Page 9 of The Complication with the Best Man

“Oh my god.” I flip through the poster boards.

Great-Grandma Dori was known for meddling in her grandchildren’s love lives, but I had no idea she went this far. Each board is designated for one of my aunts and uncles, my dad included. Every single one resembles a crime board on TV when a detective is trying to link a case together. Except these are plans to get them together with their now husbands and wives. Way to go, Great-Grandma!

I giggle reading all her schemes, but then a feeling of melancholy descends over me. I miss my great-grandma so much. She was one of a kind. If she were here, she’d know what to tell me because she had the best advice.

After I put the boards back in the closet, I lie down on the bed. I’ve been so tired lately. Tired and nauseous. So far, pregnancy isn’t much fun.

I let my mind wander, trying to picture the outcome of three options. If I don’t continue with this pregnancy, could I pretend it never happened? No way. I’d always wonder what if. Wonder what my baby may have looked like. What his or her personality would have been like. Most of all, whether I made the right choice. I’d most likely always mourn the loss of what could have been.

Which means…

The weight of the decision presses my body into the mattress. I’ll be doing this on my own. I’ll tell Finn about the pregnancy, but he lives in Vermont. Even if he wanted to be involved, it wouldn’t be on a full-time basis. Which means I’d be a single mother. Me. Harper Bailey. The impulsive, promiscuous party girl.

The what-if game plays in my head further. What if my wedding planner business fails? What if I’m a terrible mother? What if I mess him or her up? What will everyone think when they find out?

I breathe through the anxiety tightening my chest and roll onto my side, lightly pressing a hand to my belly. A knowing seeps into my bones. It won’t be easy, but I already know my decision—I’m going to be a mother.

five

HARPER

Days go by and Palmer doesn’t pressure me about what I’ve decided, but she does check in with me every day to make sure I’m okay.

Last weekend, after making the decision to have the baby, I was terrified. But as the days have gone by, I’ve settled into my decision and the rightness of it. My plan is to get Finn’s contact information from Hudson this weekend and reach out to him. Another dose of anxiety spins around me because I have no idea how he’ll react.

My plan is blown to pieces on Thursday night when I’m settled in with Maven to watch TV with a bowl of sour cream and onion popcorn. It’s been our thing since she moved in. We try a different flavor of popcorn for every episode we watch. A message from Palmer comes through.

Um… he’s here.

Who?

Finn! He just knocked on our door.

What is he doing here?

I have no idea, but I thought you’d like to know.

My stomach flips, and before I truly take any time to think about what I should or should not do in this circumstance, I’m off the couch. “I have to run over to Palmer’s,” I say over my shoulder to Maven.

“Is everything okay?” She sits up, and I hear the concern in her tone.

“Yup.” I grab my purse off the hook by the front door and slide into my shoes. “She and Hudson have to run out, so I’m going to watch Adley.”

“Is everything okay? Where would they have to go at this hour?” Maven calls after me, but I don’t bother answering.

Driving over to Palmer’s, I don’t give myself an inch to second-guess my decision that Finn being in town is somehow a sign that this is the exact moment for me to tell him he’s going to be a dad. I just want to get it over with so I don’t have to have another week of dreading reaching out and being like, “Hey, did the condom break, or what exactly happened? Oh yeah, it doesn’t matter… congratulations, Daddy!”

My phone buzzes in my purse, but I’m not taking the time to pull over to see who it is. I’m sure it’s Palmer. She may not officially know my decision yet, but she knows me well enough to know I’m probably going to show up at her place, and I don’t want her to talk me out of it. I need to do this before I chicken out.

I park at the curb since the driveway is full of Palmer and Hudson’s cars and what I assume is Finn’s rental. I’m not taking any chances of being blocked in by some random family member who decides to pop into Palmer’s for a visit for some weird reason. The curb will make for a quick getaway. My head is down, and I head right into their back door that is always unlocked.

“Hello,” I call, hoping my tone inflects that this is just an impromptu visit to see Palmer and Hudson.

No one responds, so I walk farther into the house and find the three of them in the living room. Palmer and Hudson are on the couch, and Finn is on an adjacent chair. Adley must either be already in bed or up in her room. I give Palmer and Hudson a cursory glance, and my gaze snags on Finn, seeing him for the first time not as my one-night stand, but as the father of my baby. Wow, weird in a million different ways.

Of course, he looks as good as he did the night of the wedding, minus the tuxedo. He’s casually dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a white T-shirt. His tattoos are visible on each arm, and his brown hair with natural golden highlights is a little longer, reaching his ears. Rather than the clean-shaven face he had at the wedding, he’s adorned with stubble. I clench my thighs together to dull the ache of what his face would feel like between my legs now.

I give myself a mental scolding because we are not here forthat.Thatis exactly what got us in this situation in the first place.

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