Page 53 of Secret Baby Daddies
Luc let out a deep, rumbling laugh.
“Believe me when I say that I could never forget your mouth, baby.”
CHAPTER 38
Harley
“This is not real food, Harley.” Luc stared down at the huge slice of greasy pizza in his lap. He’d agreed to get the food I wanted and even to eat on the tailgate while watching people skating in the park.
I winced as another person fell over and bit back a laugh when their friend fell in the exact same way, just a few feet over.
“You’ve been rich for too long, buddy. This is real food. This is delicious and more importantly, it’s what the baby wants.”
He watched the two friends trying to get up and coughed to cover a chuckle.
“You can’t just say it’s what the baby wants. The baby has no idea what pizza is. It’s the size of a grape. I’m not even sure this shit is safe for a pregnant woman.”
I full out laughed when one friend finally got to their feet just to have their friend accidentally drag them back down.
“This is the best. I used to make my friend Reagan come here with me to watch people fall. I know it sounds evil but it’s not like I’m pushing them down. I’m just enjoying what nature already set in motion. Wait. Did you say the baby’s the size of a grape?”
He ignored my justification for watching people fall.
“Yeah. You’re around ten weeks. That means the baby is the size of a grape and its head is bigger than its body still. It’s also forming its fingernails and toenails right now.”
I put my pizza down and frowned.
“Ew. I mean, no offense to our baby, butew. He or she is inside of me growing fingernails right now? That’s weird, right? I can’t even think about the hair. Oh, god. How did you even know that? Are you some kind of baby expert?”
He’d already finished his slice of pizza and was staring at mine.
“I did some research. You’re pregnant and I need to know what’s happening to you.”
My heart thumped faster.
“You did research?”
He met my eyes and got the same slightly uncomfortable look on his face as earlier when he’d started talking about liking me.
“Of course, I did. If something happened to you that I could’ve prevented…I don’t even want to imagine it.”
I slowly chewed another bite of my pizza and sighed.
“Thank you. I didn’t do any research. I think I’ve been acting like it’s not happening to me. Can I tell you something?”
“Anything.”
“I’m terrified I’m going to be a bad mother. I don’t know what I’m doing. I only had my mom in my life for a few years before she…yeah, anyway. I’m just scared. And now that I know you’ve been doing research and I haven’t, I feel even worse. Are you sure you want me as the mother of your kid? I’m kind of a wreck.” I looked out at the park and wiped away a stray tear. “I’m losing my job. The flower shop is closing. I’m not going to handle it well. I’ve been taking classes for seven years and I still haven’t finished my degree. I’m so broke that there have been weeks where I’ve eaten condiments for lunch. And let’s not even talk about Belinda, my car. The car I still haven’t picked up from the club I sold myself at. If you hit the panic button, the entire car just shuts down. But I love her and have an emotional connection that will never allow me to replace her. Even if I could.
“I’m involved in a never-ending fight with my neighbor and I miss it. I lost the check I was given for over a million dollars. Who does that? And I’m not even sure I’m all that upset about it because I have a fear of wealth. I hate my dad. I’m the picture of daddy issues and now look at me. I’m sleeping with three men who are over a decade older than me. What could I possiblybring to this child’s life?” I sucked in a deep breath and pushed my pizza aside. There was no way I could eat another bite with the way my stomach was rolling. “Maybe this is what happened to my mom…”
Luc turned to face me and pinched my chin in his big hand so I couldn’t look away.
“There’s a lot of that I’d like to dig into later. Especially about the car. Can I tell you about how I ended up with the Silvers first?”
I nodded.
“Belinda isn’t up for discussion, though.”
