Page 228 of Unexpected Hero

Her nose bunches up. “What?”

“Your period or menstrual cycle. Where or when? Whatever you call it. How far away from ovulating are you?”

The smooth planes of her throat undulate as she catches my meaning. “Condom. Oh no. What did I do?”

Her expression goes vacant, and she stutters a step backward. I hold her up, wrapping my forearm behind her.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I got you, sweetie.”

“No, it’s not,” she shrieks. “I fucked up.”

“Shh. It wasn’t all you. I fucked up too. Although I tried to pull out, I don’t know if I did in time. I only realized it at the last second.”

The hue of her cheeks, which was a rosy shade a few moments ago, fades to a ghostly pale. Her eyes dart to the floor, and she withdraws from my hold. Placing her palm on my chest, she pushes me back, gently at first, but ends with a firm shove.

She retreats, backing away with her vision trained on the floor and her jaw hanging open.

I take a leery step in her direction. “Lettie, it’s going to be fine.”

She holds her palm out in front of her. “Stop!”

My feet reluctantly obey.

Wrapping her arms around her waist, she furiously shakes her head no. “Mama was right. I did exactly what she said I’d do. I’m just like my mother.”

To hell with her objections, I launch myself across the room, eating up the distance between us before she sees me coming.

I scoop her up in my arms, throwing her legs over my forearm, and I carry her down the hall to the bathroom. She doesn’t fight me.

As I set her feet on the tile floor, I calmly tell her, “You should use the restroom, and then we’ll shower.”

She bristles at my words, shoulders rolling back and chin lifting. Her eyes look everywhere but at me.

“Focus on me, sugar bear.”

After an agonizingly long few seconds, she finally meets my eyes. “James, what do we do?” Her voice is as timid as I’ve ever heard, barely recognizable.

Desperate to comfort her, I wrap her in my embrace. “Don’t worry, sweetness. I’ll figure it out. Just relax.”

She clings to me, thankfully hugging me back. “Okay.”

While I comfort her, my mind races in a million directions. She’s shocked, and that’s understandable. I am too. I’ve never been reckless like that.

But I’ve also never been in love before.

“Lettie, I’m going to step out while you go to the bathroom. Get in the shower when you’re done, and I’ll join you. We’ll talk after that, okay?”

She nods and extricates herself from my hold. Before I let her go, I kiss her forehead.

With a plan forming in my mind, I close the door and race to the other room to get my phone. Pulling up the delivery app, I quickly find emergency contraceptive pills from the local pharmacy and place the order.

She doesn’t have to take it. But if she wants it, I’ll have it ready. It won’t be on her to buy it. One less thing for her to worry about.

By the time we’re done showering, it’ll be waiting on my porch. She and I will sit down for a talk. I’ll let her know it’s up to her. No pressure either way.

Once she calms down, she’ll be able to calculate where she is in her menstrual cycle. We might not even need the stuff. But if we do, it’s here.

Problem handled.

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