Page 52 of Baby By my Best Friend's Daddy

“It’s not what you said, it’s how you acted. Do you get how fucked up all of this is?”

I nodded. When he put it like that, I realized it was about a lot more than the fact that Rebecca was younger than me, that she was Brad’s friend, that she was a nurse from a different walk of life. It was about double standards, and the betrayal that Brad felt went so much deeper.

“I never wanted you to feel pressure to be someone different from you are,” I said.

“Well, you failed then, didn’t you?” Brad snapped.

“Come on, Brad. I know we’re in a tough situation. I know the money and the reputation and the company make things hard, but this isn’t about anything the rest of the world sees. This is about you and me.”

“Yeah? Since when?”

“It’s always been like that,” I said. “You and me against the world. How many times have I said that?”

“And yet, you lied to me about Rebecca, keeping her a secret for how long?”

I sighed. “I just wanted to talk to you about it before it all came out. I didn’t want to cause shit.”

“No,” Brad said. “What you didn’t want was to put yourself second and think for once what it would mean to take me into account.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I spat, anger boiling under my skin. “Everything I’ve done my whole life was for others. I built this company for you. I took care of you, and I make sure that every person in my company is taken care of. I put every minute of my day aside for others. I’m not wrong to want something for myself, and at the end of it all, I get to be selfish for once. You’re my son, Brad, and I love you, but you’re not entitled to reprimand me for my life choices.”

Brad clenched his jaw. “You’re right. I have no right, no foot to stand on. I guess I’ll just see myself out then.”

I groaned. “Damn it, Brad.”

He didn’t stop to talk to me about it. He left, and I groaned when I heard the front door slam for the second time that morning.

Fuck.

15

REBECCA

Someoneknockedonmydoor.

“Coming,” I muttered, zipping up the shimmering red dress Celine had made me buy for the fundraiser. The dress was skintight, but the stretch material made it surprisingly comfortable to move in.

When I opened the door, Brad stood in front of me wearing a tux.

“Oh,” I said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m your date to the fundraiser,” he said tightly.

I frowned. “I didn’t think you’d still want to come with me.”

“I told you I’d be there, didn’t I?”

“Yeah… I just thought, after this morning—”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Brad snapped.

I swallowed whatever else I’d wanted to say. Brad was here to be my date for the hospital fundraiser. I’d thought after what had happened with Landon this morning that our friendship was over.

“I’m just finishing up, then we can go,” I said.

Brad nodded and stayed in the living room while I finished up in the bedroom. I added mascara and lipstick to my makeup and grabbed the black clutch that matched my shoes.

“Okay, I’m ready.” I joined Brad in the living room.

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