Page 69 of A Very Daddy Christmas

She purses her lips for a moment. She can tell that’s a shameless lie. “Cora.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. I can almost see the realization hitting her. The precise moment in which she puts two and two together, and her eyes grow as large as saucers. “Oh, shit.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her.

She looks over her shoulder, careful so no one can overhear us. “You’re pregnant.”

“Maybe keep it between us?”

Eva exhales sharply then walks over to me. “Come here,” she says, giving me a big hug. “Of course it stays between us. Jesus.”

“I’m sorry,” I shudder. “It wasn’t planned. It just happened.”

“That’s usually how it goes,” she scoffs. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m well aware I should’ve been more careful, mind you,” I say, going into a slight panic as I think aloud, as I try to explain myself in a way that makes sense. Yet the more I say the dumber I feel. “We should’ve been more careful. God, what have I gotten myself into, Eva?”

She takes my hands in hers, giving me a soft but meaningful squeeze. “Deep breath, Cora.”

“Deep breath.” I take one in, filling my lungs, then slowly release it. My heart is drumming in my ears.

“How long have you known?” Eva asks.

“About a week and a half.”

“Which one of them is it?” Eva inquires.

I can’t help but laugh, almost hysterically. “Trust me when I say that it doesn’t really matter,” I manage.

“It does matter. He’s the father. Does he know? Who is it, Cora? Sebastian? Riggs? Waylan?”

“Sebastian,” I mumble. In fairness, we did agree to make him the public boyfriend if push ever came to shove. Push just bumped into shove. “He doesn’t know.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

I shake my head. “Not yet. Please, don’t say a word.”

“I told you, I’m not going to say anything,” Eva reassures me. “But Cora, you can’t shoulder this alone. I mean, you can, but you shouldn’t. He needs to know.”

“I’ll tell him. At some point. I just need to figure a few things out first. Once Christmas is over with, once the escrow expires and we’re safe, I’ll tell him. I promise.”

“You don’t have to promise me anything,” she says and takes me in her arms again. Almost instantly I burst into tears, relaxing in her heartfelt embrace, finding familiar comfort and safety. “Honey, you shouldn’t go through this alone.”

She’s choking up. Eva was older than me when our parents passed away. Her young adulthood turned into young motherhood the minute she realized I still needed a mom and dad, just days after we’d buried ours. I remember how hard it was on both of us. The struggle, the frustration, the sacrifices she made for me, for our safety and our future.

“You did,” I say to Eva as I gently pull back to look at her. “And you were a frickin’ warrior, through and through.”

“Well, that’s true, but I was scared out of my mind,” she laughs. “You don’t remember that part, do you? I was angling for college, a career… but you needed me. And no one prepared me for motherhood. I loved every second of it, don’t get me wrong. But I was scared, Cora.”

“I bet.”

“It’s frightening, it’s new. It is life-changing, no matter how you look at it. But you’re not alone in this, okay? With or without Sebastian, you will never be alone.”

I blink back another round of tears. “You have your own family to worry about, Eva. I can’t have you wasting any more time on me. It wouldn’t be right. I’ll figure it out, I promise.”

“Youaremy family, Cora. What the hell,” she shoots back, half-amused. “My time was never wasted on you, and I’m not letting you deal with any of this on your own. Get that through your head.”

A chuckle escapes my throat. “I don’t know why I worried you’d berate me or tear me a new one if you found out.”

“Probably because of how I tore you a new one when I found you making out with Cody Jenkins behind the bleachers. Or when I caught you trying to convince Mr. Sheldon to buy you and Antonia beer,” she replies with a raised eyebrow.

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