Page 92 of Accidental Baby Daddy

“If you’re done with the breakers, you can go,” she muttered.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly. “This is my place.”

“Don’t throw that in my face, Oliver,” she snapped. “You allowed me to live here. You wanted me to live here, didn’t you?”

I huffed out a breath. “I want you close, can’t you see that?”

“Why? We’re just friends, right?” Her tone was sharp, but I could hear the hurt in it.

I groan. “That was stupid of me to say, Lexie. How many times do I need to apologize? We could never be just friends and you know it. Because we’re in love.”

She stared at me, her eyes wide. “We are? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

I leaned forward, putting my forearms on my thighs. “You can’t tell me that you don’t feel what I feel, Lex. I can’t stand being away from you. I can’t stand seeing you around town, pregnant with my baby, and knowing you aren’t mine. It’s killing me.”

“What are you saying, Oliver?” she asked in a shaky voice. I noticed she was trembling, and I reached out to grab her wrist, pulling her into my lap. She instantly straddled me. We’d sat like this so many times before, with her wrapped around me, while I was emailing someone or on the phone. She’d always wanted to be close to me.

I pressed my forehead to hers. “I love you, Lex. I love you so much and I always have.”

“Love was never the problem with us,” she whispered. “Trust was.”

“I want you to trust me again. Trust me like I trust you.”

“Oliver,” she groaned, and she opened her mouth to argue but I grabbed her by the back of the head, pulling her down to press my lips against hers. Despite her anger, she parted her lips instantly, and I delved my tongue into her mouth.

She made a little whimpering sound as she rocked her hips against my growing erection and I groaned, kissing her throat, nibbling little bites up and down her neck.

“I can’t trust you,” she said breathlessly. “I can’t trust that you won’t leave me again. I can’t trust that you won’t get jealous and try to control me.”

With that she pulled away and stood up, leaving me sitting there, panting, as she left the room. I stayed that way for a long moment, thinking.

A memory washed over me.

Lex came in with tears streaking down her cheeks, her face puffy and her eyes haunted. She slid under the garage door, like she always did, so my dad wouldn’t know she was here.

“Lex,” I said. “What happened?”

She threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly and sobbing into my neck.

“It’s Mom. We had a huge fight. She kicked me out for the night. Said I could find somewhere else to sleep.”

I huffed out a breath. “I need to have a conversation with your mother.”

She shook her head. “It won’t help,” she mumbled. “She doesn’t love me. She only loves Gillian.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, honey—” I started, but she cut me off, pulling away from me and pacing around the garage.

“You don’t get it, Ollie,” she said, sniffling. “You don’t understand. Your dad might be hard on you, but at least you know your parents love you. Mine kicked me out over a disagreement. My dad is never home and even when he is, he acts like I don’t exist. And my mother...” Her voice trembled and she took in a breath before speaking again. “My mother hates me.”

She looked at me with incredibly sad green eyes, and my breath caught in my throat. I loved her more in that moment than I ever had. I wanted to protect her from everything, including her family.

“You’re all I have,” she said softly, coming close to me. “You won’t ever leave me, will you, Ollie?”

“Of course not,” I said fiercely, and I couldn’t imagine ever breaking that promise.

But I did. And I did it all without talking to her first, without asking her if the allegations were true. I rubbed a hand across my face and stood up, walking into the kitchen where Lex was crying softly, her face in her hands.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you, Lex,” I said quietly. She didn’t turn around, didn’t look at me. My heart ached. “I just hope that someday you can forgive me. Because I don’t know if I can live without you.”

---