Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Can I just call him? Or text. Texting is better.”
“Lauren,” Katie starts. “I know you prefer to not talk to or see people when you can help it, but this needs to be said in person. Call him, say you need to talk, and go somewhere private, like have him come back here. And if you want me to be there, I can be.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You just want to see how he reacts to this, don’t you?”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But really, I want to support you. I don’t get to be the older sister that often, since you’re the responsible one. I mean, how many times in high school did you help me not get caught drinking, or sneaking out, or sneaking a boy in? You’re my sister, and I love you. And regardless of who the father is, that baby is my niece or nephew. We are family.”
“I love you,” I say and rest my head on her shoulder.
“Ditto, sis.” She gives me one more hug. “Let me do some digging and make some calls and I can get Noah’s number for you.”
“Do I have to tell him?”
She moves her head up and down. “If there is a chance he steps up, then yes.”
A chance. Hah, yeah the fuck right. I’ve known Noah for years, and have had a secret crush on him most of that time. I’ve watched him. I know the type of women he dates. I know he’s a regular heartbreaker. I’ve seen countless women fall for his charm, believe his lies, and think they can change him, that they can tame his wild heart and make him theirs.
And it never works.
So why would it work for me? I’m just Lauren, his best friend’s kid sister who just happened to get drunk and horny when he was stuck at my house waiting out the rain. I’m not the type of girl a man like Noah seeks out. Is having his baby enough to change him forever?
I lean back on the couch and look at the ultrasound photos again. Katie is right. It doesn’t matter who the father is. This is my child, my family.
“Got it,” Katie says.
“That was fast.”
She shrugs. “I might have a friend with a friend who’s hooked up with him.”
“Whatever. It is what it is.”
“Ready to call him?”
“I’m never going to be ready.”
She takes my phone and dials the number. Her finger hovers over the green call button. My heart skips a beat. She holds out the phone and presses “call.” I take the phone and put it to my ear.
Please get his voicemail. Please get his voicemail.
“Hello?”
Dammit.
“Uh, hi, Noah. It’s Lauren. Lauren Winters. Listen, Noah … we need to talk.”
Crap. Maybe Katie should have stayed, because I’m not prepared for how incredibly attractive Noah is when I answer the door half an hour later. It’s been over a month since we’ve seen each other, and the stubble on his face has grown into a beard, and damn, he looks good with it.
Fuck. Me.
Wait, no. Fucking me is what got us into this mess.
“Lauren,” he says, my name rolling off his tongue like silk. “Is everything okay?”
I stare into his blue eyes, heart racing so fast it might burst out of my chest and shatter into a million pieces onto the floor.
“In theory, yes.”
He raises an eyebrow. “That’s not convincing.”
I shuffle back, taking the dogs with me so Noah can get in and through the door. I just shake my head and go into the living room. The ultrasound pictures are on the coffee table, flipped upside down. I plop onto the couch. Vader jumps up next to me, standing and wagging his long tail as Noah draws near. He sits on the opposite side, laughing when the big dog licks his face.
“What’s going on?”
I inhale and wait until Vader settles down in Noah’s lap. The dog might weigh in at a little over a hundred pounds, but he thinks he’s a lap dog.
Just say it.
“Well, I, uh, I’m…” My cheeks start to flush and I want to throw up or cry. Probably both. I take a steadying breath, close my eyes, and try to mentally prepare myself. I open my eyes and look at Noah, taken aback by how worried he looks.
It’s a look I’ve rarely seen on him. A little line forms between his eyes and that cocky, panty-melting smile is gone from his attractive face.
“Lauren?”
Fuck. Now or never.
“I’m pregnant.”
He looks … relieved?
“Fuck,” he says. “I’m sorry.”
I wait for him to say something else, to have the news sink in and the panic hit. Vader jumps off the couch to get a toy. Noah scoots closer.
“I can see how that’s upsetting,” he starts, keeping his gaze locked with mine. “But, uh, why are you telling me?”