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“Alright, Mrs.—Cleo.”
She chuckled as she headed to Daisy.
Deacon came up last, in dark denim jeans and a black t-shirt, veins of his muscular arms peeking beneath the sleeves. Without the bit of gray in his hair, it’d be hard to believe he had three grown children. With fatherly affection in his eyes, he came up to me and planted his hand on my arm. “Congratulations, son.”
“Thanks…Deacon.”
He smiled. “Still hard for you to say, huh?”
“Just a tad.”
He chuckled and pulled me in for a one-armed hug. “Don’t get too used to it. Soon, you’ll be calling me Dad.”
20
Daisy
I dug my hand into the basket of fries and fished out more, getting the grains of salt on my oily fingertips. Sometimes food made me sick, but so far, fries had never let me down. Guess the kid liked them.
“Drink too much last night?” Dex asked.
“No.” I kept eating. “Why?”
“Because you’re drinking water instead of your usual Sex in the City drink.”
The secret had stayed between my parents and me because I didn’t want that to be the point of conversation at our celebration the other night. Atlas was doing really well with this whole thing, but I could see the struggle behind his eyes. “I’m pregnant.”
“Ooh, that’s why he proposed.”
“Oh, shut up.” I threw a fry in his face. “He asked me before we found out.”
He grabbed the fallen fry off the table and put it into his mouth. But then he stilled. “Wait…what?”
“Seriously? It’s taken this long for you to process what I just said?”
“You’re pregnant?”
I rolled my eyes.
“How?”
“I got laid, idiot.”
“I just mean, you seem like a smart girl who doesn’t accidentally get knocked up.”
“Well…shit happens. And it’s with the man I love, so I’m fine with it.”
“You were the one who said you were going to have kids at the last possible moment—”
“Well, looks like that timetable moved up.” I threw another fry at him. “Write your life in pencil, not pen.”
“I guess you could use our babysitter. It would be nice for the kids to have their cousin with them. Derek and Emerson really like theirs too.”
“Yeah…I’ll worry about that when I get there.”
He watched me for a while, sensing my mood change. “What’s wrong?”
I should have assumed that my dad would keep this information to himself, to protect Atlas’s privacy. “Atlas can’t have children. Every time he tried with his wife, it ended in a miscarriage before the second trimester.”
He closed his eyes. “Shit…”
“So, I’m just hoping, praying, begging…that doesn’t happen to me.”
“I’m sorry, Daisy.”
“It’s been hard for him, but he puts on a brave face for me.”
“Is it a genetic problem?”
“He thinks it’s related to his blood disorder, but he’s not entirely sure.”
He turned quiet, his eyes dropping down to the basket between us. “Well, just because something happened in the past doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again. Since the exact issue is unknown, it could be different this time.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. I was totally not in the place to be a mom, but…I’ll be devastated if this doesn’t work out.”
He shook his head. “Daisy, you’d be the best mom ever.”
I dropped my gaze, touched by what he said. “Really?”
“Yes. I know I give you shit a lot, but…”
“I think he’d be a really good dad too. And I know how much he would love our baby…if it happens.”
“Yeah. Being a dad is… There’s no feeling like it.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but to avoid being insensitive, he stayed quiet. “Relax… Don’t think about it. Stay positive.”
I nodded. “Same advice Dad gave me.”
“Then it’s damn good advice.”
“Mom, what are you doing here?” I looked up from my desk, seeing her standing in front of me in the middle of the day. She’d never stopped by my office before. She was too busy running the lives of the rich and famous.
She held up a bag of takeout. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d bring you lunch.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“You want me to take it back?” she teased.
“Whoa, hold on.”
She chuckled and set the bag in front of me.
It was a salad with a sandwich and a banana nut muffin. “This looks pretty good. Thanks.”
“Of course.” She took a seat in the armchair facing my desk and watched me eat. “How are you feeling?”
I shrugged as I poured the dressing on top. “The same, really.”
“Taking your prenatals?”
“Taking everything, Mama.”
“Doing your walks?”
“Mom, all I do is strut around here all day long.”
“In heels?” she asked, amused.
“Yep. You aren’t the only bad bitch in the family.”
She chuckled.
“We have a doctor’s appointment in a bit.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“Atlas is taking me.” I wore my diamond ring everywhere, but I didn’t feel engaged. I felt married already, and now we were in the stage of our lives—starting a family. I’d always pictured myself having a big wedding with a gorgeous bridal gown and a super-hot dude waiting for me at the end of the aisle, but…priorities changed. My only focus was on this little person inside me.
