Page 3 of The Jackpot Screwer
“You and me,” Carter said, getting up from the sofa. “We are dynamite in bed, especially as I always put one hundred percent into everything I do.”
“Yeah, you do,” I snarked. “And this time you not only put one hundred percent in but a damn baby too.”
Not wanting him to see me cry again, I turned away and took a deep breath. This could not be happening to me. It was the worst possible time. I was twenty-four years old and was only a year into owning my beauty salon. I loved going out and getting drunk with Ellie or fooling around with Carter, I wasn’t ready to be a mother. Shit, my own family was falling apart, how the hell could I create another with the idiot standing opposite to me. There was no way he was ready.
“You can’t even do your own laundry,” I burst out. “How the hell are you supposed to bring up a child?”
If I’d expected Carter to give me any assurances, I’d have been wrong. He simply shrugged and fell weakly back onto the sofa.
I’d known this would be his reaction. Deep down, I’d guessed he’d be real unhappy about it. God knew I wasn’t actually ecstatic about it myself. That’s why I’d ended things with him. Maybe it had been a spur of the moment decision. A whim based on his stupid face when he’d asked me what was wrong, but it was the right decision all the same.
“I think you should go,” I said moving toward the door. “Mom will be home soon, and I need to tell her.”
Carter nodded slowly and stood up again. “Don’t you think we should tell her together? Or maybe I should come with you to see your dad.”
My parents were currently ‘taking some time out’ and Dad was renting an apartment in the same block as Carter, on the other side of town. They’d been having therapy for the last four weeks since Dad moved out and Mom was hopeful. Apparently, Mom had felt neglected for the last year and Dad just didn’t see why. He thought buying her new boobs was showing her plenty of attention; Mom thought it meant he didn’t like her old ones. And they say the parents are the sensible ones.
“I’ll tell him myself,” I replied. “I’ll be doing this by myself anyway. I may as well start now.”
Carter took a step back. “Who says you’re doing it alone?”
“Well me.” I shrugged. “It’s obvious this isn’t what you want, so…”
“Is it what you want?” he asked. “Is it what you planned for?”
“No, of course it wasn’t what I planned for.”
“But you’re going to do it, anyway, be a mom?”
“Of course, I am.”
His eyes went dark as he pushed his hands to his hips. “Well, then so am I. We are both responsible.”
I wasn’t sure he was being totally honest with himself and I couldn’t afford to be taken halfway down a road, for him to suddenly stop and say, ‘actually I wanna go back now’.
“I don’t think you have any idea what this entails, Carter.”
“Do you, Lollipop?” He looked at me earnestly, moving toward me. “Don’t you think it’s something we can figure out together?”
“Life would be so much easier, if I said yes,” I replied, letting out a heavy sigh. “But this isn’t what you want. You want to take over the veterinarian practice and carry on having boy’s nights with Hunter whenever you can.”
“Don’t tell me what I want, Bronte,” Carter said in a low tone. “You and I discussed moving in together, didn’t we? I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t want to. That shows you I’m committed to you.”
I let out an empty laugh. “Moving in and having a baby together are two very different things. Just take the get out of jail free card, Carter. Once the baby is here if you still feel the same way, well then I’ll let you be fully involved in its life.”
His face screwed up into anger as he stalked to within inches of me. “Oh, you’ll let me, will you? Gee that’s real kind of you, Bronte.”
“I’m giving you an opportunity,” I cried. “To be single but be involved if you want to be.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be single.” He gripped his hair and then turned to pace back toward the sofa.
His shoulders were hunched as he dragged a hand through his beautiful hair, the color of cinnamon sticks it was flecked with gold highlights when the sun shone on it. Through all the years we’d known each other and had fought and disliked each other, I never thought I’d end up loving him. I did though. I adored him and hated the idea of not being loved by him, or fighting with him, but this was something he was just not ready for and I didn’t want my heart broken.
“Well I do,” I finally replied. “I do want to be single. I want to do this alone.”
Carter swung around to face me, his eyes as big as saucers. “Like hell you will.”
“Can’t stop me,” I said defiantly. “Not unless you kidnap me and hold me hostage in your apartment.”
