AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Six Months Later* * *Contrary to magazine headlines, celebrity talk shows, and even a viral meme campaign that caught a picture of Chris looking past me to a hotdog someone was carrying like he’d fallen in love—contrary to it all, we were still together.
Still married. Still in love. Still everything.
I’d also broken a promise I made to Damon before our honeymoon. He’d practically begged me not to reproduce with Chris. He said something about owing it to future generations not to let his brother pass his DNA on.
Oops.
Damon and Chelsea had been extremely busy the past few months launching a training academy that Chelsea and Milly were partnering on. Apparently, the idea was to have some sort of partnership with Damon’s agency and blah blah “synergy” and other business buzzwords. All I really got out of it was that Chelsea and Milly were both thrilled to be getting back to their roots with tennis and loving every minute of it.
But it had meant Chris and I were able to mostly hide my pregnancy between taking a post-season vacation that kept us out of their sight and my creative use of baggy clothing. But there was no hiding it anymore.
I was ripe, and I’d passed beyond that “should I ask her if she’s pregnant or suggest some weight loss tips” stage. I was definitely pregnant, and Chris and I were meeting Damon at Rose athletic to officially break the news to him.
Chris had taken to kneeling down and telling “secrets” to my belly on occasion. It was, of course, adorable, especially since I could usually hear him.
He got down on his knees while we rode the elevator up to Damon’s floor and faced my belly. “Listen, little alien baby.”
“I told you to stop calling him that.”
Chris gave me a level look. “He’ll be cute when he’s done cooking. But I’ve seen pictures of what he looks like right now. Anyway,” he said, lowering his voice. “Alien baby, this man we’re about to meet is kind of scary. But he’s your uncle, so you’re obligated to love him anyway. Think of it like being a fan of a horrible football team. That’s what loving family like Damon is like. You show up to the game even though you know it’s going to be a bloodbath. You cheer when there’s any sign of something good. And like every other game, it ends in defeat. But you know you’re going to show up next week anyway, because it’s still your team.”
“That’s actually kind of sweet,” I said.
“This is an ‘A’ and ‘B’ conversation, Belle. So please ‘C’ your way out of it.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“So when you meet Damon, resist the urge to run. You’re not ready to come busting out of there yet, anyway. And he’s not as bad as he seems. Once you get used to him. I mean… Okay, he’s probably as bad as he seems in most areas. But he’s got a soft spot for kids. I think.”
We found Damon in his office with even more of a look of consternation on his face than usual. I’d expected an immediate reaction when he saw my stomach, which I wasn’t trying to hide. But he barely looked up as we came in and sat down.
Chris squinted, then tapped his knuckles on the desk, trying to get Damon’s attention. “Are we supposed to ask why you look constipated?”
“Because I’ve got an important client who is making it sound like he’s about to ditch his baseball career to take care of his kid.”
“Good for him?” I said.
“No. Bad for me. He’s coming up on a huge contract, and I’ll have to spend months patching things up with sponsors if he walks away from it.”
“The mom isn’t in the picture?” I asked.
“Not anymore. So he thinks he’s doing the noble thing by throwing away his career for the kid.”
“Then find him a nanny,” Chris suggested. He had picked up an apple from Damon’s desk and taken an exploratory bite in it.
“A nanny,” Damon repeated dryly.
“Yeah. A woman who takes care of his kid till things settle down.”
Damon looked like he was about to tell Chris what a horrible idea that was when his eyes found my stomach. “Is that…”
I wiggled my eyebrows.
Damon covered his face with his palms. “Oh, no. You let him put a baby in you?”
“Against my better judgment,” I said.
“I mean, statistically speaking, the way we’ve been since… well, since before the wedding honestly. It was bound to happen. Condom’s aren’t perfect. Birth control isn’t perfect. And as it turns out, when you use neither, the statistical chance really sky rockets.”
Damon shook his head. “Please just tell me this isn’t going to make you quit football.”
“Oh, no. Belle seems kind of excited about taking care of the little thing.”
I nodded. “I’m still going to keep up with my business, but,” I gave a cocky little shrug. “After the way things picked up from our wedding, people are willing to work around my schedule now.”
