Page 163 of Puck Prince

“I didn’t tell her to kick rocks; I told her to go to Kennedy’s.”

“Same thing.” She shakes her head, so clearly disappointed in me. “She was wrong in not telling you, but you made everything worse.”

“I don’t know how to do—” I fling my hands around, encompassing the totality of life and parenting and child rearing in a few frantic movements. “—this. I wasn’t planning on any of this.”

“No one knows how to do this, but you have to work through it. Whether you were trying to have a baby or it was an accident, it doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters now is your baby.”

She’s probably right, but it still hurts. “I can’t believe she lied to me. After everything I’ve done for her.”

“Listen, Owen.” Summer leans forward, elbows on her knees. “Should she have told you? Yes. Is your life about to drastically change? Yes. Do you have every right to be panicked, angry, terrified? Absolutely, yes. But while you’re riding that emotional rollercoaster, just imagine how scared Callie is.”

My heart sinks. Of course, she’s scared. She’s got to be petrified.

I sink back into the couch, and Summer pats my knee. “I’m not taking sides, Owen. I’m just saying… I’ve been where she is. I know what it’s like.”

“This isn’t like you and Nicky’s dad. I didn’t hurt her,” I growl. “I’d never do that.”

“I know. But you helped her get pregnant and then left her alone to deal with it.”

I drop my head to the back of the couch. “I was pissed because of how I found out. It’s not about…” The words catch on the emotion rising in my throat. “I saw a sonogram.”

A tiny smile pulls at Summer’s lips. “And? Is the baby gonna have your giant head?”

I roll my eyes. “It was only half of the picture because I ripped it.”

“You tore it up?!” Summer looks like she’s going to hit me.

“No! Not like— We were fighting over it.” That doesn’t sound much better, but it’s the truth. “Anyway, I got the top half. There was a head and… a nose. It’s a baby. I made a baby.”

She chuckles, shaking her head. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

“Fucking wild,” I agree. “What’s even crazier is that it’s not even here yet, and I’ve already failed.”

“Today is just one day. You haven’t messed it all up.”

“Not just today. I should’ve protected Callie more the last few weeks. Miles’s fiancée is pregnant, and he kept her tucked away from the spotlight and the chaos until recently. I should’ve done that.”

Summer waves me off, suddenly serious. “I promise you Miles has messed up in ways you don’t know about. Everyone does—some worse than others. Messing up is the normal part. Getting it right is rare.”

“Yeah, maybe.” But goddammit, I want to get it right.

“Definitely,” she declares, slapping me on the back. “Which is why this baby is going to be okay. You’re going to work things out with Callie and then figure out the rest.”

“Right,” I breathe. “And how exactly am I going to do that?”

Nicky stirs on the monitor again, letting out a piercing wail.

“I guess you’re going to have to talk to her. Be real with each other. Because this—” She holds up the monitor. Nicky is squirming and starting to fuss as he reaches blindly around for his pacifier. “—is hard to do alone.”

As if Callie can sense the shift in my mood from all the way across town, my phone buzzes. Her name lights up my screen.

Summer peeks over my shoulder at it just as Nicky lets out another cry. She holds up the monitor. “I’m going to answer this. You answer that.”

She snags a burp rag from the coffee table and heads down the hall as my phone buzzes again.

I take a deep breath. It could be an apology. Or some explanation for why she lied to me.

Or maybe she’s telling me that she’s clearing out her stuff from the dresser, and she’ll be gone by the time I get back.

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