Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
I shoot Lucas a pleading look, and he eases Rainey against him. “Okay, this is getting out of hand,” he says.
“I agree.” Jack groans. “Yes, Taylor is pregnant and the baby is mine. I wanted to wait and tell you with Mom, Dad, Hudson, and Miles there.”
The tension seeps from my body and my shoulders relax. I needed Jack to tell his sister the truth, not to fight with her over me.
“You’re having a baby!” Rainey exclaims. “That’s so exciting. I’m sorry I pushed. It just seemed so obvious, and I didn’t understand why you were hiding it from me. Because we’re close.” Her voice cracks, as does my heart.
Jack and his sister have a special bond, and I would never want to break that for any reason.
“Yeah, and we’re always going to be close. I just wanted you all together when I told you the news.”
She steps forward and hugs him tight. “Again, I apologize. You’re right. It wasn’t my business. Still love me?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye as she smiles at him.
“Yeah. Of course I do.”
Lucas puts his hand on her shoulder and draws her back to him. “Okay, Tristan and Kaylee are waiting for us, so how about we go back?” he asks, and without waiting for a reply he adds, “See you in a few.”
Rainey smiles my way, then she and Lucas head back to the deck.
Jack exhales a long breath and leans against the wall behind him. “Sorry about all that.”
I shake my head. “I’m the one who should apologize. I caused all this by getting sick.”
“You couldn’t control that.” He reaches out and brushes his thumb over my cheek. “I had no idea seafood was on the menu, but I wish I’d thought of it. And I shouldn’t have kept Rainey in the dark. She’s too smart not to figure things out and there was no reason to hide things.” He shrugs. “But what’s done is done.”
“She’s not upset anymore and everything is fine.”
He smiles and takes my hand in his. “It is. And tomorrow night, we’ll tell the rest of my family.”
“We?” Panic races through me. “You want me to meet them at the same time we tell them I’m pregnant?”
He hesitates, obviously reconsidering. “I can see how that’s awkward. How about I tell them and have Rainey bring you by after?”
I swallow hard. “I guess that could work.”
“Relax. They’re good people and they’re going to love you. Besides, once the baby is born, they’re going to be your family, too.”
I stare at him, wide-eyed. His words should make me happy but the more I think about getting close with his parents and siblings, I realize it gives Chandler more people to hold over me. Maybe I’m giving the man too much power, but I just don’t trust him not to hurt other people to keep me in line.
“Relax. It’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah.” The truth is, I have to meet them eventually, so his plan makes sense.
He’ll tell his family we’re having a baby.
And soon enough, I’ll tell mine.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jack
Mom and Dad are expecting me, so I let myself into the house with my key. I hear voices in the family room, and I make my way to where they’re hanging out. My parents, Ian and Riley, are the epitome of a fairy tale. To hear them tell the story of how they met, Dad knew she was the one, and fought his feelings, only to give in and be the happiest he’s ever been. Mom’s version is more detailed, but the end is the same.
I admit I never bought into the whole love at first sight, or soul mates shit. I’d hoped to meet someone I was compatible with, who I could spend time and have fun with. Someone who wants me for me and not the family name or the nightclub access. Then Tristan and Lucas showed me what was possible in a relationship. The trust, the joy, but mostly, the love. It sounds corny, but I want that. And the night I walked into the café and Taylor looked up at me, I felt something shift. Suddenly, there were possibilities in front of me.
Is Taylor the one?
All I know is I’ve never felt like this before about any woman. Add in the fact that she’s having my baby, I love being with her, and find her sexy as hell? She fits with everything I want in a relationship. I want to know more about her. Everything about her.
Trust is the biggest obstacle so far. The two phone calls she received while we were together set her off and she wouldn’t tell me why. But we have time. We can have more dates together while she’s in Miami, and I’ll be visiting Charleston often. She just needs to let me in.