent her mind spinning, and her stomach tied itself in knots. Daniel touched her head and stroked her hair. He didn’t ask again, but just the act of doing so loosened her lips.
“I’m pregnant,” she muttered.
He leaned closer so she felt his breath on her arm. “What was that? I think you said…” He gasped. “Octavia, did you say you’re—”
“Pregnant,” she repeated in misery. Now that he knew, she sat up and looked into his eyes. Shock reflected back at her, and something else too. Betrayal? He had no right to feel that way. “It was an accident. I mean, I never meant…”
“Who is he?” Daniel demanded. “Do I know him?”
Do you ever. “It doesn’t matter.”
Daniel banged his fist on the table, and several people turned their way. He hitched his shoulders and calmed down, but the frown never left his face. “So he’s some deadbeat who thought he could use your body and not deal with the consequences? Give me a name, Tae, and I’ll make him regret the day he was born!”
On some level, she loved his protectiveness of her, but she wasn’t some stupid woman who would cover for a dumbass loser who didn’t deserve it. Besides that, Daniel knew her better. “I don’t need you to stick up for me, Daniel. I can take care of it.”
His eyes widened. “You’re not getting an abortion!”
“Seriously? Tell the world, why don’t you.”
He pushed fingers through his hair, disordering it, a testament to his frustration. Unlike Jax, who looked hot as hell with tussled hair, a circumstance that happened because he didn’t pay attention to messing it up, Daniel liked his in perfect order. “Sorry. Listen, I can help you.”
“Help me what?” She put a hand on her hip. “Did you forget you have a wife, Daniel? What are you going to help me do exactly?”
“Figure this thing out.”
She stood and gathered her bag. “I don’t need your help, but thanks. I shouldn’t even have come over to this side of town. Just like I ran into you, I could have run into anyone.” She clamped her teeth together so fast her jaw hurt, but the blunder had already slipped out. Daniel’s expression shifted from curiosity to shock and then to anger. She swung away from him and started to walk away, but he caught her arm and turned her back to face him.
“Tell me the truth,” he demanded, clutching her arms.
She winced. “You’re hurting me, Daniel.” He refused to let go no matter how she struggled.
“Tell me, Octavia!” He drew her closer to his chest, and she managed to bring her hands up before her breasts flattened against him. “Is it Jax’s baby?”
She swallowed. Refusing to answer would keep her there all day. Besides, he had already figured it out because of her mistake. She should have let him believe it was some loser, but she wasn’t in the habit of lying and playing games with people, especially not Daniel.
“Yes. Happy now?”
“Not by a long shot! I can’t believe you would sleep with my best friend.”
When he put it like that, he made her sound like a slut, and she refused to apologize. She wiggled from his hold. “Who I choose to sleep with is none of your business. Please do me the favor of not saying anything to Jax.”
Disbelief echoed in his voice. “You’re not going to tell him?”
“I will in my time, not yours. Promise, Daniel.”
He stared at her for a few minutes.
“Daniel.”
“You have my word.”
She nodded and spun to walk away. All the while her legs quivered and her stomach heaved. When she reached her car, she unlocked it, slung the door wide, and tossed the unwanted cheesecake to the passenger seat. Somehow, it felt like things had gone from bad to worse in a matter of hours.
* * * *
Tae bent to heft a huge basket of laundry and then froze. She bit her lip wondering. If she remembered correctly from her sisters’ pregnancies, it was not a good idea to lift anything too heavy. She hadn’t yet decided whether she would keep the baby, but to be on the safe side, she dragged the basket instead. Was that also too much strain?
In the kitchen, she sorted the whites from the colors and loaded her tiny washing machine. She had to do several loads because of the basin’s size. If she had a baby, the labor would increase. On top of the laundry, she would need more space as her apartment accommodated her but would never be sufficient for a child. She chewed her lip thinking about her budget. The new position came with a raise, but not that much, especially with her sister calling every month for financial help because of this and that reason. Things would have to change.
Wait, does that mean I’m keeping it?
She glanced down at her stomach, soft and somewhat round, but that was because of her extra pounds to start with. She hadn’t noticed any weight gain y
et. While she tried to imagine her stomach protruding at nine months, her cell phone rang. “That better be Zerita.”
She punched the button without consciously registering the name. The deep familiar voice took her by surprise. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Tae blinked at the stark bitterness and unmistakable anger. “What?”
“You’re pregnant,” he growled across the line.
Tae dropped the shirt she’d pulled out of the basket and sank to the floor next to it. Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes burned. She shut them, sagging forward, trying to think what to say to him. Daniel had claimed she had his word, but he lied, the bastard. Zerita certainly hadn’t spilled her news—one because she was still trapped in her meetings, and two, she just wouldn’t betray Tae’s trust. Tae had thought Daniel wouldn’t either, but she was wrong.
“Nothing to say?” Jax demanded. Odd, she had rarely seen Jax angry, and it had never been aimed at her. Not that she’d ever done anything to piss him off. She knew he was mad now because he had to hear about the pregnancy from someone else.
She switched the cell phone from one hand to the other and rubbed a clammy palm over her pant leg. The movement drew her attention to the waistband of said pants, and she wondered how long she would fit into them.
“So Daniel told you,” she said at last.
He swore. “At least you had the decency to tell him.”
Tae frowned. “Okay, lose the attitude, Jax. Now you know! I didn’t go about all this the right way, but I expected Daniel to keep my secret more than a freaking day to give me time to get my head on straight.”
“Let’s get this straight. My buddy did not betray your trust.”
All kinds of insinuations permeated his words, as if she were the one to betray trust. Like she’d spread her legs and knocked herself up, all while disappointing the great Jaxon Hart, who had nothing to do with it. “Then why don’t you tell me how you knew then?”
“Alise.”
Tae’s jaw fell open. “Daniel told Alise?”
“Of course not! You and Daniel were too busy arguing on the street to realize Alise was there. She heard everything, and she came to me devastated.”
Tae blinked. Why would Alise be devastated? Tae’s pregnancy had nothing to do with the woman. Did her drive to be the center of attention in Daniel’s world make her upset that Tae had confided in him? The possibility wasn’t unreasonable. No woman wanted another woman to use her husband as a confidant. At the realization, guilt rolled over Tae, and she rubbed a hand across her forehead, which had begun to pound.
“I’m—” she began.
“You’re what?” he interrupted. “Sorry for trying to destroy a marriage?”
“Excuse you?”
“I knew you still loved him, but I never thought you would seduce him after he married Alise. Guess I had you pegged wrong, didn’t I? How many times was it before it took?”
Dawning realization hit Tae hard. Alise hadn’t heard everything like she claimed. She’d only heard enough to know Tae was pregnant, and she had jumped to the conclusion the baby was Daniel’s. That didn’t even touch on Jax’s opinion of Tae.
She squeezed the cell phone in her hand until she heard a crack and hoped it was the cheap case and not the phone itself. “Why don’t you come out and say it, Jax? I mean you’re accusing me of being a scheming ho, aren’t you? Like I got pregnant to try to get Daniel back? Never mind that I haven’t tried anything in the last three years or that we barely saw each other more than a couple times a month.”
“A lot changes when a man is about to become unavailable.”
“You know what? Fuck you!” She took the phone away from her ear and stabbed the Disconnect button. A few minutes passed while she sobbed into a T-shirt, and then she scrubbed her face and dialed Daniel. He answered on the first ring, which did nothing for her guilt. “Daniel, have you talked to Alise today?”
“Ah, this morning when I left for the office,” he said, confusion obvious. “Why?”
“She thinks my baby is yours.”
“What?”
Something smashed, and Daniel dropped the phone. She waited for him to get control of it, but more muffled sounds came over the line, along with Daniel’s curses.
“Daniel, are you there?”
“Sorry, I’m here. Tell me why my wife would think I got you pregnant.”
She sighed and explained how Alise had overheard part of their conversation. “So at some point, she was there, and she went running to Jax to tell him.”
“Damn it. I have to call her. No, I’m leaving work. Tae, how are you? Jax take the news fine?”
“He thinks the baby is yours.”
“I get that, but you straightened him out?”
She fell silent.
“Octavia?”
“He accused me of being a slut.”
“I will kill him.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell him the truth when I’m ready. Right now, I just need to get my head together. Please, Daniel, a little longer. You should get things straight with Alise, but I’d rather wait as far as Jax. I hope you understand.”
“It’s not my decision. I said I would keep your secret, and I will. I hope you’ll fix this soon, Tae. Personally, I think Jax deserves to know he’s going to be a father. It’s the most amazing gift a woman could ever give a man.”
Rip out my heart and stomp it, why don’t you?
“Everyone knows how you feel about having a family.”
“And everyone knows you don’t want a family,” he shot back.
The pain in her head grew. “It’s not that I don’t. You wouldn’t understand. I grew up with a full house. I never had my own space, never got any privacy. Hell, my family still tugs at me as much as they can, so yes, I wanted a lifestyle where it was just me, and I don’t have to feel bad about that.”
“You’re right. You don’t, but that all changed the moment you got pregnant. Tae, you have to do what’s best for the child.”
“Yeah, well I don’t have to decide today! I have to go. I hope everything works out with Alise.” She disconnected the call before he could say more.
For the rest of the day, Tae did laundry and cleaned up her apartment. All the while, she mulled Daniel’s words in her head as well as her own. Was she being selfish and immature, thinking of her space, her peace, her carefully constructed lifestyle? One could look at the other side and consider she was not right for motherhood with her attitude, and a baby might be better off either unborn or given up for adoption. The word adoption pulled her up short. She’d not thought of that before now. Could she even do it, go through nine months of pregnancy only to sign the baby over to someone else?
What about Jax? She knew Daniel longed for a family. They had discussed at length the subject when they dated. Daniel had wanted to marry her and to have kids right away. He’d suggested she stop work to care for their children, and when she told him he must be out of his mind, he’d “conceded” to her staying home until the children were five and then working part-time. Again she’d let him know he would not decide whether she worked or not. He apparently didn’t get how firm her conviction was because he’d soon after asked her to marry him. While she loved him with all her heart at the time, she had turned him down, knowing they weren’t right for each other. Daniel was a good man, sweet and attentive, but he needed a woman who was content to be a housewife and a mother. She was not the one.
On the other hand, she had no idea what Jax felt about kids or getting married. He’d come off as content jumping from woman to woman, and really since he wouldn’t carry the baby, his lifestyle needn’t change. Did he want kids? Would he want to be involved now that they’d produced a child?
After the chores were all done, Tae sat down at her desk in her home office and opened her checkbook. She looked at the current balance and sighed. Somewhere in her drawer was the statement for her savings account—almost nil. She rubbed fi
ngers over her temple and scanned the office, what the rental agent had called a “den.” A joke if she’d ever heard one, the den looked more like a walk-in closet, a tiny one, but she had fitted it with a desk and chair, all that could squeeze in without her feeling claustrophobic. Even examining the room now, she knew converting it into a nursery would not work. Closing the door would make it seem like she’d shut her baby into a closet. A tight pain squeezed her chest, and she frowned down at her belly.
“My baby?”
Ah hell, I’m going to keep it. Now what?
Chapter Seven
Tae stepped out of the shower and dried off with a towel. Doing so made her think of bathing her baby. How did one know if the temperature was too hot or too cool? Did she go by her own feelings, or was baby’s skin more sensitive to heat? Grumbling her frustration, she left the bathroom and lotioned her body, then slipped into a pair of jeans and a simple blouse. She wondered if she should wear a dress instead and then remembered she’d probably have to remove all her clothing anyway and put on one of those hospital gowns. Another grumble escaped. She hated going to the doctor, and now being pregnant, she’d have to go a billion times.
While she pulled on a sock, the doorbell rang, and she paused, wondering who it was. She strode into the living room and checked the peephole. Her heart stuttered at sight of Daniel, and she worked to calm down before she opened the door. “Daniel, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here for you.”
Her brows rose and mouth fell open before she snapped out of it. “What do you mean you’re here for me?”
He pushed past her into the apartment, and she stood there looking after him.
“Close the door, Tae.” He scanned her from head to foot and grinned at her feet. “Lose a sock?”
“No, I was in the middle of getting dressed. I have my first doctor’s appointment in about an hour.” She folded her arms over her chest. “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
“Actually, I did,” he countered. The cool attitude rivaled her agitated one until she wanted to choke the man. When she waited for more, he went on. “I’ve decided to support you with the baby, and it looks like I have great timing. I’ll go with you for your doctor’s visit.”
His Best Man's Baby Page 5
