"That's good. But it takes more than money to raise a child. There are other options if you don't feel emotionally ready.”
I stared at her in confusion. "Options?" What was she suggesting?
"Well, there's adoption or—"
I shook my head. "I'm going to keep my baby." I was shocked and scared to death, but there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted this child. It was strange how certain I was about that. It was the only thing I was sure of at this moment. I didn't know how I would tell Max or how he would respond when I did. I remembered how he told me his brother had done the right thing by a woman, and I imagined Max would too. But that didn't mean he’d be happy about it or wouldn't develop a resentment toward me. My memory flashed to a moment when we woke up married and he acted like I’d done it on purpose. Like I'd tricked him into it.
She told me to start taking prenatal vitamins, eat right, and avoid alcohol. Feeling like I was in a fog, I left her office. When I arrived home, I tried to distract myself by checking in with work. But the magnitude of what I'd learned at the doctor's office pushed me out of shock and into reality. I was going to be a mother. Despite my current marital status, I was going to be a single mother. Max would likely provide financial support, and I suspect he’d want to be involved in the baby's life, but what he and I had together wasn't happily ever after. We liked each other and had great sex, but we weren't in love.
Oh, who was I kidding? Despite my best attempts to keep things casual between us, I'd fallen head over heels for the guy. Who could blame me? He was sweet and kind. He was smart and successful. And most importantly of all was how much he cared about his family. I heard the love in his voice when he talked about them. I saw the concern in his eyes as he talked about his brother’s difficult relationship. I envied him his close family. Sure, I had James, but I didn't have loving parents. Mine were self-centered and selfish. How I would love to be part of a family like Max had.
But even if Max had fallen for me, he wouldn’t be getting as good a deal as I would. I had no doubt that my father would constantly look for ways to take advantage of my relationship with Max. It would only be a matter of time before Max grew tired and resentful of my father’s intrusion, which would put a strain between us.
For a moment, I thought about moving to New York. My business was portable, and by being in the same city as Max, it would be easier to co-parent the child together. Even better, I would be able to raise it away from my father.
But moving to New York would take me away from James, leaving him here to deal with my father by himself. Further, I suspected New York City was much more expensive than Las Vegas. While my business did well, my budget would tighten living in New York.
All these thoughts rattled around in my head, making me nuts. It reminded me that I had important decisions and plans to make. I needed to train someone in my business who could handle things while I was having the baby or when the baby was sick. I had to review my health insurance documents to make sure it covered prenatal care and well-baby visits. Although I believed Max was a decent guy, I had to protect my parental rights, so I would need to talk to a lawyer about establishing legal custody of the baby.
Feeling overwhelmed by it all, I went to my living room and lay down on the couch. I closed my eyes as fatigue overwhelmed me.
My phone went off, startling me awake. I picked it up, noting the time was nearly eight thirty at night. I’d been asleep for several hours. As I hit the answer button, I realized the ring tone wasNew York, New York. Max was calling.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Amelia. It's Max."
Warmth spread through my body at the sound of his voice. But then I remembered the news I needed to tell him and the warmth turned to worry. Not only had we accidentally gotten married, but we’d also accidentally gotten pregnant. How would he respond?
"Amelia?"
"Yes, I'm here. Hi, Max."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, of course." I used my thumb and forefinger to wipe the sleep from my eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. How are you?" I remembered that he had left because of an emergency. "Is everything alright with you?"
"It is now. I wanted to apologize for running off the way I did last week and not calling or texting."
My heartbeat sped up as it took his words to mean something more than they probably did. He was apologizing for not calling me, but not because we were in a relationship. It was because we had unfinished business.
"You said there was an emergency, so I figured you had your hands full with that. I hope everything's okay."
"Yes. I had an issue with one of the clubs, but it's mostly resolved now."
"Well, that's good."
He let out a soft laugh. "I had to wear a police wire the other day."
My heart leapt in my chest, but this time, it was in fear. "What? Isn't that dangerous?"
"In this case, I don't think so. I learned that drugs were being sold out of the Hamptons club and it was possible that one of our employees was part of it. But neither Sam nor I believed that was possible, at least not voluntarily. So, I convinced the detectives to let me be the one to talk to her to find out the real story, but they wanted me to wear a wire."
"Wow. So what happened?"