Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
And if she were being honest, in her heart she hadn’t wanted him to.
She couldn’t pinpoint the moment things had changed. When she started feeling more for him than amusement and sexual attraction. As soon as she realized what was happening, she’d fought against it. She couldn’t be in love with him. Wyatt had stability and monogamy written all over him. And babies, though it had taken him a while to warm up to all the new miniature additions to his family.
Thoreau had been the perfect, cooler counterpoint to the fiery Wyatt. He knew himself in a way she couldn’t help but find appealing. She’d been drawn to his intellect, his gorgeous smile, and his openminded view of the world. He stimulated her mind and was easy on the eyes. Her feelings for the ambitious brewer had snuck up on her. One day he’d been the friend she couldn’t go more than a few hours without talking to or texting. Then, before she’d realized she was falling, it was already too late.
She’d always been open to experiencing a ménage—and open to expressing how open she was, just to see the look on people’s faces—but she’d honestly never expected to actually fall in love with two men at the same time. That meant more than a long weekend for her memoirs. That meant mess. Complication. Probable heartbreak and misunderstandings. That wasn’t what she wanted her life to be about.
She’d wanted to spend her life learning and experiencing new things. Not tying herself to one person—or two— one job, one narrow slice of life instead of the whole pie.
You want. You want. You want. Only it’s not all about you anymore, is it?
Fiona sighed. When things with Wyatt kept getting harder, and things with Thoreau had gotten too intense to keep denying for Wyatt’s sake, she’d taken an opportunity to go back to California, using that time to do some serious soul-searching. She hadn’t been sure she would come back, no matter how miserable it made her to imagine staying away.
And then she’d gotten the news that made it all a million times more complicated.
A baby. Her baby.
Hers and Wyatt’s.
The baby meant her real reasons for being in California no longer mattered—not that she’d told Wyatt or Thoreau the truth about that either. They’d never understand.
She’d seen it now. The little peanut inside her that was part her and part Finn. And with that image came joy and terror, emotions so thick they threatened to choke her, filling her throat until she could barely breathe.
They wouldn’t understand. How could they?
She’d promised herself at thirteen that she would never, under any circumstances, get married and give up her freedom. That she’d never put faith in anything but herself. She’d never been tempted to change her mind on that score, but then she’d fallen for Wyatt and Thoreau. Two men who were both built for commitments and obligations and vows.
She couldn’t give them that. She couldn’t give anyone that. She couldn’t even conform or keep to a schedule long enough to get herself out of debt. With her degree, she could get a job that would solve her financial problems in short order, but she just couldn’t bring herself to give up the freedom to come and go as she pleased.
It was the same reason she’d always kept a bag packed and her passport up to date. In case she got the itch to move on or see something new. In case she needed to reinvent herself and start again, free and clear with a clean slate.
Now she was committed for life to the baby growing inside her, and she had no idea what she was going to do. The pregnancy had turned her world on its head—and Wyatt’s and Thoreau’s along with it, though they didn’t know it yet. She’d tried to tell Wyatt at the hospital, but then the moment had passed and she’d decided to put if off until he was stronger.
How was she going to tell them now?
One busy happy hour later, she finally took the time to check her messages.
Thor: Home now. Checked on patient. He ate my cereal again.
Wyatt: You have no chips. I was hungry.
Thor: Update on patient. He’s hidden the remote. Someone wants broth for dinner.
Wyatt: That’s low. Even for you.
Fiona grinned as she replied. Honestly, it was like living with a couple of preteens.
Fi: Play nice, children. Mommy’s at work.
Mommy.
She slid her phone into her back pocket and heaved an exaggerated sigh for the benefit of Jake Finn and JD Green, who were both seated at the bar. “Remind me why I thought two men were a good idea again?”
Jake snorted. “Maybe all that texting is a good sign. At least they’re talking?”
“Do your dads even know you’re here, Jake?”
He looked up from his own phone with the killer smile she knew he’d been working on to impress the ladies. Effective. “Are you trying to change the subject, Fiona? A little childish, don’t you think?”