“Oh!” The word comes out as a squeak.
His eyes move from Wesley back to me. “I can come back later.”
“I was just leaving,” Wesley says. He holds out his hand to Carter and Carter takes it. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” Carter responds.
Wesley turns to me, bending and placing a kiss on the top of my head. “We’ll talk later.”
Carter and I watch him walk to his SUV and leave, then I turn to him.
“What are you doing here?”
He puts his hand on the small of my back, ushering me into the house. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
The back of my neck prickles with his words. I don’t like the way they sound or the seriousness on his face. I’m tempted to go back to the kitchen for the bottle of liquor, but Carter leads me to the couch. He sits and pulls me down beside him. I really start to worry when he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, his gaze staring unfocused across the room.
“You’re starting to freak me out, Carter,” I say with a shaky voice. “What’s going—”
“You’re pregnant.”
“Excuse me?’ I ask, knowing I must have misheard him. He turns his head, his eyes meeting mine, and I know from just his look, my mind is not playing tricks on me. “There has to be a mistake.”
Sensing an impending breakdown, Carter grabs my hand and tugs it between his. “After you left yesterday, I went to straighten the lab since Amanda had to leave early. She mentioned she had set the test up, but hadn’t gotten the results back yet. It was positive. We’ll need to do a blood test to know for sure, but the chances of the urine sample giving a false positive is extremely low.”
“But it hasn’t even been two weeks since the first time we slept together. I thought you had to be further along for a test to show you’re pregnant.”
“Not necessarily. If the HCG levels are high enough, it can detect pregnancy as early as a few days after conception.” He pauses, his brows pulling down. “Yesterday you said it had been two and a half years since your last partner. Was that the truth?”
Hurt by his question, I yank my hand out of his and try to get up from the couch, but he pulls me back down.
“Harley, look at me.” I shoot him an icy glare. “I’m sorry if that hurt, but you have to understand why I had to make sure. This is a big step in a person’s life. Although we grew up in the same town and are only a few years apart in age, I’ve been gone for a long time, so we don’t know each other that well.”
He makes a good point, even if it still hurts. It’s not his fault there are people out there who will trick and manipulate others to get what they want. We don’t know each other that well. For all he knows, I could be a gold digger who has set her sights on a rich doctor. Everyone knows how well off the Becketts are.
“You are the only man I’ve slept with in two and a half years,” I tell him. “And before you ask, I’m on birth control. I guess even using a condom and the shot combined isn’t foolproof.”
His head dips in a nod. “Apparently.” He turns his body to face me better. “I’ve got another tough question.” He holds my gaze for a moment. “Do you want to keep this baby?”
I don’t even need to think about my answer. “Of course I do. The situation isn’t ideal, and I obviously didn’t want to have a child right now, but I have always wanted them.” I run my tongue along my bottom lip, suddenly becoming anxious. “I wouldn’t blame you if your answer is no, but do you—”
“Yes, I want to be in this baby’s life,” he says, interrupting me.
Relief hits me square in the chest, lifting the two-ton boulder that suddenly landed on it when I thought he might not want to be part of this child’s life. It’s not that I think I couldn’t do it without him, it’s that I don’t want to. And that stems more for the emotional well-being of our baby, not myself. A child needs both of their parents to guide them through life. Well, with the exception of having a father like mine. Looking at Carter, I know he’s nothing like my father.
My thoughts move to the glass of whiskey I had only moments ago and worry tightens the muscles in my chest.
“Uh… a few minutes before you knocked, I had a small glass of whiskey. Could that have hurt the baby?”
“No, a small amount should be fine.”
I nod, relief relaxing the tension in my body.
Carter drops to his knees on the floor, putting his hands on my thighs and widening my legs. I watch with curious eyes as he shuffles forward and wedges himself between them. Once he’s satisfied with his position, his eyes move to my lower stomach. So gently I barely feel it, he places his hand over the spot where our baby is growing.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad,” he says with reverence.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I can’t help but ask.