Page 61 of The Baby Bargain
I'm still meeting these guys.
Chapter Fourteen
Ariel
Ican't do this.
How the hell can I do this?
I sit at my computer for an hour straight, reading over replies from Bachelors One, Two, and Three, trying to formulate a response.
Everything I type is wrong. Too desperate or too disinterested. Too explicit or too vague. Too base or too clinical.
It's too much, deciding where to have coffee with the future father of my child.
Potential future father of my child.
It's just…
It's way too much.
I bring my laptop downstairs. Heat up the leftovers I made with Dad. Pasta with marinara, broccoli, peppers, and Italian sausage. It's good. Rich, savory, comforting.
A dessert of seventy percent chocolate comforts, but it fails to illuminate.
This. Is. Way. Too. Much.
Deep breath.
Slow exhale.
One step at a time. Read. Reply. Meet.
Save the overwhelming thoughts for later. All thatuh, my boyfriend of three years just left meandI'm really trying to have a babyandmaybe I waited too longandmaybe I'll get sick anyway, and she'll lose her mother. I can't do that to her. Especially if she doesn't have a father.
I'm not diving into that.
I can deal with it once I'm pregnant. Really pregnant. Second trimester, ready to tell people, sure of my decision pregnant.
This is step one.
Read the first message.
Hey Ariel,
I know what you mean. I was raised by a single mom. She was a badass. She worked hard, but she was always there to make dinner and tuck me in.
You seem like you'll be a great mom. I want to help.
And, well, I hope you don't think this is out of line: I find you incredibly attractive. It's not just that I want to sleep with you. I do. But I also want to make it something we both remember.
His name is right there, but I still call him Bachelor Number One. I can't get attached to him. Not until I'm sure he's in.
It's a sweet message. Exactly what I want. Completely perfect.
It should be easy to reply.
Hey Bachelor Number One,
