Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
She stood and walked toward him. He held out his arms and she stepped into his embrace. He pulled her against him, resting his chin on her head. She fit right, he thought, aware he was getting ahead of himself. She needed time to adjust to their new reality and the truth was, so did he.
“We’re in this together,” he reassured her, drawing a deep breath and inhaling her arousing, sweet yet sexy, floral scent.
Noah might have been fine being her co-parent, but Jared was going to have a much harder time keeping things uncomplicated between them.
* * *
Jared walked Charlotte to the elevator in his apartment and accompanied her downstairs. He waited until she was safely in an Uber before heading upstairs and texting his brother, Aiden. If there was anyone who could help him process his current situation, it was the sibling he was closest to. Luckily, Aiden was still in town.
His brother suggested they meet up at Remy’s bar, but Jared didn’t want anyone else in the family intruding. He proposed Club Ten29, an upscale nightclub owned by Jason Dare, a cousin of Remy’s partner at The Back Door, Zach Dare. They agreed on the place and time, four p.m.
Jared spent the rest of the afternoon at the office, finding it difficult to concentrate and glad Brooke had taken over this morning’s issue with the stock. His father had dealt with the business news calmly, at least for Alex when he was worked up, and Jared managed to get him to take a step back. He’d be dealing with some low maintenance clients this afternoon. Meanwhile, Jared stared at his computer screen, unable to get any work done, and was grateful when it was time to leave to meet Aiden.
It took him thirty minutes to get downtown by the company car service. He walked inside and took in the décor. He liked the vibe of the club, the glass wall behind the bar lined with liquor bottles and the dim lighting.
His brother sat at a table, a glass of what was probably scotch in his hand.
Jared joined him, finding a glass of liquor waiting for him. “Thanks,” he said, sitting down and taking a much-needed sip.
Aiden, wearing a pair of jeans and a Henley, looked relaxed, unlike how Jared was feeling. “What’s got you so frazzled you wanted to meet in the middle of the workday? Is it the business? Dad?”
“Dad’s fine,” he reassured his brother. “Not so sure about me. I’m going to be a father.”
Aiden burst out laughing. “Good one. Now what’s the real reason we’re here?”
Jared kept his serious face on, pulling his mouth tight before speaking. “I,” he said, gesturing to himself, “am going to be a father.”
“Shit. You’re serious. I didn’t think you had time for sex.”
He shook his head because his brother had a point. “I don’t. It was the night of Fallon’s wedding. Not at the wedding. After the wedding. Except we might have gone upstairs early.”
“You fucked a bridesmaid?” Aiden asked.
“That’s so cliché. It was Charlotte. Charlie.” Charlotte seemed to be his name for her and his alone.
“You fucked—”
“Hey, watch it. Don’t talk about her like that.”
Aiden’s eyes opened wide. “So you still have feelings for her and you knocked her up.” He held up his hands. “I mean, you got her pregnant.”
“Better. And yeah.” He raised his glass and Aiden did the same. They took a drink and set them on the table.
“Can I ask you something? Did you kids ever hear of condoms? Or, I don’t know, abstinence?” He waved a hand. “Sorry, I shouldn’t joke. But seriously. Charlie? She accidentally got pregnant… twice in one lifetime?”
Jared ran a hand across his face. “Apparently, she and Noah used a condom. No idea what happened there. And with me, she was at the end life of her IUD and didn’t know.”
Aiden slowly nodded. “Okay, all kidding aside. How are you doing?”
“I’d say I reacted well, so one point for me. I’m not as freaked out as I should be and I don’t understand why.”
His brother swirled his drink and studied him. “I think I do.”
Jared cocked an eyebrow, waiting for the answer.
“Like I said earlier, you have feelings for her. I could tell when we spoke at Dad’s. You were protective of her just now and you call her Charlotte. Nobody calls her Charlotte. So because you’re invested, the idea of a baby isn’t freaking you out.”
Instead of making a wisecrack, he let his brother’s words settle. They were nothing he hadn’t considered himself. In fact, he’d had the random thought that if he had to go through this with anyone, he was glad it was Charlotte.
He couldn’t say this is the direction he saw his life going and it was going to take a lot of adjustment. But he was managing the news with some semblance of calm. The biggest thing on his mind at the moment was making the time he both needed and wanted for the changes coming in his life.