Page 16 of Love Me

“She was—”

“Just ask, Riles. What would it hurt?”

So I called Coco. Like Misty reminded me, she was a resource, an insight into Owen’s past, never mind the fact that I had to take her words with a grain of salt. If nothing else, she might know if he had ever gotten anyone else pregnant before, or if he had any thoughts on the subject.

“You have reached the voicemail box of nine one seven—”

As I ordered a rideshare to head to Pan Dulce Bread, Misty nudged me.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I gazed wistfully at the buildings across the street. “I’m not ready to tell Owen though.” I turned towards her, giving the firmest look I could manage. “Promise me you won’t tell him.” I couldn’t fathom having that conversation yet, about what it would mean for our future. Whatever decision I made, whatever decision he wanted to make, could ultimately decide the fate of our relationship. It could ruin us, no matter what we decided on. I knew I had to follow my heart. Now I had to figure out what my heart wanted.

“You think I would tell?” I had a feeling she had already told Clay, but he wasn’t Owen. Misty snickered. “Come on, Riles.”

Misty headed back to her internship. I decided to go ahead and go to Pan Dulce Bread. It was like a coin flip: based on Coco’s reaction, I could figure out what I truly believed. If she freaked out and said he could never be a father, but my heart said she was a liar, then I would know who to believe, and whether I could forget those poorly lit photos once and for all.

As I opened the door to the restaurant, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an older gentleman sitting in a booth, pressing his glasses up the rim of his nose as he read a newspaper. As I turned towards him, he looked up and caught eyes with me.

It was Wile Stevens.

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