Page 71 of Stone Rules

“Um, so are congratulations in order, or what?” Mason asks. “We know what the girls have told us, but you know how chicks are. We wanted to hear it from you.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you can congratulate me all you want. I’m in this for the long haul.”

“Well then, congrats, man,” Griffin says, reaching out to shake my hand. “Welcome to the club.”

I guess they don’t know I’d already been a member. Maybe Charlie doesn’t tell them everything after all.

“Are you going to get a paternity test?” Gavin asks. “I think you can even do that before the baby is born these days. I mean, if it would make a difference.”

I try not to get mad. After all, I’m their guest here. “Are you saying you think it would? That I would leave Charlie if it’s not mine?”

“No,” Mason says. “That’s not what he’s saying. We’re just trying to look out for her. For them.”

“Listen.” I look each of them in the eye so they know I mean what I’m about to tell them. “As far as I’m concerned, this kid is mine. That asshole is out of the picture. We don’t even know who he is. I don’t need a goddamn paternity test to make me a father. Chances are it’s mine anyway. I love her. I’ve already asked her to marry me.Twice. I’m not the one who has the issue with commitment here. I’m all in. And if any of you have a fucking problem with that, just tell me now.”

Gavin raises his beer. “Okay then,” he says. “To baby Stone. May he or she have his mother’s gorgeous looks and his father’s can of whoop-ass.”

“Here, here,” Griffin and Mason say, as we all raise our drinks.

“You’re a private investigator, Ethan,” Griffin says. “How hard would it be to track this other guy down? I mean just so you know he’s not some kind of psycho.”

I raise my eyebrows at him.

“Ahhh,” he says. “Gotcha. You’re already on it.”

I nod. “Yeah, but she doesn’t know. I don’t want to upset her unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Are you guys okay with that?”

“Okay with you wanting to protect her?” Mason says. “Dude, this is fight club.”

I tip my beer at the guys who have become my friends. The guys who would, like me, do anything for the woman they love.

Chapter Thirty-three

After Charlie’s examination, Dr. Chavis tells us, “It’s safe for you to start making plans now because at thirteen weeks, you’ve started your second trimester.”

“Are you still sure of the due date and um,” —Charlie looks at me wearily— “the date of conception?”

Dr. Chavis looks at her chart. “Well, since we didn’t do an ultrasound today, we have no new measurements by which to determine that. But nine-week ultrasounds are very accurate. I’m confident we have the dates correct. Do you have any reason to believe they wouldn’t be?”

“No,” Charlie says. “I guess not.”

“Do you have any more questions?” the doctor asks.

“I have one,” Charlie says. “We never got to talk about this at my last appointment because I was . . . well, I was freaked out. But how did this even happen? I was on the pill. I always use condoms.” She gives me a look because she and I both know that’s not entirely true.

“Well, Charlie,” she says. “As a doctor I’ve seen a lot of things. Things that can’t always be explained by science. And while I don’t really have an answer for you, I like to think that some things are just meant to be. Maybe this is just one of those things.”

Charlie’s eyes snap to mine and she smiles. She smiles so big it warms my heart. “Meant to be,” she whispers so that only I can hear. Looking back at Dr. Chavis, she asks, “Are you two related?”

“Pardon?” Dr. Chavis asks.

“Oh, nothing,” Charlie says.

“I do have one more question,” Charlie says, looking at me with sympathetic eyes. “I’ve read about these paternity tests you can do before the baby comes. Do you do those here?”

The doctor looks slightly taken aback but recovers quickly. She looks at me. “Oh, so you aren’t the father? Or you think you might not be?”

“I’m the father, alright,” I tell her. “Just maybe not in the biological sense.”

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