Page 14 of The Little Black Rose

“Stop,” I chastise, unable to suppress the laughter bubbling up my throat.

“He’s totally going to ask you to go steady,” Sophie teases.

“No, he’s not,” I say, sobering. “He made it very clear he wants to be there for the baby. That’s all. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Ava, look at me,” Zoey says, and I meet her intense gaze. “Zeke is my twin, and I know him better than anyone. He wouldn’t have put that baby in you if he didn’t want you. He’s not the type to just sleep with whoever is willing. He might be in denial because he wants to keep those damn walls up around his heart, but the fact that he lost some of that control the night you guys slept together saysa lotabout his feelings.”

“He said it was a mistake,” I say, my voice cracking on the words.

“He said that?” Zoey barks, her hazel eyes, so much like her brother’s, lighting with angry fire.

“Not exactly those words,” I say, feeling myself come to his defense for some insane reason. I shake my head to clear away the strange emotion. “But he said we should keep it to ourselves. That he didn’t want to put you in the middle. It was a bullshit reason, and I read between the lines.”

“Well, maybe you misread,” Sophie says firmly. “But either way, I don’t think this is going to end up the way you expect it to.”

“I don’t want more than what he’s offering. A dependable co-parent to help me raise this child. That’s all I want or need from him.”

I say the words, but they ring false even to my ears. Do I want more? What would I do if Zeke says he wants to be a family, in truth? That he wants me the way I’ve always wanted him?

No. That’s the stuff of fantasies, and I don’t believe in fairy tales.

Not anymore.

Chapter7

Real Mature

Zeke

It was just the one time, and it meant nothing.

We’re going to get along for the sake of the baby.

We’re going to be kickass co-parents.

That’s all.

Ava’s words have been ringing in my ears since Saturday night, rolling through my mind on a loop despite my best efforts to block them out. She was right. Of course, she was. But hearing the words out loud like that––from Ava’s lips––rubbed me the wrong way, and I can’t quite figure out why.

It’s what I want. It’s what webothwant. So, why did her matter-of-fact tone make me grind my molars together in agitation?

I force myself to breathe and focus on the task at hand. I’ve got six more batches of donuts to cook, glaze, and frost before we open for the day, and Mondays are always busy as people want a little sugar rush to get their week going.

The bell that signals the front door opening dings, and I glance over at the clock on the wall with a muttered curse. Zoey is here early. Like…reallyearly. Which means…

“Hey, how’s it going? Anything new to share? Anything from maybe three months ago you want to tell me about?”

I walk over to the deep fryer with a sigh. I managed to dodge her calls and texts all day yesterday, but I knew this moment was coming. Maybe if I ignore her, she’ll go away.

“Pretending I’m not here isn’t going to work, so you might as well start talking.”

I tilt my head back and roll it from side to side. After taking a deep breath, I turn and finally meet Zoey’s eyes.

“What do you want me to say?”

“You can start with how you ended up bumping uglies with my best friend.”

“Oh, God, Zo, please, never say the words ‘bumping uglies’ again.”

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