by Mia Ford
“Hello. I’m Marie. You might know my brother, Liam.” Marie reached out her hand as Ginger’s face paled. Marie’s smile was tight as the girls shook hands.
“I’m Ginger, Elena’s best friend,” Ginger murmured as the reality of the situation hit her.
“So, is it his?” Marie demanded softly as she stared at me. “You don’t strike me as the kind of girl to fuck around with more than one man, Elena.”
“I’m not,” I shot back the same time as Ginger defended me, anger rising within me as I looked at Ginger.
“Were you going to tell him?” Marie kept going as tears filled my eyes. “He was a mess when you just dropped off the face of the Earth, Elena. He still is in some ways.”
“You know that we were wrong already. You know that, Marie. I saw it in your face that time at his place, and I just wanted to…I wanted to protect him. I didn’t want to make him help me out of obligation. I never meant for this to happen.” I wiped at the moisture on my cheeks and stared at the table. “I moved in with Ginger, and we’re going to do it together.” I felt Marie’s eyes on me. “I wanted to save his career. I don’t want him to get into trouble.”
“He won’t. You’re not at school together anymore; not in the same class. He’d want to know, Elena. He deserves to know.” Marie looked at me with broken eyes as she played with her hands on the table top. “I deserve to know. The baby is part Liam, and I want to see that happen.”
I picked at my carrot cake once we were alone a short time later, still stunned by what just happened. “What are you going to do?” Ginger asked me gently as I swirled the fork in the frosting.
Marie had been clear about how she was going to handle this. I had a week to go tell Liam, or she would do it herself. “I’m not sure.”
“It would be better coming from you. I mean, it would have been better at the beginning of this, but still. Liam needs to hear it from you. Maybe when he sees you he won’t be so mad,” Ginger said, earning a dark look from me. “He needs to know. This is his baby; his daughter. She needs to know her daddy.”
Tears leaked from my eyes again as I ducked my face down. It was emotional enough talking to Marie, and here Ginger was riding me all over again. “I. Know.” My voice was sharper than I planned it to be and I gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I’m just freaking out right now.”
“I understand,” Ginger told me, dropping it for a bit as I tried to work my way through the crazy emotions rushing through my mind and body. Would Liam hate me? Would he want to be a part of her life…of my life?
We finished what we could and went to the car. Ginger offered to take me shopping some more, but I told her that I was tired and needed a nap. She nodded and drove us home where I climbed into my bed and cried myself to sleep. The joy from the ultrasound was gone with all my uncertainty, making me curl up into a ball as I took a shuddering breath.
CHAPTER 22
Liam
I woke up in the morning feeling a warm body beside me, reaching over in a fog as it snuggled closer to me. My nostrils were hit with the scent of citrus, and I blinked for a moment, realizing that it was Nora. I relaxed against my pillow and reminded myself that I was giving this a shot. She was a sweet woman, and it wasn’t that bad, but my dream was about Elena last night. I hoped for a second that I didn’t talk in my sleep. I could always fall back on the lie of a nightmare about the ex, though it was nothing of the sort.
I thought for a second in my bed. It was Friday, and we were supposed to have lunch with Marie so Nora could meet her for the first time. I’d braved lunch with her over-the-top mother who clearly wanted her daughter married and pregnant, but that was not going to happen. Marie would be better, happy and laughing as she always was. Keith helped a lot with that, and I was really starting to like the guy.
I went out to make some coffee, tempted to go for some morning sex since Nora was so willing. I thought that coffee first might be a good idea since she had to have that in the mornings. Nora was a grump without it.
I heard my phone vibrate on the kitchen counter and glanced over to see Marie’s name on it. I unlocked the phone to see that she had to cancel lunch because she wasn’t feeling well, which was unusual. I called her immediately, and she answered in a soft voice. “I was getting ready to send another text, Liam. I need you to do something for me.”
“Are you okay?” I demanded as she sighed.
“I am fine, but I need you to come over here later. Alone. It’s imperative that you be here,” Marie’s voice was demanding, and I frowned.
“What the hell is going on, Mar?” I hissed as she assured me that I would know later. I just had to come over at three by myself. She ended the call, but I could hear the strain in her voice as she spoke every word. Running a hand through my messy hair, I thought of a way to play this off to Nora until I had some idea of what was going on.
I went with coffee in bed and morning sex. When we were casually resting after, sipping coffee, I mentioned Marie’s text and asked her if she wanted to go into the city and do an impromptu walking tour for a couple of hours. Nora was thrilled with that idea, and I figured I could come up with going to Marie’s later as an emergency type thing, claiming that she was feeling worse. It couldn’t come off as planned because something was really off about it to me. My sister was scaring me.
I mostly enjoyed the day with my mind drifting off here and there. Seattle was an amazing place, and I would never regret moving back. We had lunch on the water, enjoying some of the local fish and a few beers as I started thinking more about the afternoon. “Are you okay?” Nora asked sweetly as I glanced at her, mid-sip.
“Yeah, just worried about Marie. She doesn’t get sick too often.” Nora nodded, a sad smile passing over her face.
“I was looking forward to meeting her. You speak so highly of her,” Nora said as I smiled.
“She’s all I have now.”
“That’s not true. You have me,” Nora told me as I met her intense gaze that was full of words that went unspoken. Fuck. I knew that she was falling for me as I kept this thing between us going but pushed the thought to the back of my head. Nora’s eyes told me that she was more than falling; they told me that she fell hook, line, and sinker. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to smile.
Around two, I watched her walking ahead of me and grabbed my phone. This was where I ended this afternoon to figure out what the hell my sister was up to. “Nora!” I called to her as I shoved it back into my pocket, a useless prop in my game. She turned from the flowers that she was looking at and smiled. “Marie just texted. She wants me to come over and bring her some stuff to eat. She’s not getting around too well.”
“Oh, okay. Let’s go,” Nora offered as I wrinkled my nose.
“Just me. She doesn’t want you exposed to her germs and said she looks terrible. Marie doesn’t want to be seen like that.” I shook my head with a grimace to make my point as she frowned. “I shouldn’t be long. Head to your place and get some of that stuff put away and I’ll be over later.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s a good idea.” I could see that she was feeling a bit hurt as I looked around. I led us back to my car and took her to the complex where she lived, kissing her gently at her door. There was an odd feeling behind it today. There was a finality to it that I didn’t yet understand, but I forced a smile on my face and told her that I’d call her later. I did intend to.
I strode back to my car, eager to get started. Marie was hiding something, and I was going to get to the bottom of all this mystery that she was creating in my world. I glanced back to Nora’s door, seeing it closed now as I started my engine. I drove the distance and parked in the driveway, noticing that nobody else was there. Maybe this was just a Marie thing and nothing else, but my mind had been racing all damn day over this. I looked at my clock before I yanked my keys out and headed to the house. I was early but screw this. I needed to know why she wanted me here alone.
I was just knocking when the
door swung open, revealing my sister. “Marie,” I greeted her as I looked her over. She wasn’t sick, but she did look a little stressed out as she let me walk by into the living room. “What is this all about?”
“I made some chili. Are you hungry?” She asked as she led me to the kitchen.
“I just had lunch with Nora before I dropped her off. Care to tell me why I’m here alone?” I asked as I followed her, annoyed that the chili smelled amazing.
“You’ll see,” she replied as she gave me a long look. There was so much sadness and hope in that look, and I sat at the counter as she handed me a cold beer. “Here.”
“Thanks,” I replied as I looked at it.
Silence fell between us as she fussed around the kitchen, trying to stay busy. I knew that she wasn’t fond of sitting, but this was more. This was like when Mom was sick and dying, though she looked like she had some fucking hope in this case. What the hell was going on? “Marie…” I started when I heard the doorbell echo through the living room. “Who is that?”
“Why don’t you answer it, Liam?” Marie looked at me with wide eyes, and I stood slowly. I knew that this was my answer and I sauntered through the bright room towards the door. The colors of the glass reflected on the walls and furniture as I remembered how hard Mom worked on everything in here, making me smile for a moment. I saw someone standing on the other side before I turned the knob, feeling my breath hitch in my throat as I looked out onto the step.
“Elena?” She blinked as she looked at me, and time stopped. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been talking to Marie for the last week. We thought this was a good idea.” There was some hesitation in her voice as she bit her lower lip and I frowned.
“Come in then,” I offered as I moved her to walk past me. She smelled like Fall, and I breathed it in deeply, longing for her to be here to tell me that she wanted me again. I’d give up everything for her at this moment, and I watched her head to the kitchen. Her hair was longer, and I watched her slip the jacket off and hang it on the coat rack between the two rooms. There was something different about her, and I let my eyes slide down her body slowly as I realized that her face was curvier and just radiant before I took in her green shirt that stretched over her stomach.
Her stomach.
It was rounder now, and I let out my breath slowly as reality hit me. “You’re pregnant.”
Elena blinked as she nodded and held onto the chair beside her. “Five months.”
“Do you hear this, Mom? Fitting that you should be breaking this news to me here,” I told her, my voice rising with every sentence. “Why am I just finding out, Elena? I mean, assuming this is my baby and everything. The math seems to add up to me.” I saw the look of anger pass over her face as she stared at me before Marie walked up behind her.
“She didn’t like it when I suggested that, Liam. Be careful,” Marie warned me in an admonitory tone.
“Someone needs to fucking explain this to me right now,” I told them both as Elena pressed her lips together and Marie asked me in her gaze to calm down. She did this. She planned this. I wanted to know what the hell was going on and right now.
CHAPTER 23
Elena
I knew that he was going to be angry. I wondered for a moment why Marie thought that this would be a good idea as she touched my arm in a comforting motion. Can’t I just grab my coat and run away from the reality of Liam knowing all about this? Can’t I go back to the way it was before?
“Let’s sit down in the kitchen. I made chili for you,” Marie told me as she stroked me over the soft cotton of my shirt. I smiled, knowing that I’d been telling her it was a major craving of mine. Marie was a good person, accepting of this baby and I just needed to know if Liam felt the same way. “Come on, Liam.”
I turned at her words and walked into the kitchen to see a small table and beautiful windows surrounding it, offering a view of a generous yard. Marie told me to sit down while she fixed me a bowl and got me something to drink, and Liam was right behind me as I found a seat facing the outside. He sat beside me, and I felt his heat as I breathed in his scent, still influencing me. Being pregnant, it had even more of one, and I willed my immediate desire to go away. Jumping Liam right here and now was not a good idea, even if he would feel amazing in my pussy that needed to feel the release that came along with Liam.
I took a deep breath and glanced at him, knowing that he was reading my face as his eyes darkened. Marie brought a couple of bowls to the table and placed them in front of us, returning with a plate of French bread and a glass that the put near my food. “Is lemonade good?”
“It’s great. Thanks,” I replied as I looked at everything in front of me and felt the baby shift inside of me. Liam’s eyes were burning holes in me, and I watched as Marie sat across from us, sending strength to me through her eyes.
“Start talking,” he said in a low, hoarse voice as I jumped. It wasn’t a threat, but a direct order and Marie stretched her arm across the table to touch him.
“I…I found out about the baby after the accident,” I started, my voice trembling with emotion. “It was early, but they detected it when they were running tests and told me.” I thought back to that day and remembered all the fear that filled me with the words.
“You didn’t think to tell me?” Liam asked as his leg pressed against mine, making me flush with the heat. I heard my stomach growl and reached for some bread to add to my plate. My little girl didn’t like to wait, and I stirred the white chili with a spoon. I took one careful bite, nearly moaning at the taste of the spices. Food never tasted so good, or sometimes bad before this pregnancy.
“I was scared, Liam. We were already so worried about being caught at any time, so much so that I was bordering on paranoia. I never wanted you to lose your job, and your life and this…it would change everything. I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t call you right away because my phone was broken in the wreck.” I looked at him as he started to speak. “I know you had that nurse tell me to call you and by that time, I was convinced that you’d be better off not knowing. I decided to end it with you and give you your life. It all happened so fast, Liam. I moved in with Ginger and convinced myself that I was doing the right thing.” Tears streamed down my cheeks as I remembered all the pain and loneliness of the last few months. Marie gasped and reached her other hand out towards me as I grabbed a napkin and wiped at my face.
“You were never going to tell me?” Liam asked me as I closed my eyes and struggled to focus.
“I don’t think so. Ginger told me to, and I would go back and forth about it, always wanting you happy. The night at the pizza place kind of cemented that for me when I saw you with the blonde. You moved on, and I decided to accept that.”
“I came over to talk to you that night. I wasn’t even interested in her,” Liam insisted as I watched Marie give him a loving glance.
“I was stubborn. I know that now,” I replied as I cherished the feeling of his leg against my lower thigh.
“How did this happen? Today, I mean?” Liam asked as I shared a look with his sister.
“I ran into her a week ago with Ginger.” I smiled at the thought of the conversations that happened after that. We’d spoken on the phone a lot, and I got to know her the way I should have before. Marie suggested my telling Liam here where she’d be there to control the situation with us and at first I fought it. Ever since I’d found out the baby was a girl and then running into Marie changed everything for me. I wanted her to know her father, even if we meant nothing to one another. I agreed to Marie’s plan and wondered how it was going so far. “Marie sat right down and ripped me a new one before we actually talked. She said the same thing about you being the father.” I wiped another tear away. That hurt but it was a legitimate question. “I listened to her plan about today and finally agreed to it since I wanted you to know now.”
“Why now?” Liam asked me as I gathered the strength to look into his handsome, broken fa
ce.
“She needs to know her daddy, if he wants her in his life,” I was honest as shock passed through his eyes and settled into the lines on his face. “I’d go back to that day and have you there, Liam. I didn’t know how much I’d miss you through all of this when I made my decision.” I sucked in a sob. “I saw Marie that day, and it hit me that you deserve to know.” His arm went around me, and I leaned into him, needing the feeling of being in Liam’s arms. “I don’t care if you want me or not but she needs you.”
Time stilled as he held me, stroking my hair and skin to comfort me as the emotion poured out of me. I laughed as my stomach growled again and he leaned forward to press a kiss to my hair. “She’s so hungry.” I glanced up, seeing us alone in the room as I reached for my spoon. We both nibbled on the savory chili and bread in silence for a while as I gave my daughter what she was demanding from me as he watched me closely.
“What do you crave?” Liam finally asked as I laughed again. I felt like a hormonal wreck today.
“It’s not just one or two things. I just want what I want when I want it, or rather she does. That’s why Marie made chili. I’ve been craving it for two weeks, and this is the best.” I heard him chuckle.
“She makes great food. I am glad that…you two met and are friends,” Liam told me as I risked a look into his emotional face.
