“He’d be acting like a teenager. Give it time.” He grinned. “But in the meanwhile…we need to tell him.”
She knew that. Obviously. She just wanted her family to see him one more time before she broke the news. “I know. This is the first step in telling them. I have it all planned out.”
Brianna would be happy for her, of course, but she wanted one last informal meeting before she spilled the news. So Garrett would be fresh in her mind.
And Chris? Well, she could only hope he understood.
But she didn’t even want to think about Mike’s reaction. At all. He’d flip the heck out.
“All right.” He jogged up the steps two at a time. At the top, he turned back to face her. “We’re going to be okay. You know that, right?”
No. Not at all. “Of course.”
He nodded and disappeared. He was always trying to make her feel better, and sometimes he succeeded. But this time she was beyond help. She was out in deep water without a paddle. This whole situation was a perfect wreck in a perfect storm. She busied herself with straightening up the kitchen…and did her best to pretend she wasn’t picturing him naked in the shower.
An hour later, they were pulling up to Brianna’s house in Kiersten’s supposedly noisy car. Garrett had scowled the whole way there, but she had done her best to ignore him. He didn’t like the lies and games. She knew that. But soon it would be over and everyone would know her brother’s best friend had knocked her up.
And even better?
That they weren’t even in a relationship of any form.
Not even lovers or friends with benefits. They were a one-night deal. One night that ended in a baby and him being her platonic roommate. Heck, he didn’t even want her anymore, according to him. Just like that. Poof. Gone. It kind of stung. She’d been blindsided when he blurted out that he could easily love her, but then he’d just as quickly snatched those words back before she could even think about the meaning behind them.
She wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about it…but she knew she didn’t like it. Or the way she reacted to him every time he touched her. Feelings were unreliable and not to be trusted. And she couldn’t trust herself, either. Pete had proved that to her.
“You okay?” Garrett asked. His brow wrinkled up as he parked in front of Brianna’s house. “You’re being quiet.”
She fidgeted with her purse strap. “I’m just nervous. After tonight, it’ll be all the more real.”
Garrett hopped out of the car and came around to open her door for her. He lowered his sunglasses and placed both hands on either side of her. “Honey? It’s already real. You have my baby inside of you, and in a few months? It’ll be in our home.”
Our home. It sounded so…so domestic. And normal. “I know. But you’re the only one who knows right now. What if something is wrong? What if the baby isn’t healthy? What if there’re six babies in my stomach right now instead of one? What if—?”
“Stop it,” he cut in, his tone hard. When she stopped talking and blinked at him in surprise—he never, ever raised his voice to her—he brushed her hair off of her cheek tenderly. “Now that I’ve got you quiet, let me say this. You are fine. The baby is fine. Chris will be fine, even if it takes some time. We are fine. Stop worrying about what everyone will think.”
She shook her head. “I’m not.”
“Aren’t you?” He gave her a level look. “Because I think that’s what all of this is coming from. Not fear that something’s wrong. I’m sure you have that, of course. But I also think you’re worried what Mike will say. And Brianna. And how Chris will react.”
Kiersten blinked back tears. He was right. Damn him. He was always right, except for one thing. He seemed to think she was worth believing in…and he was wrong. She’d only let him down in the end. “Aren’t you a little bit worried? It can’t all be me.”
“Hell yeah. But I already told my boss, and he’s fine with it.”
She stiffened. “You told him?”
“Yeah, I did.” He frowned at her. “I’m not the type to hide it until I forget it exists. It’s real.”
“I know it is,” she snapped. “But what if they tell Mike before we do?”
“The school board isn’t going to gossip about the love life of a teacher.” He glanced over his shoulder at the house. “They’re fine with it. The only thing we have to worry about now, besides your family, is the basketball team.”
“You mean their parents?”
His shoulders sagged. “Yeah. Their parents.”
“They’ll say you favor Chris.” She took a deep breath, images playing out in her mind. “Chris is going to be benched because they’ll be jealous of him and you living together. Of you being his dad. He’s already got his uncle coaching him. Now he’ll have you, too.”
He laid his hands on her shoulders. “I won’t bench him. If it comes down to it, I’ll step down as coach until he’s in high school.”
What? Quit? He loved that team. Loved coaching. It was the joy of his life. Yet here he was, saying he would quit for Chris. “You’d do that for him?”
“I’d do anything for you guys. You’re my family now. If that’s what I need to do?” He shrugged. “I’ll do it. But I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
Her heart softened toward him even more than it already had, and she swayed toward him. Warning bells went off in her head when his lids drifted shut. As if… She stiffened and scooted back on the seat again. Where it was safer. No kissing. No affection. Platonic. “I hope not. I don’t want you to be forced to quit.”
A brief look of disappointment lit his eyes, but it left just as quickly as it came. “And I don’t want Chris to suffer because we’re a couple now.” He held his hand up when she opened her mouth. “Yes, I know we’re not really one. But it’s easier to just say we are to all the other parents. Don’t you think?”
She hesitated. It did make more sense than spending twenty minutes explaining their situation. “I guess. But I won’t lie to Chris. We’re always honest with each other, even if we don’t want to be.”
“Neither will I. I live by the honesty policy, too.” He squeezed her thighs. “Now stop worrying and get up. Time to go inside.”