Page 20 of Claim Me

“No.”

“You can be honest. I won’t cry.”

“You look like you’re already about to cry.”

“I’m nervous.”

Frowning, I ask, “To talk to me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Is that a real question or are you screwing with me?” Siobhan asks and immediately sighs. “No, you’re not someone who plays games. I mean you try, but you’re terrible at it.”

“Did Aunt Fred ask you to come here?”

“No. This is all me,” Siobhan says and glances back at her friends waiting near the SUVs. Returning her gaze to me, she inhales sharply and blurts out, “I’m pregnant. I haven’t told anyone except Hunter and Natasha and their men. Now, I’m telling you.”

Her words don’t hit me right away. They linger in the air between us. I’m too focused on feeling guilty to really feel this new information. I want Siobhan to forgive me. Or forget what happened so I can get a do-over.

Once her words finally sink in, I drop to my knees and stare at her stomach. I remember how soft and golden her belly looked when she was stripped down on the bed. I didn’t see any scars from her C-section, but everything was happening so fast. Once again, I wish I’d gotten control of myself. I wanted to memorize every inch of Siobhan.

Now, inside her body is the start of a baby.

Looking up at her beautiful face, I ask, “Are you going to keep it?”

“I want it, yes.”

“What if it’s like me?” I ask, hating her a little for not seeing how her new baby won’t be as good as the ones she had with Sync. “My mom was crazy. I’m not right. I don’t know about my brother. This baby might be wrong.”

“Even if our baby has problems, it’s still mine,” Siobhan explains tenderly while studying me. As her soft gaze hardens, she adds, “How can you think bad things about our baby when it’s the size of a poppy seed?”

Standing up, I frown at her. “You don’t know everything wrong with my bloodline.”

“Well, you know what’s wrong with mine,” Siobhan mutters and gestures toward Dot smacking Caveman with a dish towel nearby.

I feel weird like I should be alone for a while. No, I’d rather look at Siobhan for a little longer. She studies me with her perfect blue eyes. I love the color of them. No one has blue eyes like she does. Even Aunt Fred and Carys have slightly different shades of blue.

“I didn’t want to fuck at the clubhouse.”

My words startle me as much as they do her. Siobhan’s expression loses its hardness. She looks sad and vulnerable now.

“I wanted to take you on a date. Movies and dinner,” I explain, feeling like a moron. “But I got all fucked up in my head.”

“Okay.”

“I still want to take you out on a date.”

Siobhan nearly smiles. “Where would we go?”

“Do you really want to go out or are you just stuck because of the baby?”

Siobhan cocks an eyebrow and loses her vulnerability. “I don’t get forced to do shit. I’m Elvis O’Malley’s daughter.”

Siobhan smirks at her words, feeling confident for a moment before she remembers why she’s here. Once the worry returns to her gaze, I feel like shit.

“I want you to pick where we eat dinner,” Siobhan says, testing me.

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