Page 10 of Baby I'm Yours

“I did, actually.” I grin, remembering the stunned expression on Hunter’s face fondly. “But then he told me that he’d come back to Maine specifically to see me…and to make me an offer he hoped I couldn’t refuse.”

She hums beneath her breath. “Color me intrigued.”

I lay it all out for her—the dying mother, the fake engagement, the baby, the contract, the money, the apartment in New York, the agreement to add an addendum to keep my café running until we know everything is going to work out as planned.

With each detail, Grace’s silence grows heavier until I can’t help begging, “Say something? Please? Tell me I’m not crazy for actually considering this.”

“Crazy? Friend, this is so crazy I need a word that means more than just normal crazy, but I can’t think of one.” Her voice crackles with disbelief. “Elaina, that is wild! And strange and… I can’t believe he thinks his mother would want him to have a child that way and never see the poor thing again. He’s deluded.”

“I had a similar response last night,” I admit, tugging at my ear as I sag onto my chaise lounge. “But he said his mom would never have to know that our relationship was fake, and that she really wants to know her family line isn’t going to die with Hunter before she passes. Apparently, all her other relatives are already dead because of some horrible, toxic place they lived when she was young. None of her sisters were even able to havechildren because of it, so Hunter really is the last chance for a future Mendelssohn.”

She makes a doubtful sound that’s very French. “Okay, I see. But still…it’s strange. And it doesn’t sit well for me.”

“I know, me neither.” I flop back against the cushions, the springs creaking in protest. The chaise, like most of my furniture, came from a yard sale, and is more shabby than chic. It doesn’t bother me, but looking around my apartment earlier, all I could think was how much more I’d be able to give a child if I took Hunter up on his offer. “But I’m still considering it. I’m dying to have a baby, and there’s no one around here with long-term potential. Or short-term potential, for that matter. I haven’t been on a date in months. There’s such a shortage of decent prospects that I just…gave up.”

“Giving up isn’t good,” she says. “You’re so beautiful and fun and talented, Elaina. I told you, you should move to Quebec! You can work for me to earn your visa, and I’ll find you a fabulous boyfriend in no time.”

“Thank you, but I can’t,” I say, though I’m touched by the offer. “I couldn’t handle the cold, and my life is here. And with Hunter financing the move to New York, I’ll get to be closer to my friends, something I could never afford to do without help. And, once he’s out of the picture, the dating pool will be much larger in a big city.”

She makes a more intrigued sound this time. “That’s true. And New York has so many fantastic things to see and do. Even if you didn’t find someone to share your life with, you would never be bored. And being closer to friends is so important. I know you’ve been lonely since your girls moved away and your mama passed.”

“I have,” I say, watching Captain Crunchypants make his way to the chaise, his back end swaying like a drunk sailor’s. “There’s just not much for me here anymore.” I reach down to scratch hishead. “Except the cats and the business, and I can take Hunter up on his offer without risking those things. I mean, maybe I’m missing something, but as far as I can figure, I don’t have much to lose. And there’s so much to gain.”

“Unless you fall in love with him,” she warns.

I roll my eyes. “I’m not going got fall in love with him.”

“Said the girl who was so mad at this guy, she couldn’t stop grouching about him for weeks,” Grace reminds me, proving she’s the no-bullshit friend I need right now. “You were really mad. Which means you really liked him. At least a little bit.”

I groan as I flop back against the cushions again. “No, I didn’tlikehim. I was just…annoyed. And the sex was good. It’s hard to have good sex taken away with no warning. A girl wants a last hurrah, you know?”

“Well, you’d certainly get a good amount of ‘hurrah’ if you two are trying to get pregnant,” she says dryly. “I mean…if you’re sure you’re not going to develop a soft spot for this guy, and the contract is ironclad, maybe it’s only a partially crazy decision? What does your gut tell you?”

“That’s the problem.” I stand again, resuming my pacing. “My gut is confused. On one hand, Hunter is exactly the kind of arrogant, emotionally unavailable, smugly annoying jerk I should run screaming from. He’s controlling and bossy and clearly has more baggage than a major airport, even if hethinkshe’s got his shit all sorted out.”

“But?” she prompts after a moment.

“But…” I pause by the window, glancing down at the street where my girls will be appearing in about an hour with their other halves. We’re all hitting the lobster boil at the community center tonight, treating the New York boys to a classic small-town Maine tradition.

Another night of pretending not to mind being the third wheel…

“But he’s not cruel,” I continue. “Or even mean, really. He’s just blunt and prefers to cut the bullshit and get to the point. Which I honestly kind of like. He says what he means, even if he knows you’re not going to like it, and there’s something refreshing about that. I have no doubt that I could trust him to honor the contract and treat me fairly, which is more than you can say about a lot of men.”

“Well, yes, I guess…” Grace’s voice softens. “But I hate to think of you compromising or giving up on your dreams, love. If you want a big, beautiful romance and a real family, then that’s what you deserve.”

“Thanks,” I say, secretly thinking about how often people get things theydon’tdeserve.

Like cancer and inoperable tumors.

I’ve been through enough by now to know that life isn’t close to fair and dreams don’t always come true, no matter how deserving you are.

Though occasionally Fatewillstep in and make a wish a reality, just in a way you didn’t originally expect…

“But I think this could be big and beautiful, too,” I say. “I’ll get to be a mothernow, instead of waiting and hoping to find a partner who wants kids before my eggs dry up. And I’ll get to be closer to the people I love most, who always make me feel loved and cared for. It might not be a family in the way I once imagined it, but it’s real. And with a little help from our friends, I think me and the baby could build an amazing life for ourselves in the city. She’d be able to go to the best schools, do any extracurricular activity she can imagine, be surrounded by culture, and just have so many more opportunities than I had growing up in rural Maine.”

“You’re already thinking of a little girl,” Grace says, her voice warmer. “Oh, my friend, I think it’s too late. I think you’re already a little pregnant.”

“I think I am, too,” I say, wincing. “Is that awful?”

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