Page 49 of Accidental Baby Daddy

“See you in a bit.”

“Half an hour. Be ready!” she chirped and then hung up the phone.

I finished my breakfast, slamming down a cup of coffee to wake up a little bit. It was a rare day off for me from both jobs, so why not do it up with my sister?

It’s been nice getting to know her all over again. I’djudged her too harshly before. It wasn’t her fault that she was our parent’s favorite.

Parents shouldn’t have favorites, anyway.

I dressed in a simple pair of high-waisted shorts, a cute tank, and casual flats and put my hair up in a high ponytail. I headed out to her car with a smile when she beeped the horn in front of the cabin.

As we were leaving, I spotted Oliver at his pool with Trent, the little boy doing a cannonball and yelling for his father to watch. But Oliver’s eyes were on me.

A shiver ran down my spine and I waved briefly as we drove past.

She looked at me sideways. “What was that?”

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.

“That was Oliver, right? He waved at you.”

I shrugged. “So? People wave all the time,” I said flatly.

Her eyes narrowed. “There’s something more going on than what you’ve told me so far, and I want to know what it is at brunch.”

“Shopping first,” I pleaded. “I need a new pair of shoes for work.”

Gillian’s face softened. “Of course. You should have mentioned it before now.”

“I didn’t want to be a bother. You’ve already offered me so much.”

“And you didn’t take it, so this, you have to,” she said firmly as she pulled out onto the highway.

The drive to Wilmington, the next town over, was blissfully filled with small talk. It was nice, chatting with Gillian. I should have reached out to her years ago, but Dick had isolated me from my family and friends. In fairness though, my relationship with Gillian was already strained,at least on my end, so I couldn’t completely blame that one on him.

I didn’t even notice how bad things were until I was away from him, away from the relationship. It was like I was stuck in this little bubble with him, and everything else faded away.

I supposed I just thought that was what love felt like. I certainly felt that way with Oliver, but it’d been a different kind of bubble, one filled with smiles and laughter and lovemaking, not criticism and insults.

We arrived at a department store in Wilmington, a place where we’d loved to come as kids, and we walked immediately to the shoe section.

I picked out a pair of comfortable shoes, groaning as I tried them on.

“These are going to be so much better, and I can wear them to both my jobs,” I said excitedly.

Gillian frowned. “I don’t know how I feel about you working so hard all the time,” she admitted. “I worry about you.”

“It’s all right, Gilly. The hours add up to one full-time job, I’m not overworking myself.” I wasn’t exactly lying. The hours added up to around fifty a week, which was just a little more than a full-time job, but I needed to save up and get out of Wagontown before everything started to fall apart all over again.

Gillian hummed, sounding like she was still on the fence, but then I pointed out a pair of low-heeled boots I knew she’d love, and the subject was instantly changed.

We spent another couple of hours shopping, and Gillian forced me to pick out a couple of fun outfits I could wear to work. Of course, I had the grocery store t-shirt to wear to the store, but there was no strict uniform for the Pig,and I found a pair of cute black shorts and a classy, but sexy, white top that I thought would look nice.

Looking nice meant better tips, Krista had said, so I was going to try and look my best.

The brunch spot was a place simply called Bacon and Mimosas—two of my favorite things.

Gillian was all but drooling as she looked at the menu. “I skipped breakfast.”

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