Page 27 of Waiting for Friday Night

“I did what I had to do to keep my parents in their apartment at the time. I was told my sperm wouldn’t be split between multiple women. I didn’t like the idea of having...dozens or more kids out there. Not when I was aiming to play professionally.”

He’d made sure of that before donating. That was the only reason why he’d gone with his friend’s idea. He could donate as much as he wanted, but his sample would only go to one person. After one donation he’d had enough. The idea of lots of kids tied to him that he had no clue existed had made him uncomfortable.

He studied Halle before asking, “Why did you get inseminated?”

She lifted her chin. Her lips pressed together and he worried she wouldn’t answer. After a few tense seconds she spoke. “I lost my mom in high school and my dad when I was in college. I have aunts and uncles, but I still felt alone. So, I decided to have a child and have my own family.”

Quinton didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t surprised that Halle would take fate into her own hands and decide to have a child on her own terms. But there was also an ache in his chest imagining her feeling so alone that she would make that decision. She was smart, strong, and always helping others, but who was there to help her?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your parents,” he said quietly.

She swallowed hard before nodding. “Thank you.” After a pause she continued. “We still should verify the results.”

The coincidence was too much to deny, but he could understand her reasoning. They could have just ended up at the same place. An online DNA test could be wrong. Unlikely, but stranger things had happened. “I agree.”

“Regardless of the outcome, Shania wants this. You don’t.”

Quinton frowned, thrown off by the comment. “What do you mean?”

“You made an anonymous donation. I understand that you don’t want to be involved.”

He’d made the anonymous donation then because he hadn’t wanted the word to get out about what he’d done to keep his parents housed. That didn’t mean that he was against ever being found. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the online DNA test, no matter what his sister said.

“You want me to pretend as if I don’t know?”

She gave him a questioning look. “I’m just saying that I don’t expect anything from you. Would I like for Shania to have a father figure in her life? Yes, but someone that I also want to be with. Not someone forced into the role.”

“You mean someone like Gregory?” The words came out before his thought finished forming. Was she really trying to get him to step aside to avoid causing problems with that guy? Would she just brush this under the rug if he agreed so she could stay with the English teacher?

“I’m not dating Gregory just so he could be a father to Shania, but, yes, he is someone I would want.”

Quinton studied her through narrowed eyes. “You don’t want me?”

She swallowed hard. “If the test is positive, we’ll go from there. If you don’t want to be involved, I won’t blame you. You literally were a sperm donor. I won’t force you to do anything.”

“What if I want you?” he asked. He’d been pushed aside in his life before, but this time, he wasn’t willing to be disregarded. Not by Halle. He ignored the part of him that wanted her to want him even if Shania wasn’t their kid.

Halle’s dark eyes widened. Full lips parted as she inhaled sharply. “What?”

Quinton’s eyes remained fixed on her face. On the doubt in her eyes about him wanting to be involved in Shania’s life. The thinly veiled expectation that he was going to disappoint her and Shania. Just like that, he had the answer to the question he’d been unable to give when he spoke with his sister.

He moved to stand next to her at the kitchen island and asked again, his voice direct and low. “What if I want to be a part of your life?”

Halle clutched the coffee mug with both hands. The heat radiating through the ceramic container overpowered the spark she’d felt when Quinton asked if she wanted him. She blamed it on the shock of an unexpected question. That was all it could be. His words were getting scrambled up in her brain.

Verifying the test results would make him a part of her life. Not just Shania’s, but Halle’s as well. His wanting to be involved only meant that he wanted to be there for Shania. No matter how much her heart rate had picked up or how her cheeks prickled with heat, his words weren’t directed at her specifically.

“Do you want to be a part of Shania’s life?”

“If the results are true. Yes.” He raised a brow. “You look surprised.”

“I am, a little. You donated and didn’t look back.”

“I donated because I had to. I went with that company because they promised me they wouldn’t spread a word about my donation to the school or the media.”

“You didn’t make other donations?” she asked hopefully.

He shook his head. “Other teammates made multiple donations. I didn’t. The thought of having multiple kids out there wasn’t something I wanted. Afterward, I always wondered what had happened. If there was a kid out there.”

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