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“He had—”
“A vasectomy, I know. But apparently he has leaky plumbing.”
Tala screws her face up. “Ew, that’s so TMI!”
“You asked how, Tala, and I’m telling you.”
She leans back. “Are you sure it’s his? You did dump him because he has me and my brothers.” How she connects the two, I don’t know, and I try not to take offense.
“I wasn’t with anyone else when I was with your father, Tala, and you and your brothers were just an excuse to end things. I wanted more than your father wanted.”
“That’s not true,” she replies. “My dad hasn’t gotten over you, that’s why he bought you that silly car even though you’re not together.”
“I’m glad we agree the car thing is silly,” I admit. “But, Tala, things with your father and I…” I shrug. “It just didn’t work out.”
“But you’re pregnant, you can’t keep it from him.”
She has a point, but also, “I’m about as ready to tell him I’m pregnant, as you are to tell him you’re also pregnant, honey.”
She blows out a breath. “Fair enough. He’s going to lose his shit when he finds out I’m pregnant. Lycan and Fallon know, but I have no idea how to tell my dad.” She starts crying again, and my heart breaks for her a little.
“You don’t have to tell him right away, Tala. Take a little time for yourself, and tell him when you’re ready. He’ll probably be mad, yes, but you know he loves you. He’ll support you, no matter what.”
“How can you be so sure?” She sniffles. “He’ll probably freak out when you tell him, too.”
I sigh. “He’ll have more questions for me than he will for you, so there’s that. But really, I think you’re going to be okay. Do you want to keep it?”
“Do you?” she fires back.
“Of course I do.” The thought of not keeping it never even crossed my mind. “And if your father doesn’t want to be part of this baby’s life, that’s his choice too. I’m not going to force him into anything, or blackmail him. I’m not that woman, Tala. If I have to do this alone, I will.”
She watches me carefully, and I can tell she’s assessing the sincerity of my words. I also know the moment she takes them to heart and believes me. “I wish I had your courage,” she says. “Telling my dad is one thing, but I’m positive my mom will disown me.”
“Honey, I’m almost ten years older than you and the thought of telling my parents scares the shit out of me.”
“Really?”
“Yes, even though they pretty much disowned me when I left home.” The disappointment will be real, even though I’m independent and supporting myself. This will go against their good Christian values. Maybe I won’t tell them, it’s not like they’ve featured in my life since I left home at seventeen.
“Does it scare you more than telling my dad?” Tala asks quietly.
I can either lie to her, or be honest. I choose honesty because I know, in some way, right now, I’m setting an example for her. “Telling your dad scares me more than anything, Tala.”
Her lip trembles, and I see the fear in her eyes the way I feel my own.
“Tell you what, take my number, and if you need to talk, you can text me, or call me, night or day, okay?”
“You really mean that?”
“I do, Tala. We can be friends if you want, and I promise, whatever we talk about will stay between us.”
Without warning, she throws her arms around me and gives me a hug. “I really want things to work out between you and my dad.”
I don’t tell her that I do too because I have no way of knowing how Kalon will react to my news, but we exchange numbers, and I make sure she’s safe in an Uber before I get one of my own. That was an interesting turn of events, and if I can help Tala feel better about all of this, then maybe I’ll feel better about it. No matter the outcome.
I give the guy dropping off my new car the stink eye. It’s just past eight in the fucking morning and they decided it was a good fucking time to bother a pregnant woman to deliver a damn car. They don’t know I’m pregnant, obviously, but still.
“If you can just sign here, Miss Byrne, then she’s all yours,” the guy says with a smile. And who was the moron who decided a car is a she, hmm? Who? I sign the papers and watch him get into his rollback, leaving my vintage Ferrari parked at the curb. If a police cruiser were to drive past, I’d get a fucking parking ticket outside my own house. Clearly Kalon gave no thought to where I’d park this damn thing when he purchased it for me. Parking in New York on a good day is ludicrous, not to mention expensive. Was he thinking with his dick when he bought it? Probably. He did say he saw me in it, and well, it’s safe to assume it gave him a hard-on. I dial his number, and when he answers the phone, it sounds like he’s still in bed. Now that’s a visual that would give me a hard-on if I had a dick. That’s a lot of hard-ons and dicks in one sentence. Where’s my brain? In Kalon’s pants, I think. Focus, Channing. Pregnancy brain is real, and no one ever warns you.
