Page 15 of Accidental Baby Daddy

When I started to come down, I began to panic a little.What if she broke my heart all over again? I still had a lot of feelings for her. Would she be able to smash my heart into smithereens all over again?

God, was that what we did? Make love? Was it still love, after all these years?

I pulled out and laid down next to her. She put her head on my chest like she always did, so she could listen to my heartbeat. She had always said it soothed her.

Lexie sighed happily as she laid on my chest. It felt familiar and it made my insides ache, something bittersweet forming in my throat. Was this all I would get with her? Or would she still be here when I opened my eyes?

I didn’t think I’d be able to drift off, but I was asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

I woke up to daylight streaming through the windows and the bed empty. When I sat up, I realized that her ripped top was on the floor and her skirt and my Nirvana t-shirt were gone.

Great. She’d ditched me and taken my shirt.

That was what I got for hooking up with the girl who ruined my life. I wanted to scream, to throw things around the room, but in the end, all I did was leave.

She didn’t care anymore. Maybe she never did.

Chapter 5

Lexie

What the hell had I been thinking? Why would I have hooked up with Oliver Stanhope, the guy who put my heart in a blender when I was eighteen? I groaned as I rushed out of the hotel and padded barefoot down the street.

I was absolutely starving, so I decided to go into the local grocery store. Maybe if I stood near the deli looking sad, someone would buy me some chicken. The wings and fries we’d eaten last night were long gone and my stomach rumbled.

I stood quietly by the deli, thinking that I was going to have to call Gillian, as much as I didn’t want to. Hers was the only phone number I’d remembered, and I hoped that it was still the right one.

I had one more night in the hotel and I did not want to see Oliver again.

I had to get the hell out of Wagontown before I got my heart broken once more.

As I stood there, an older woman peeked around the corner.

“You okay, honey?” she asked, walking toward me. As she got closer, her faded blue eyes lit up. “Is that little Alexandra Tripp?”

“Lexie,” I corrected, narrowing my eyes as recognition washed over me. “Agnes?”

She smiled. “The one and only.”

Oh, great. Of course the next person to recognize me in Wagontown would have to be Oliver’s maternal grandmother, who he’d practically lived with during the summers.

“You look so great!” I exclaimed, and she did. Her gray hair was long and braided, and she had lost some weight.

She blushed. “You do, too. You grew up so pretty. All that dark hair!” She paused. “Are you here visiting Gilly? She just came in this morning for some steaks. I wondered what the special occasion was.”

I shook my head slowly.

Suddenly, I started to feel emotional. I’d had such a long day yesterday, running from my own wedding, and then hooking up with Oliver...

Tears began to fill my eyes and I couldn’t stop them from overflowing.

“Honey,” Agnes said gently, leading me into a back office. “What’s wrong?”

I spilled everything as I sobbed, leaving out my night with Oliver. Agnes listened patiently, an empathetic expression on her face.

“You poor thing,” she said quietly. Then she stood up, leaving the room, and returning with a big plate of chicken and dumplings.

I dug in as soon as she handed me the plate. I couldn’t help myself. It was delicious and comforting, creamy and soft, and it instantly made me feel better.

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