“I didn’t lie.” I sniffled, a little miffed at the implication. “I was just too much of a coward to admit I was in love with him.”
“Whatever. What you’re going to do is march over to Jake’s house and demand he give you Rhett’s address in Costa Rica.”
My jaw dropped as I sat up too fast, causing my head to spin. “Are you for real? I can’t crash his vacation. I have to work on Monday and—”
“You have weeks of vacation time coming. Besides, you’d be useless at work. You need time to figure out what you’re going to do about the baby, Briar. And you can’t make any decisions until you talk to Rhett.”
She wasn’t wrong, but wasn’t it crazy to hop on a plane and hunt the man down?
“He gave up everything to be there for you when you needed him,” she reminded me. “It’s time for you to show him that you’re willing to drop everything for him… because you love him and are willing to do anything to make things right.”
I did love him, but how would he feel about me when he learned I’d backed him into a corner. “God, what if he thinks I trapped him, G? What if he thinks I forgot to take my pill on purpose because I was trying to cash in—”
“Are you even listening to yourself right now, girl? This man has known you more than half your life. He knows you would never do something like that. He also knows you’re the last woman on the planet who would get pregnant on purpose.”
I frowned at her as my hand instinctively covered my stomach. I may not have planned it but that didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling protective of my little bean. God, I’d woken up this morning believing I’d be alone forever and now I was facing the prospect of being responsible for another living person, every waking hour. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Gia tugged on my hand. “Come on, you’re going to take that other test, just to be sure. Then you’re going to take a shower while I make you some breakfast.”
“Ugh, no food,” I said, flopping back on the bed.
She gave me a sharp look. “You’re eating for two now, remember? It doesn’t matter whether you want to eat or not.” She tickled my tummy, grinning. “My godson or daughter needs to eat, so suck it up.”
Gia made it sound like I’d already made my decision about keeping the baby… which of course I had. I didn’t know I’d wanted to be a mother until I considered the prospect of handing my baby off to strangers to raise. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.
* * *
Jake stared at me wide-eyed before looking to Gia, who’d been the one to drop the bomb. “I don’t believe this. You’re serious? You’re really pregnant… with Rhett’s baby?”
“Don’t be an asshole, Jake.” I scowled at him. “I haven’t been with anyone else. If I thought there was even a chance the baby could be anyone else’s you think I’d be here, demanding his address in Costa Rica?”
I’d tried texting my brother to find out if he could tell me how to get in touch with Rhett, but he said he couldn’t help me. Apparently, his best friend had called him once from Paradise and he sounded… good. How the hell could he be good when I felt like I was on the raw and ragged edge of sanity?
“No, of course not.” Jake sighed before tipping his head back. “Sorry, Briar. I didn’t mean to imply anything. This is just a shock. I thought you, of all people, would be hyper-vigilant about stuff like this.”
I didn’t know how much Rhett had told him about our relationship, but he obviously knew I’d claimed marriage and kids weren’t part of my life plan. “I have been with everyone else.” Ugh, it was so awkward talking about this stuff with a man other than Rhett, but I knew I had to convince him to give me the address, so I had no choice. “But things got pretty intense while Rhett was staying with me.” I blushed when I said, “We were together, a lot, and uh, I tried to be careful, but I really suck at remembering to take my pills. I always take them the next day.” I shrugged. “I thought as long as I took them it would be cool, but clearly I’m an idiot.”
He shook his head. “Don’t beat yourself up, Bri. It could happen to anyone. And it’s not like you and Rhett are kids. He knew the risks.”
I gripped his forearm, looking into his eyes. “You think he’s going to hate me for this? If he doesn’t hate me already?”
“He could never hate you, girl.” He drew me into his arms, kissing my forehead. “It’s gonna be okay. I know Rhett. He’ll be shocked at first, but he’ll step up.”
I didn’t want him to feel obligated and I sure as hell didn’t want him to see our baby as a burden. “I don’t know what to do. You think I should wait for him to come home—”
“No!” Jake held me at arm’s length. “He needs to know this. Now. You can’t tell him over the phone, this is too huge. And you sure as hell can’t take weeks or months for him to return. He’ll lose his shit if he finds out I knew he was going to be a daddy before you told him.”
I felt a twinge of guilt for letting Jake in on my secret, but I didn’t think I had a choice. Rhett was one of his best friends. His loyalty would always lie with him and if he thought I was trying to lure Rhett back so I could string him along he never would have parted with the info I so desperately needed.
“What are you doing?” I asked when Jake pulled out his cell phone and hit a number in his contacts before bringing the phone to his ear. “Calling the pilot, getting him to file a flight plan and gas up the jet so you can get there today.”
“Jake, no. I can fly commercial. I’ll call—”
“Those are charter flights, Bri. And there may not be one out today. You can’t waste any more time making yourself crazy about this.” His gaze drifted to my flat stomach. “The stress isn’t good for you or the baby and Rhett would kill me if I let anything happen to either one of you.”
“Let him make the call,” Gia said, curling her arm around my waist as Jake barked instructions into the phone.
“God, what a mess.” I dropped my head on her shoulder. “What if Rhett loses his shit when I tell him I’m pregnant, G?”
