Page 15 of Suddenly Pregnant

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Jack unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and relaxed into his lounging chair. He looked at the starred sky, the cool night breeze teasing his senses.

He wondered if he should jump in the pool for a swim, or drink some wine and just appreciate the view. He hadn’t done a whole lot of that in the last few weeks. Most of the time, he managed to keep himself busy not to spend alone time with Billie—which was an irony since they lived in the same place.

Though the housekeeper Angelica was a great buffer.

She was an old Italian woman who loved cooking and talking about her grandkids. She came every weekday, and during weekends was when he missed her most for obvious reasons. He’d make himself scarce for most of the day. Even though his duplex was plenty big, knowing she was under the same roof as he unsettled a part of him. He’d heard her talking about places she went on sightseeing, and a tiny piece of him felt bad for not being the one showing her around.

After all, she was technically also a guest in his house. But it’d be inappropriate to spend quality time with her when work wasn’t involved, especially because he was well aware of how good it’d been to be inside her. How he intensely wanted to do it again, even though he knew he was never going to.

“Jack? Can I have a word?” she asked, walking to the veranda.

“Sure,” he said, looking at her. She still had on her shirt and slacks from work, but no shoes. She fidgeted, tapping the palm of her hands together, a sheen of sweat on her forehead and neck. What happened? He assumed she’d gone shopping or sightseeing after work. He left the car service at her disposal… they usually left work at different hours, one of his many strategies to spend less time with her. Did it make him think of her less? No. What else could he do though?

“I’m glad you’re sitting down, because then I don’t have to say ‘you might want to sit down for this.’ So we got one thing out of the way,” she said, and flashed him a nervous smile.

He frowned. What could possibly be so bad? She’d been doing swimmingly at work. “Go on.”

She paced for a moment, the perfect excuse for him to discreetly let his gaze wonder from her face to her tits, down her—

“I’m pregnant,” she said, and his gaze immediately darted to her face.

Air swooshed from his lungs, and his heart attempted to leap from his chest. The word pregnant rang in his ears, in staccato, and each time it grew louder. Pregnant.

He straightened his shoulders, the word registering in his brain. When they had sex, he’d asked if she was protected, and she said yes. “I thought you were on birth control,” he said trying his hardest to keep his voice neutral. The shock still unfurled inside him.

He’d never contemplated kids before. He liked children all right. But he’d assumed kids would thrive if they had a good familiar environment, and he knew he couldn’t provide that. He couldn’t marry anyone—his mistake in asking Cressida’s hand only cemented his belief. He’d done it because it’d mattered to her. But he wouldn’t have if he’d had a choice.

“I was on birth control, but the trip and jet lag, I forgot to take it a couple of days. And usually I can make up for it, but the new environment and after the long flight… I forgot that I forgot, let’s put it that way.”

“I see,” he said. He couldn’t make a harsh judgment. “I… I thought I asked you if you were protected.”

“You may have. I remember you saying something at some point I didn’t quite understand, and let’s put it that way, during that moment I was just saying yes to everything.”

He could have used condom, like he did with every other partner in the past, but when he heard she was protected, a visceral need to come inside her with no restrains filled him. And he filled her. And now, she was pregnant.

“Anyway. I wanted to let you know, but I’m not expecting anything from you.”

Not expecting anything? Did she expect him to bow out and disappear from her life? Or just be an invisible ATM and send her money so she’d raise their kid without his input? “What do you expect from me, Billie?”

“I don’t know. I just found out. I’m learning myself.”

He let out a long sigh. God, he already hurt her feelings enough. He needed to be smart about it. A baby. She was going to have his baby. “Listen, I want you to know… I’ll be there for you and this kid. I’m not talking just about money, I want to be present in their life,” he said, determination growing within him with every word.

She stepped forward, blinking with surprise. “Really? You mean that?”

“Yes. I can’t offer you marriage,” he said honestly. No matter how he sliced it, he couldn’t make a mistake just because of the consequence from their spontaneous lovemaking. His father had been a bad husband to his mother, and he had to witness that his whole life. He’d be damned if he let the same happen to his kid. “Billie, I’ll help you with raising this baby and everything that comes with it. You’re not alone.” She’d never be alone. A powerful surge of resolve bolted in his veins, making his blood hot and thick. Nope, she wouldn’t.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she bridged the gap between them, and sat next to him on the chaise lounge. “Thank you,” she said, her voice breaking. “I didn’t know I needed to hear that until you said it.”

He put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. A warm, long hug. A zingy energy bounced between them, and if he could name it, he’d call it hope. She hugged him back, and the feel of her body so close to him sent shivers through him. He wanted to do more.

He wanted to kiss her passionately, to peel off her clothes and make love to her until they were a sweaty mess on the floor, with entangled limbs and maddening heartrate.

But he couldn’t. Now more than ever, he needed to be strong and do the right thing. He’d done the wrong thing so many times before…

When she disengaged from him, he couldn’t resist wiping the tears from her cheek. “Are you okay?”

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