Page 27 of The Homewrecker's Fate

“Would you date me, knowing what you know?”

“If I wasn’t pregnant with your best friend’s husband’s child, then I’d jump at the chance to date you despite the fact that Mel might be pregnant with your baby.”

“Why the ‘if I wasn’t’ clause in that statement?”

“Because it’s messy.”

“You don’t mind my part in the mess, why should I mind yours?” He asked and that time he didn’t sound like he was teasing me or making light of the situation anymore.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Brax stated. “I’m serious. If I asked you out, what would you say?”

“I’m pregnant and due in September.”

“Okay, so we won’t schedule any dates or getaways for September,” his teasing tone was back.

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll fall back into things with Rich because of the baby?”

He laughed at that question. “God, no.”

“Why not?”

“He proved himself to be an idiot and a complete jackass. You would have to be the most insecure woman ever to go there again. I can already tell from what I’ve seen that you are far from that.”

“You’re right. My mom asked me that question tonight and I thought she was crazy. She just wanted to see my reaction when she asked me if I should try to work things out with him.”

“Ultimately, you’re the only one who has to be happy with your choice,” Brax confided. “Well, you and your daughter. I don’t see you being content with Rich after everything, let alone happy.”

“You’re right.”

“So, would you go out with me?”

“On a dinner date?”

“It doesn’t have to be dinner. You let me know when you have some free time, and we’ll schedule something. Even if we decide that too much is going on to make dating possible, I’d still like to get to know you better. We can call it a ‘test the waters’ outing if you’d like. Spending a little more time getting to know you, without the distraction of Mel and her kids in the way, is the goal. If, after we do that, you decide that you want to friend zone me or never see my face again, I’ll live with your decision. Hopefully, that’s not your decision because I already like enough about you that I know which way I want this to go.”

“Same,” I said without thinking. It was meant to be a thought, not spoken, but there were no take-backs once he heard it. It was crazy to even think about dating someone else while I was pregnant, wasn’t it? “We need to-”

“We won’t rush things,” he quickly suggested after cutting me off in his excitement.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.” I couldn’t fight the grin that pulled my mouth up at the corners for the rest of our phone call. We decided a time that would work for both of us and worked out some details. I was pregnant and about to go out with a man who might have fathered my brand-new friend’s baby. The same friend whose husband was the father of my unborn child. Sure, it was messy, but our whole dynamic was already so intertwined with one another that a little more chaos couldn’t possibly hurt. At least that’s what I hoped as sleep finally claimed me that evening.

Chapter 14

Brax was set to pick me up for our date a few days later. It felt as though the butterflies whooshing around in my stomach had nervous butterflies of their own as soon as I heard his knock on the door.

"Just a second," I called out as my eyes darted around the living room once more in search of the purse I planned to bring with me. Normally, it wasn't essential for me to have one, but considering we were going out to dinner, and I didn't know how the little one would react to whatever tempted me, I had tums, some mint gum, and a few other ‘just in case’ essentials packed away in there. My problem was that I'd set it down to take a call from work and now, I wasn't sure where I put it. Did that mom brain thing that women always talked about happen during pregnancy? Pregnancy brain was a thing, wasn't it? My sigh left my lips just as I noticed the shoulder strap of my purse sticking out from under the couch cushion.

"No wonder I couldn't find it," I murmured to myself. Once I had it in my hands, and was about to open my door, I heard male voices outside. As the door pulled inward, I gasped at seeing Brax, who was expected, in a heated conversation with Rich, who wasn't supposed to be here.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"What in the hell is he doing here?" Rich snapped as his eyes left Brax and narrowed on me.

"That's none of your damn business. The better question is what in the hell are you doing at my place when I remember telling you to never show up here again?"

"We're having a baby together," he stated.

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