“I couldn’t do this without you, Gin,” I told her as she hugged me. “I mean that. I would be lost without you.” She hadn’t bothered me about Liam too much in the last several weeks, but I knew that he was on her mind when she gazed at me.
“I will always be here for you and my niece. I have so much to teach her!!” She said as she unlocked her car from a few feet away. We decided to go to the dessert diner around the corner, and she drove there as I took the bag and looked inside. This was so surreal, and I shook my head as I fingered the soft cotton of a dress. I tucked the bag into the back before we went inside and joined the line to order, looking over the sweet treats as my stomach rumbled. “What do you want?”
“I want the carrot cake today. That looks so good,” I whispered as she giggled. Ginger ordered herself some chocolate cake, my carrot cake, coffee, and lemonade for me before paying and searching the room for a free table. “This place is always so crowded,” I murmured as she nodded. It was worth it, though. “Oh, I see one! I’ll grab it if you get the tray?” Ginger knew that I was a klutz when it came to carrying anything and she nodded as I made my way back with a smile on my face.
Today was magical. I was having a little girl!! I imagined what she would look like for a moment as I walked. Would she have her daddy’s eyes or his hair? Maybe both. I couldn’t wait to meet her suddenly, and I rubbed my stomach gently with one hand and slid a chair out with the other. “Are you Elena?”
I turned at the question and saw a face that I wouldn’t forget anytime soon staring at me. Marie. I wanted to tell her no, that I was a different girl, but by the look on her face, I knew that she wouldn’t buy it. “Uh, yeah. Hi…again.”
She searched my face before looking down at my hand, still pressed to my baby bump. Her eyes widened, and she looked back into my eyes as understanding hit her. “You’re pregnant.” I nodded slowly, trying to find a way out of this. Liam couldn’t know, but I saw her mind working as I dropped into the seat and took a breath. “Shit. You wrecked Liam by not calling him back or responding to him. I wanted to kill you for that watching him act so distant for weeks, but I get it now. I mean, I don’t get it, but I sort of understand. You found out after the accident, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t speak as she slipped into the third chair at the small table and made herself comfortable. “I…” I couldn’t talk for a moment, and Ginger gave us both a curious look as she set the tray down.
“Hi,” she said carefully as she looked at Marie with a hesitant smile. I was confident that she sensed the tension in the air between Marie and I and I reached for the lemonade to take a long swallow.
“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.
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 t
his 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.