Page 52 of Fall for You (Flirting with Forever 4)

“You heard me right. I’m pregnant. Having a baby.”

“I—”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to be involved if that’s not what you want. But I thought you should know.” Her breath on the other end of the phone sounds ragged and painful, like each inhale is causing her pain and with every exhale, she lets go of misery.

My head reels. Pregnant. “I—gimme a second to catch up, Quinn. When did you find out?”

“Earlier this evening. I took a test and it was clearly positive.”

“So—” I stop. I have the overwhelming urge to have her in my arms. The pain I hear in her voice is gutting me. I blow out a breath. “Can I see you?”

“Liam, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. To be honest, I’m very up and down with how I’m feeling, I’ll be busy tomorrow at the bakery, and I have an appointment for Mom with her surgeon on Monday. I—like I said, I just thought you should know.”

I stiffen, thinking about the upcoming surgery that she’d told me about, knowing that not tutoring is going to cause financial difficulties. I know this is going to probably piss her off, but … “Let me give you the money you would have had for the last two tutoring sessions.”

“No. That’s not necessary. Look, I have an appointment of my own on Tuesday. I’ll probably be there alone. I haven’t told Mom yet. I don’t want to stress her out before the surgery on Thursday. I just wanted to say, if—if you want to come, you can. But it’s okay if you don’t.”

My voice is gruff when I say, “Send me the details. I’ll try to be there.”

She’s pushing me farther away and it hurts more than ever.

A baby.

Oh my God, a baby.

Chapter 30

Quinn

I’d left for the bakery just as soon as school let out so that I could help Mom prepare for Heath and Sophia’s cake testing. It’s a big day for them, and the excitement in Sophia’s eyes had me pushing my whole mess aside for a little while. Focus is of the utmost importance. I carefully set matching pieces of each type of cake out on a platter, complete with cute little labels to tell them what they are sampling. Mom and I worked all day yesterday to make sure it was just right for Sophia—and for Heath, of course. I think I know which one they’ll choose, but we’ll see how well I know my friends.

I’ve known from the beginning of our friendship that she’s amazing, but the way she’s cared for me and checked up on me since Saturday evening shows me everything about how strong our friendship is.

When the bell above the door jingles, I plaster on a bright smile for our bride and groom. Sophia walks in first, Heath right behind her with a hand to the small of her back. The way he looks at her, even when she doesn’t know he’s watching … well, it’s the stuff romantic dreams are made of.

“Hey, Quinn. How are you?” Sophia rushes forward, right around the counter to envelop me in a gentle hug.

“I’m okay. Really. And today is not about me. It’s about you guys.” I pluck the tray of samples off the counter and walk around to one of the tables.

Setting it down, I turn around to find Heath has his arms out for a hug, too. “Q, it’ll all be okay. You’ll see.” He kisses the top of my head before releasing me.

“You keep saying that, but I don’t know.” I press my lips together. “All right. Let’s sit down, and I’ll tell you about the cakes.”

We each take a seat. As we’re about to get started, Sophia frowns. “Where’s Meg?”

“I sent her home to rest since we close the bakery during tastings.”

Both Heath and Sophia say, “Oh,” at the same time.

“We had her pre-op appointment today. Everything is a go for surgery.” I give them a thumbs up, then shift gears, pointing to the various cakes and explaining a little bit about each one.

As Sophia and Heath work their way through the samples, they keep steering conversation back to me. I get it—and I appreciate their support—but dammit, this is supposed to be a fun day in their wedding planning.

“Are you nervous about your appointment tomorrow? Have you talked to Liam since Saturday night?” Sophia wrinkles her nose. “Sorry. I know you keep trying to make us focus on cake, but you’re our friend and we’re here to support you.”

Heath wipes his mouth and points at one of the cakes. “I think that’s the one.” Then he glances over at me. “Seriously, Q. We don’t mind. And we just want to make sure you’re okay.”

After a deep inhale, I exhale slowly. Tears prick the back of my eyes and my nose stings. “Yes. I’m nervous. No, I haven’t heard from him since Saturday. I don’t even know if he’s coming tomorrow.”

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