“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 22
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 face.
“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.