Page 34 of Can't Win 'Em All

“I’m sorry about that.” Ruby frowned. “I told her to leave you alone. I wanted you to make the decision without outside influence.”

“Oh, Livvie was never going to leave me alone. That’s not how she’s built. The truth is, I already knew what I wanted to do then. Her bossing me around just made me dig my heels in to be as belligerent as possible. That’s always how it’s been between us.”

“I have siblings. I know how that goes.”

“I want to be involved in my child’s life.” I meant it. “I want to help you any way that I can. You’re going to have to tell me what that entails, though, because I’m absolutely clueless.”

She laughed. “As soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know what you can do. I’m throwing darts into the void so far as well.”

“Yeah.” I blew out a sigh. “I guess we should get married.” I didn’t realize I’d said the exact wrong thing until she frowned. “I mean … it doesn’t have to be today or anything. You probably want to plan something with your mother and sisters.”

The look on her face was straight out of a horror movie. “Why would we get married?”

Was she kidding? “Because when you have a kid, most people get married.” Even in Vegas, that was still the case. Heck, in Vegas, more often than not, marriage was the answer to almost every question. The city had earned a reputation for drive-thru weddings for a reason.

“Um … we’re not getting married.” She said it in a flat tone.

“We’re not?” It wasn’t the response I was expecting. “Why wouldn’t we get married?”

“Because you don’t love me.” She said it as if she were explaining the alphabet for the fiftieth time to a first grader and she was exasperated that they weren’t getting it. “Love should be a prerequisite for marriage.”

“Not when there’s a kid involved.”

Her forehead furrowed. “When did you becomethatguy?”

“What guy?”

“The guy who thinks families are only one thing.”

“Um … I’m not that guy.” Was I? “It’s just … how are we going to do this if we don’t get married?”

“We’ll figure it out.” A soft smile took over her features as she shrugged. “We don’t have to be married to be good parents. In fact, we started out as friends. Have you forgotten that?”

“No, but … friends don’t normally have kids together.”

“Maybe they should. It’s not as if we’re divorcing and trying to raise a kid together. Hard feelings erupt out of situations like that. The only baggage that we’re carrying into this coparenting relationship is that neither one of us can hold our liquor.”

I glared at her. “I was doing the responsible thing and leaving when you insisted I dance with you.”

“Yes. I’m clearly Wonder Woman. How else could I force a guy who weighs a hundred pounds more than me to stay when he wanted to go?”

I rolled my eyes. “What about when the kid asks us why we’re not together?”

“That’s years down the line. We have plenty of time to come up with the right answers. The only thing that matters at the start is that we’re on good terms and we want to do right by our child. Is that what you want?”

“Well, it is now.” My forehead crinkled. “I can’t believe you turned me down.”

“That wasn’t exactly a proposal.” She seemed to be reading my mind because she was shaking her head. “Just for the record, I don’t want a proposal. You’re not in love with me. Friends can raise a child together. It will be fine.”

“So … how will it work? Will we come up with a schedule?”

“Absolutely.” She bobbed her head. “I do think, during the first couple of weeks, it’s going to be utter mayhem. We won’t have a clue what to do, so we should probably go into this knowing that keeping a schedule right at the start is going to be impossible.”

“So … be open to chaos,” I mused. “I think I can probably manage that.”

“You’re chief of security at one of the most popular casinos in Vegas,” she agreed. “Mayhem is your middle name.”

I smiled, and it was the first legitimate smile I’d managed since the conversation began. “I’m afraid.”

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