Page 2 of Oh My Secret Christmas Baby
“The person's sperm he used was not donated. He took it from another client.” My whole world tilts on its axis as Cara’s words fully sink in.
“What!” I gasp. My heart sinks. That freaking changes everything. If this person finds out, they might want the baby. Then I won’t have access to it either. What the hell was Max thinking?!
“Shh,” Cara hushes me, glancing around again. She is really paranoid, and now it’s making me more paranoid than I already was. Is this the thing that’s felt so off to me? Cara taps on a folder she has on the table in front of her. “And the donor egg.”
“Oh my gosh, they don’t know either?” I gape at her. Cara gives a stiff shake of her head no.
“What was he thinking?” I whisper more to myself. “Are you going to report this or something?” I ask her, not sure what to do with all this information or where one goes from here. My mind is spinning.
“There wasn’t a donor egg per se.” I blink, staring at her. Wait, what? That’s not possible. I wasn’t a biology major, but I know you need a freaking egg. “It’s your egg.”
“Holy eggnog.” I cover my mouth with my hand. This is getting crazier by the second. No wonder we are sneaking around. But if it is my egg, as messed up as that is, the baby can’t be taken from me. Right? Yeah, I wasn’t a pre-law major either.
“You’re a sweet girl, and well, Max Holmberg is a very rich man and one who I believe is obsessed with you.”
“He’s my best friend,” I correct her. As if saying it will make it fact.
“Girl.” She shakes her head. “No, he’s not. The man is baby trapping you with a baby that isn’t even his.” Cara pushes the folder toward me. “This is all I can do. Max Holmberg has a lot of power in this city, and I don’t want to test that. I’ve done my part.” Cara gets up.
That’s it? She’s leaving? She gives me this wealth of information which totally uproots my life, and then she just ghosts me?
“Cara?”
She gives me a sympathetic expression. “Merry Christmas, Gwen,” Cara says before leaving me sitting at the table all alone with the folder in front of me. I stare down at it. My mind is still trying to catch up and process everything she told me.
“Gwen.”
“Ahh!” I scream, my hand flying to my chest. I turn my head to see Max standing there. Why does it feel like he’s looming over the table? “You scared the snowballs out of me.”
“You’re an adult, Gwen. You can curse.” Max takes the chair that Cara was in moments ago. Did he see her? How long have I been sitting here with my mind racing? This is a weird coincidence.
“I know.” I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear but quickly drop my hand because next he’ll say I’m fidgeting.
Max and I come from two different walks of life. We only became friends by chance my freshman year of college. He was a PA for one of my classes and ended up tutoring me. To say I suck at math is an understatement.
"What are you doing here?" he asks.
"What are you doing here?" I force a small laugh. "This place is far from your office." Which is where I thought he was, but I'm not keeping tabs on him.
Why would I? But God knows he's been keeping them on me since I became pregnant. If I didn't know any better, I would say before too. His caring hasn't felt like caring lately. More like obsessing now that Cara has put that in my head. It’s overbearing.
Initially, I believed his concern was genuine. I'm pretty much alone in the world, and it was nice that someone seemed to care if I got home each night. I think he might have taken advantage of that. I need to get better at sticking up for myself with him, but it’s intimidating for a reason I don’t understand. That only makes me wonder if it’s because on a deeper level I do. My subconscious is catching things I haven’t been.
"You know that I only worry about you." He gives me a soft smile that makes me feel guilty for my thoughts. "What's this?" He reaches for the folder, and I slam my hand down on top of it. Max's eyes widen in shock that I wouldn’t allow him to take it.
"Christmas stuff." The lie tumbles right off my lips. "Don't be ruining it."
"That's why you're on this side of town."
"You got me." Another one of the forced awkward laughs bubbles out of me. I hate lying, but I don’t feel as though I have a choice. "How are you doing today?" I try to change the subject.
"Same shit." He shrugs as a barista passes by, and I see his eyes drop to her ass. See, he's a playboy. No way he's obsessed with me.
"Are you going to get her number?" I ask. The smile drops from his face.
"Of course not. I have a baby on the way." He reaches across the table, grabbing my hands. I'm pretty sure he had a pretty brunette over last week. He thought he was sneaky, but I saw. There is no reason for him to be sneaky. It kind of bothers me that he is. He seems to have all these secrets while I can barely move without him watching. "I'm going to be settling down now." Max's hands give mine a squeeze.
“Who’s the lucky girl?” I give a bright smile. His brows furrow together.
