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“Well, like I told my parents, we’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I didn’t mean anything by asking. Sorry.”
She doused the two pancakes on her plate with syrup, and then handed him the bottle with a soft sigh. “No, I’m sorry. It just reminded me my parents didn’t take the news well, though I can’t really blame them given the situation.”
“Or they could just support you,” he said, his tone clipped as he drizzled syrup over his own plate. “Moral support, I mean.” That was something his dad had no clue how to give.
She shrugged. “They’re not wrong though. Neither are you. And yeah, I’d like to have a bigger house, but it’s not in the budget just yet.”
“I am going to help, you know.” As soon as he got a job. Which he’d have to make sure he did this week, no matter what. He had a couple of resumes out to companies that hadn’t given him a flat out no yet. He’d follow up with them on Monday.
“Anything you pay will be for the baby,” Mae stated, “not my house payment.”
The woman had a stubborn, independent streak a mile wide. Probably from having to do everything herself the past seven plus years. If his dad hadn’t cut him off, he’d be helping already.
She took a drink of milk and reached to set her glass down. “So, what about you? Have you told your family yet?”
He grimaced as he lifted a forkful of pancakes. “Only Asher and Loyal. But my parents are home from Washington D.C., so I was going to tell them—” He broke off abruptly. “Aw, shit.”
Mae’s head jerked up. “What?”
“Today is Sunday.”
Her minute frown was wiped away by understanding. “Family brunch.”
“Yeah. I was going to tell them today at brunch.” He glanced at the clock on Mae’s stove and saw it was almost nine a.m. Brunch was usually at ten-thirty. He ate the pancakes on his fork, chewed, and swallowed past the lump in his throat as his pulse picked up. “Hey, here’s an idea. You want to come with me?”
Chapter 16
What the hell was I thinking when I said, “Yes.”?
She’d thought she might as well get facing Merit’s family out of the way. Especially if they were giving this thing between them a shot.
Now, Mae was thinking she should have put it off for as long as possible. Like maybe until after the baby was born—or graduated high school.
Yes, that was unrealistic, but the nerves threatening to send her first breakfast back up made unreality look exceptionally appealing at the moment.
She scanned the vehicles in the driveway as Merit parked his red Jaguar SUV, her purse strap clutched in both hands as her stomach sank lower when she didn’t see Asher’s restored Camaro. Asher and Honor always went to the weekly Diamond family brunch—unless they were out of town. She frantically tried to recall if Honor had said anything when they talked a few days ago, but her mind was a complete blank.
Spotting Loyal?
?s Land Rover, she figured at the least she’d have Roxanna for moral support. And Shelby—hopefully. She got along well with Merit’s studious youngest sister, and his older sister, Celia, seemed nice the few times she’d seen her.
She concentrated on taking even breaths as she and Merit walked past the other half-dozen vehicles in the driveway of the Diamond mansion. There really was no other word for the grand house and the sprawling estate that went with it. The two times she’d been there before, once for Honor and Asher’s engagement party, and again for their rehearsal dinner, she’d relaxed and fallen in love with the patio, the gardens, and the stables across the grass with all the horses grazing in the pasture and the Rocky Mountains as a majestic backdrop.
This morning, however, there would be no relaxing.
Merit held the front door open for her, and she could see his own nerves in the rigid set of his jaw and shoulders. They’d stopped at his place for him to change into the black T-shirt and faded jeans he wore now, and as he’d taken the stairs two at a time, she’d stood in his formal foyer, looking into his huge living room with the stone fireplace and vaulted ceilings, totally in awe. She’d been a little distracted the last time she’d been there. After a discreet look around, she determined it wasn’t the mansion his parents owned, but compared to her small house, it might as well be.
No wonder he’d made the comment about her living space at breakfast. She had about a thousand square feet compared to his ten thousand plus. He’d probably felt like he was slumming it at her humble little shack.
Stop it. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Well, except for the getting pregnant from their one-night stand, but hey, they were going to give this thing a shot.
Her nerves wound tighter, making her stomach hurt.
Merit’s hand at the small of her back as he followed her inside brought her back to the now. The warmth of his touch seared through the thin material of her floral summer dress, agitating the butterflies in her stomach even more. She turned to him while he reached back to shut the door. “Maybe we should’ve talked about how you want to do this.”
