Page 65 of Backup Plan

Tonight’s not the night.

But someday…maybe.

Izzy stops in front of me and offers a glare. “I need to talk to you.”

I’m trying to come up with a diplomatic way of saying that I’m not interested when the door opens and Dex walks in.

“Sup, bro?” he says, and he fist bumps me. “Table for three, please,” he says to Izzy, clearly having no clue that she has something to say to me.

“Right this way,” she says, grabbing three menus and probably assuming I’m going to corner her and find out what she wants to talk about. Spoiler alert, I’m not.

Izzy isn’t our waitress, thankfully, and we place our orders, have a few drinks, and eat some lunch.

“We have a new loyalty program,” our waitress says as she drops off the check. “Just write your phone number on the bottom of your receipt, and start earning points for rewards today.” She offers a smile before she walks away, and I pull out my credit card to treat my big brothers.

“Ain’t no loyalty program,” Dex says.

Madden shakes his head in agreement. “She wants your number, bro.”

I laugh them off as I write my number. I may be paying for this meal, but both of them make a hell of a lot more money than I do. I’ll take a free burger every fifth visit or whatever the offer is.

I head home, and Penny’s already gone, off somewhere with my sister to get ready for the wedding. The boys are at Brent’s, and it’s weird walking into a quiet condo.

I find myself actually missing them. I guess I got used to them being here. I grew up in a house that came with the noise of seven siblings, and having Penny and her boys here brings me back to that simpler time.

Though I guess my childhood was never really all that simple.

I take a shower and get dressed for the wedding. I navigate toward the mansion where I grew up, and I pull up to the curb where a valet they hired hands me a ticket and drives my truck somewhere to park it.

And as I’m walking toward the front door, my phone starts to ring.

I step off the cobblestone path that leads up to the door and onto the grass, getting out of the way of other guests who are arriving, and I see the incoming call is from a Chicago number. I assume it’s one of the vendors Everleigh gave my number to as a local point of contact, so I answer without doing any research into the number.

“Hello?”

“I told you I needed to talk to you,” a voice says. It’s vaguely familiar, but I can’t seem to place it.

“Who is this?”

“Izzy from Boulevard Tavern.”

My heart beats a little faster, and not because I’m excited she’s calling. I get the sudden feeling that I never should have left my phone number on the bottom of that receipt.

What kind of loyalty program calls you the same day you signed up?

“Oh, hey,” I say.

“Yeah. Hey.” She clears her throat, and I audibly hear her suck in a breath over the phone. Eventually, she blurts out the reason for the call. “Liam, I’m pregnant.” She pauses. “It’s yours. I was only with you and one other guy around the same time, and I did a DNA test. He wasn’t a match.”

My mouth flaps open and closed as I try to come up with what to say.

Okay…so I’m starting to understand the loyalty program is not an actual program but more of a friend being loyal to another friend by scheming a way to get my number.

“I wasn’t going to tell you at all…” She trails off and sighs. “And then I decided to, but I didn’t know how to get in touch with you since I never had your number. So Rachel helped me. Anyway, I’m planning to give the baby up for adoption. I can’t be a mother. I’m twenty-fucking-one and a waitress at a stupid bar putting herself through school. I guess I just…I don’t know. I thought you should know that in less than two months, there will be a kid out there that’s half you, half me.”

My mouth continues to flap open and shut.

“Say something,” she urges.