I groaned out loud and tossed onto my other side.
The only positive takeaway from today was that at least it was all over. Both men knew, and both men made it clear they wanted nothing to do with any of it. Fine by me. I’d raise this baby on my own, and I’d be the best—okay probably just decent—mom out there.
And if I never saw or spoke to either man again, I’d be all too happy.
“Me and you, little bee. We’ve totally got this,” I whispered, closing my eyes and letting sleep take me.
***
I could’ve slept for three days and probably still been tired, the nearly ten hours I’d gotten the night before doing nothing to ease the bone-deep exhaustion I was struggling to power through. The doctor had said that most of the worst pregnancy symptoms would dissipate by the end of the first trimester, but I was thirteen weeks and the fatigue was still very real.
I heard Shayna before I saw her, the clanking of weights and whirring of treadmills doing nothing to drown her out.
“Darcy Adler! You’ve got some explaining to do!” When I got closer, she spoke a little quieter, but not by much, her brown eyes narrowed angrily on me. “You do not text people saying ‘I’m pregnant’ and then not answer their phone calls! What the hell is wrong with you?”
I shushed her and forcibly shoved an iced black coffee into her hands. Using my free hand that wasn’t holding my own coffee, I ushered her toward the women’s locker room, and pushed her down onto one of the benches. The auburn curls of her ponytail swung with the movement, and her scowl made the freckles on her face squish closer together.
I widened my eyes and nodded in her direction, indicating she take a sip of coffee, which she did, crossing one of her legs over the other.
“I’m sorry I texted it to you. I didn’t want to have to say it out loud.”
An eyebrow hitched up on her porcelain skin. “You’re going to have a baby, but can’t handle telling me in person that you’re pregnant?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re you. I figured if I waited until I saw you, you’d make an even bigger scene than you just did, and you know I hate attention like that.”
“Fair enough.” She took another sip of coffee and then glanced down to my stomach. There wasn’t any sign of a bump, but it was still early, or so my Google searches said. Plus, I was fit, and according to my research, strong abdominal muscles can make a bump significantly smaller. Which meant that maybe I could get away with holding off on telling people for a while.
“So, you’re really pregnant?”
“Yes.”
Her full lips curved into a smirk, and it wasn’t the first time I was hit by how beautiful my friend was. Auburn hair fell in natural waves down her back, and the smattering of freckles across her nose and over her cheeks accentuated the depth of her brown eyes. When I first met her, I half expected her to have a drawl because she looked exactly how I envisioned the perfect southern belle. Then she spoke and I realized she’s much more akin to Annie Oakley.
She patted the spot next to her on the bench, which I happily sank down onto. “Who’s the baby daddy? Is it Liam? He was hot.”
“He’s also engaged,” I reminded her.
“Oh shit! That’s right. You got knocked up by an engaged guy?”
I shrugged and that motion itself had her eyes popping out of her head.
“Darcy, youdog! Who’s the other option?”
I shot her a look that begged her to connect the dots so I didn’t have to spell it out for her, and that process only took a handful of seconds, her mouth dropping open as realization dawned on her.
“No! You can’t be serious!”
I pressed my lips together and nodded, using her stunned silence as an opportunity to sip my coffee.
Her gasp was deafening, and the slap she delivered to my arm felt like it could leave a bruise. “Shut up! You did not get pregnant by the town’s hottest firefighter in the Quill’s bathroom!”
I ignored the hot comment. There was no use arguing it. I knew damn well he was hot, I had eyes and memories—so many memories—but I wasn’t getting into that. “I don’t know for sure that it’s his.”
“Oh, it’s his all right. I can almost promise you.” She laughed and it sounded more maniacal than like she actually found anything I said humorous. “Archer’s sperm definitely beat the shit out of Liam’s. I have no doubt it’s his.”
Jesus Christ. Was she always this unhinged? The answer was probably, but I loved that about her.
“Liamiskind of a bitch.”
