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“For you, difficult considering you rarely talk while eating. Plus, she’ll probably be bored after five minutes with your charming ass.”
He laughs. “I can be charming . . . when the need arises.”
I finally start to do what I came behind the bar to do, which was to put the clean glasses away. I want to talk to my brother, but it is clear that he needs to stew in silence for a few minutes.
I’m glad he’s getting back to dating, but I have a bad feeling tonight isn’t going to go as planned. Who knows what he’s thinking asking Robyn out, when she isn’t the woman he actually wants to be spending his time with.
I’m going to have a chat with Savannah the next time I’m down at the field when she’s there. I need to find out more about her, because my clueless brother is just presuming.
But what I need to do, right now, is answer my cell, which has been buzzing in my pocket on and off, for the past five minutes.
When I do though, I feel all the blood in me drain to my feet as the words start to penetrate my brain.
This can’t be happening to me.
I meet my brother’s concerned gaze and watch him place his bottle back on the bar.
He mouths “Mom or Dad” in my direction. I shake my head in what feels like slow motion as I disconnect the call.
Dahlia
Making sure the table is spotless and that I haven’t forgotten anything, I take a step back and admire my handiwork.
I’ve borrowed a tablecloth in a green and gold swirl pattern, with matching napkins from Mia. I have the wine glasses polished and ready. I’m planning on drinking non-alcoholic wine tonight so that Ryder doesn’t think there’s something going on with me until after I’ve broken my news to him. Then after that, I’ll be drinking juice, but that’s okay with me.
I smile, six weeks pregnant, well, with how the OB’s count it, I’m six weeks when in actual fact I only conceived four weeks ago or thereabouts.
When I peed on the stick this morning, I’d told myself it
was all in my imagination so it was a shock when I had a positive answer. Not just on one test but two!
After the shock started to wear off, all my thoughts were for the little baby that Ryder and I have created out of love.
It was a struggle this morning to not compare myself to my mom, who got pregnant by a married man. As much as I’m grateful for being here, it was devastating to be that baby and to know that my mom ached for the man who professed his undying love to her.
At least Ryder is in the middle of sorting a divorce out so he can be with me, whereas my mom had no chance of Reece’s dad leaving his family to be with her and me.
Throughout the day, I keep reminding myself of this fact and it seems to be working, even if the thought of telling Ryder I’m pregnant has my stomach rolling with nerves.
He’s going to be excited, right? He has to be because I can’t do this alone. I’ve been alone most of my life, until Reece came into it. Even then, he’d come and go until we all grew up some.
I know Ryder has a lot on his plate now, so my only hope is that I’m not adding to it with my news. The one thing, which is giving me confidence, is the fact that Ryder has told me over and over again that he loves me, and wants to spend his life with me.
I read, and know guys will say anything to get into a woman’s panties, but Ryder isn’t like that. I see his feelings for me in every little thing he does. In every look and touch.
For once, he’s going to really love the meal I have planned because it isn’t burnt thanks to Mia being here all afternoon to keep reminding me to check on the dinner. It’s not that I can’t follow a recipe because I can. It’s just that once it’s in the oven, I forget until the burning smell reaches me.
Now that everything is all falling into place, I need to grab a bottle of wine from downstairs, to pour for Ryder so I don’t give myself away. He’s more of a beer guy than wine, but whenever we eat dinner out he always has wine with his meal.
With that thought in mind, I slip downstairs and hope Ryder is still distracted with his brother so I can make it back upstairs without him seeing me. He does know about the meal, but he has no idea that it’s a ‘special’ meal.
As I walk down the corridor to the door leading through to the bar, I smile when I catch sight of three boxes of wine stacked against it.
If I select one of these, I’ll have to remember to ask Ryder the cost so his bar isn’t out of funds. Don’t want him thinking his alcohol is just disappearing.
Peering into the box on top, the silence is broken when I hear Jace ask, “What are you going to tell Dahlia?” Obviously, the question is directed at Ryder. But why would Jace be asking?
I do something I hope I don’t get caught at, and step closer to the door and listen.
