Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Nope.” He leans forward, placing the papers in his hand on the coffee table.
“How is that even possible?” He’s so sweet and attentive, and even when he didn’t believe this baby was his, he still treated me with kindness and respect. My mind is blown, and I can’t wrap my head around his answer.
“It’s just not something I wanted, and there was no point leading a woman down the path of a relationship when I knew I didn’t want to get married or have kids.”
“I guess that makes sense.” It’s sad, but it does make sense. It also makes me realize that I need to stop thinking this is something more than what it is. Just because he is now going to be a father, something he did not want, it doesn’t mean that his outlook on relationships has suddenly changed.
And that’s not even something I should even be thinking about, not after just getting divorced.
“What do you want to order for dinner?” he asks, changing the subject.
“I should probably get out of your hair,” I tell him just as there is a knock on the door.
“Hold that thought.” He gets up and walks over to it, swinging it open.
“Uncle Dayton, we’re all having dinner up at Uncle Clay’s,” a little girl says, followed by a familiar little boy’s voice making an announcement.
“We’re making hamburgers!”
“Dad sent us down to let you know because you’re not answering your phone,” the girl continues.
“Is everyone there?” Dayton asks.
“Yep, all of us.”
“Tell your dad I’ll be there in ten minutes and that I’m bringing someone with me.”
My eyes widen. Unless he’s talking about taking someone else, he’s talking about me, and I don’t know who “everyone” is, but I do know that he’s told me his brothers, their wives, and all their kids live in the building.
“Okay, we’ll see you upstairs,” the boy replies, and Dayton closes the door and meets my gaze as he walks back toward me.
“We’re going upstairs for dinner.”
“Um….”
“We can bring PJ. He met both my brothers’ dogs before, and they get along.”
“He met your brothers’ dogs before?”
“Yeah, the day you came over to take a nap, he met them.”
“Oh.”
“It’ll be cool. You’ll like everyone.” He takes a seat on the couch next to me and reaches out, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. Maybe I should tell him to stop touching me like I mean something more to him because the easy affection is messing with my head. Of course I don’t do that because I’ll miss it if he stops, and I don’t want him to stop. “So what do you say?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“All right, so that gives you about two minutes to get over the freakout.”
I can’t help but snort. “Is it that obvious?”
“A little.” He smiles.
“Should I go change?” I glance down at the jean shorts, tank top, and sweater I put on this morning when he came to invite me out to breakfast.
“No, it’ll be casual. The kids will be hyped up on sugar, the girls will probably drag you off to interrogate you, and the guys and I will hang at the bar.”
“There’s a bar?”
“You’ll see.” He gets off the couch and holds out his hand. “Ready?”
“I guess I don’t really have a choice not to be.” I place my hand in his and let him pull me up. Once I’m on my feet, I tip my head back. “Do they know I’m pregnant?”
“Clay does, so Willow probably does. I doubt she’s shared that information with Emma or Miranda, though. It’s up to you if you want to share that with them.”
“Do you want them to know?”
“I’m not keeping it a secret. There just hasn’t been a time for me to sit down with Miles or Tucker to talk about things.”
“Right.” Because this all just happened, and we are living in fast-forward.
“When I was reading up on some stuff, it said that most people wait until twelve weeks to share the news because prior to that, there is a higher chance of miscarriage,” he says.
Twelve weeks, so we are right there.
Wait.
“You read up on it?” I ask.
He gives a little shrug like it’s not a big deal. “Yeah.”
“What else did you read?”
“That the baby is about the size of a prune right now.”
“Really?”
He tilts his head to the side, his face surprised. “You didn’t know that?”
“No.” I instantly feel guilty for not doing research and looking things up about what is happening to me and my body.
Shouldn’t I be doing that?
Shouldn’t I want to?
“What’s that look?” he questions, his eyes narrowing.
“Nothing.” I walk away from him and slip on my sandals that I took off at the door when I came in.
“Franny.”
“Are you ready?” I force a smile, and he looks at me with the same frown he had on his face last night.