Page 25 of Suddenly Pregnant

He didn’t have a problem with the public believing that was him, that he’d tell a woman she was an idiot for drinking like that. People believed whatever the hell they wanted—and who was he to prove differently when he’d lacked the empathy that Cressida so badly needed? But at least he chose not to pursue a lawsuit against Ashton and extend that measure of privacy to Cressida.

“What happened to her?”

“She went to rehab, I heard, and is doing well.”

“Good.”

“I could have helped her if I had understood it sooner. Took me too long to see the signs.”

“Her sobriety is not your responsibility. Trust me, my dear Aunt Peggy, Poppy’s mom, has been a functioning alcoholic her entire life. It shaped who her kids are. Addiction is a devastating disease, but you can’t blame yourself for Cressida’s. Maybe you could have handed it differently, but you learned your lesson.”

He did. He sucked at relationships. And he wasn’t about to mess it up again.

“Billie,” said Poppy, opening the door of Billie’s father’s house. “I told you we would have picked you up at the airport.”

“Oh, please. You’ve done enough.” Billie waved her off. Jack had insisted on renting a car, and she figured both her cousins had had enough trouble by flying from New York a day early to start organizing the funeral since Billie couldn’t be here in Hope Springs earlier due to the flight and time difference.

Poppy hugged her, a long, heartfelt hug. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

Billie soaked in that embrace, only then realizing how much she’d missed her cousins. Then, Poppy disengaged from the hug, carefully, and whispered, “Who’s this man?”

Billie straightened her shoulders, and glanced at Jack, still behind her. She hadn’t mentioned him to her cousins, so she waited until she saw them in person to surprise them with him coming. “Oh, this is Jack. Jack, this is my cousin Poppy.”

Poppy stretched out her hand, and her gaze swung between Billie and Jack. “Jack Something?”

“At your service,” he said, stretching his hand and shooting her a charming smile. “Nice to meet you.”

A wave of embarrassment washed over Billie. Denying her secret affair with Jack was no longer an option. “Who cares about semantics, huh? He came to support me,” she said, injecting a light tone to her sad that contrasted against the heaviness in her chest.

“So have I,” Poppy said. “Seems like he recovered from his disease pretty well. No moles or anything,” she said, and under different circumstances Billie would laugh at her cousin’s snarkiness. One of Poppy’s many endearing qualities.

“Your cousin has healing powers,” Jack said, and the flirtatious look he gave Billie cemented what she was sure was on everyone’s mind. It also raised her internal temperature, amongst other things.

Poppy winked. “I bet she does.”

“Where’s Kira?” Billie asked, giving her cousin a look that hopefully translated to enough already. She hadn’t told her cousins anything yet, about the affair or pregnancy. And during this trip she’d have to tell them… she couldn’t wait any longer besides—it was much better to do it in person. Much harder, but much better at the same time.

“She went to get some groceries, she should be back soon.” Poppy gestured at the house. “I’d say feel at home, but this is still your home.”

She marched into her old home. Before she moved out at eighteen, and before she moved to New York City it was where she’d lived. The foyer was small, the laminated wood floor still creaky close to the stairs. Guess her dad never fixed it.

She looked over at the leather oversize sofas with the recliner chairs where her father had watched football games on the TV that still hung on the beige colored wall. Several frames, most of them featuring her late mother, lined on the console table. Her heart shrank a bit in her chest, and emotion welled up inside her.

When Jack touched her shoulder, squeezing it gently, just enough for him to silently comfort her, she almost gave in to the tears pricking the back of her eyes.

She mourned her father’s death, but also the relationship they never had. The one they shared she wouldn’t miss.

“You okay?” he whispered, and she blinked back the tears.

Pull it together, Billie. She turned around and hugged him, like she received some bad news. Fresh bad news, that is.

He was seeing her at her most vulnerable, and she knew she shouldn’t let him. As much as he wanted to help, he’d made his intentions toward her and the baby very clear. Super present awesome dad? Check. Husband-to-be? Not happening.

“Hey girl, you okay?” Poppy asked, and she let go of Jack. Her cousin certainly would have questions for her as soon as she got her alone.

“No, not yet,” she said, unable to lie to her cousin.

Poppy rubbed her back. “I’m sorry.”

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