Page 16 of Don't Fall For Your Grumpy Neighbor

“Math what?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

Anya laughs lightly. “Shep, you and her, back at Christmas, and she’s due in September. Don’t you see?”

“See what?” I ask. “You all are starting to freak me out. What am I missing?”

And then it hits me like a ton of bricks. The math.

The nine month math.

“You think the baby might be mine?” I ask them, each of them smiling back at me.

“I think you and she need to have a talk,” Callum says, slapping his hand down on my shoulder. “Dad,” he adds on before walking away.

Dad?

Am I going to be a father?

But Felicity acts like she hates me. And what about the asshole? Is he the father?

Am I?

I guess there’s really only one way to find out. Tonight when I get off work I need to pay my neighbor a little visit.

Chapter 11

Felicity

“Mom, I asked you to keep this private for now,” I say into the phone as I pace the floor.

“I just told the book club.”

I sigh, closing my eyes. “Telling the book club is like giving breaking news to a national news outlet. They spread gossip faster than a cheetah chasing a gazelle.”

She laughs, mocking me, before clearing her throat. “Sweetie, I’m sorry. I’m excited to be a grandma and I wanted to share the special news.”

“It wasn’t your news to share, Mom. I wasn’t ready to tell the father and now you’ve forced my hand.”

“He should know, Felicity. You have no idea how he’ll react to the news. You may just get everything you’ve ever wanted,” she says.

She’s a hopeless romantic and I’m a realist. I know how Shepherd is going to react and I was hoping to put it off just a little longer. I’ve spent a lot of time the last few days figuring out exactly how and when I was going to tell him. It’s not like I was going to keep this baby a secret. I’m not a terrible person. I know he has every right to know. But now I feel forced and I don’t like that feeling.

“Mom, we’ve had this discussion before. I’m not having it again.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

I sit down and drop my head onto the back of the couch. “Of course I am, Mom. When he gets home from work I’ll tell him.”

She does a little squeal and I roll my eyes. “How are you going to do it? What are you going to say?”

“I’ll call you after I talk to him. Bye, Mom.” I hang up before she throws any more questions at me.

She’s so excited, thinking this will be an instant happy family. You have the mother and the child, just add the father and enjoy.

It will not be. Shepherd isn’t going to smile and bust out some cigars. He’s going to be blindsided and I’ll admit I’m nervous.

I don’t think he’s the kind of guy that will curse me out and put all the blame on me, but I am about to hand him life-changing news and it’s hard to figure out how someone is going to react to that.

There’s a knock on the door and I groan, pushing myself up off the sofa. I open the door and find Karl standing there.

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