Page 24 of Make it a Double

Olivia, though, saw right through me.

“Honestly? No, you look like shit. I didn’t think it was possible for you to look worse than you did over the weekend.” She settled back against the stool and gave me a pointed look. “Are you ready to talk about it?”

Was I ready? Absolutely the fuck not.

Was it something I needed to do? Unfortunately.

So, without overthinking it too much, I bared my soul to the only person in this world I knew wouldn’t judge me. I told her about meeting a handsome stranger at our bar, one who not only defended my honor but also made me smile. A man who was honest about nearly ditching me, yet was adorably afraid of heights and hard-pressed to win me the biggest stuffed animal I’d ever seen—one I had to begrudgingly leave during my escape the next morning.

And then I told her my secret. The one I never intended to tell anyone.

“I kind of, sort of, was a virgin until that night, and he…” I trailed off, unable to meet her burning gaze. “Well, we…”

“Fucked like bunnies?” she finished for me, raising a perfectly groomed brow as she carefully watched me.

I didn’t need to look in a mirror to confirm what I already knew. My cheeks flushed with heat, turning them a positively perfect shade of pink. “Kind of? It was sweeter than that, though.”

She snorted. “It was your first time. I hope he was sweet.”

Oh god, I was absolutely burning up now. “He didn’t know.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

I shrugged. “There wasn’t really a good time to be like, ‘Hey, by the way, I’ve never done this before.’ It wasn’t like I planned it. I thought it’d just be a nice date, maybe a kiss at the end of the night, and that was it. I didn’t realize⁠—”

“You’d wind up with a little souvenir?” I glanced up, expecting to see anger or disappointment staring back at me, but Olivia wore a smile. One that immediately had my muscles going lax. Tears sprang to my eyes. I quickly tried to wipe them away before she saw them, but I wasn’t fast enough. “Oh, Sawyer...”

Olivia moved, hopping out of her chair and wrapping her arms around me before I could register what was happening. I relaxed into her hold immediately, letting her floral perfume and hushed promises lull me into a false sense of security. This was what I needed the other night. A safe place to tell my secrets, fears, and insecurities, knowing I wouldn’t be judged or reprimanded for my stupidity.

“Did you get this stranger’s name? Maybe we could find him…”

That was the only part of my story I left out. Olivia had money and connections that I could only dream of. If anyone could help me get in touch with Beckett without it looking like some desperate attempt to extort him for money, it was her. I wasn’t sure what stopped me, but the idea of how that’d play out stopped me.

What if, by involving him in the knowledge of our baby’s existence, he tried to take them away from me? Most courts sided with the mother unless there was a safety concern, but he had the money and connections to fight me. I worked in a bar and lived in a run-down trailer park with my grandma. His team of fancy lawyers could tear me to shreds without a second thought. I wouldn’t stand a chance, and then what would happen? Even if I spent most of the weekend in a blind panic over the idea of being pregnant, the thought of losing a baby I was just now realizing I wanted was even worse.

No, it was best if I handled this on my own.

I shook my head. “No. No names. We thought it’d be better that way.”

“But he was a bar patron? Have you looked at batched receipts, or⁠—”

“We don’t keep records that far back. I checked.” It was a lie. I absolutely did not check, but I needed her to believe me. Much to my relief, it seemed like she did.

With a sigh, Olivia stepped back and rested against the bar. “Well, fuck.”

I barked a sharp laugh. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”

We lingered in silence for only a moment before Olivia hesitantly asked the question left unanswered. The one hanging between us like a goddamn elephant in the room that I was desperately trying to pretend was nothing more than a fluffy bunny.

“Well, what do you want to do about this?” Her gaze traveled down to where my arms had become wrapped around my belly at some point during our conversation. “Duke and I are here to support you however you need.”

Her confidence that everything would be okay and the unfailing support she offered were touching. For the first time in two days, I actually believed this whole thing might work out for the best. That I could do this by myself. Or rather, by allowing myself to accept help and guidance from those around me.

I just hoped I wasn’t making a monumental mistake.

“I’m really scared, Liv,” I admitted, my lip trembling. “I can’t do this alone, and⁠—”

“Hey, hey, hey,” she said, taking my hands in hers and giving them a squeeze. “What did I just say? We’re here to help, no matter what that looks like. Even if you need someone to take you to get ice cream at three in the morning because it’s all you can keep down.”