Page 95 of The Genius
Shelly frowned. “Stop laughing. It’s not very nice of them to trick us like that.”
“Hey, people do what they have to as long as it serves their agenda. You tricked me too and that’s how we ended up in this mess to begin with.” I held up a hand when she got that frown line between her eyebrows again. “I’m gonna stop you before you apologize again. It’s getting old.”
“Okay.” Shelly licked her lips and looked down. “It’ll take some getting used to. The idea that I’m going to be someone’s mom.”
“I get that,” I said and tucked my hands under my thighs. “How do you feel about me being the father of your child?”
A shy smile flashed across her face and it instantly soothed my soul. “I never thought about having children or being roommates with a man, but if it had to happen, I would want it to be with you.”
My eyebrows rose up. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Maybe then my child will be athletic and socially competent.”
I gave her a bright smile and she returned it with humor playing across her face.
“Plus, you’ll bring some balance to the IQ, which is good.”
”Hey.” I bumped her shoulder with my arm. “Keep telling yourself that you’re the smart one. I’m not the one paying triple rent here.”
We laughed together and for a minute we sat dangling our feet and smiled.
“Somehow, I think we’re going to make this work,” Shelly pondered out loud. “We’ll find our own version of a family unit.”
“Does that unit include sex between the parents?” I asked her with hope in my chest.
Shelly squinted one eye closed when a sunbeam hit her face. “Would you like it to?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“I don’t know. I had the impression you were done with me.”
I opened my eyes and mouth wider in a look of complete bewilderment. “What the hell gave you that impression?”
“You always said that it would end when you went to the tournament.”
“That was then.”
“But you went.”
“And I came back.”
“Because of the pregnancy. Not because of me.”
“What? You’re the one who is pregnant. You can’t separate the two.”
“Yes, I can. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t because of the baby.”
I pushed off the rock and jumped down to stand in front of her with my bare feet in the water. “Shelly, you were the one who told me you had all the research you needed. You were done with me before I left. You never gave me a chance to tell you that…”
She looked down and cut me off. “Can we not talk about this right now? I’m trying to take in that I’m pregnant. It’s enough for one day.”
“All right. I’ll talk to Storm and see when he can move out. You talk to your work and ask them about making me your protector.”
Shelly tried to get down but was unsure how to, so I held out my arms to her. “Careful,” she warned. “Don’t drop me or we’ll both get wet.”
“When can we tell people about the baby?” I asked with suppressed excitement.
“Can we wait some months at least? I’ll have to tell my family before anyone finds out.”
