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“You’re staring at my stomach again.”
“I have on sunglasses. You can’t tell where I’m looking.” She lifted them off my face, saw she was right, and let them drop back to my nose. “Our gummy bear is in there. Sue me if I’m fascinated by that.”
“If I sue the best attorney who ever lived, I’ll lose.”
“Damn straight.” I flashed her a cocky grin. She had to look away. Wouldn’t be long before she fell for my charms. “Speaking of gummy bear, we need to talk about her.”
She rolled her head to the side. “We have six more days here. Can’t we have one to enjoy this place?”
“It doesn’t have to get ugly, Wicked.”
“It will, and you know it.”
“What if we get it out of the way so it’s not hanging over our heads the rest of the trip?”
“What do we really need to discuss? If you want to split custody fifty-fifty, I won’t fight you.”
I snorted at her indifference. “That’s it?”
“I told you this would get ugly,” she said.
“You’re acting as if we’re sharing a plant. Forgive me if that pisses me off.”
She sat up. “I’m a good mother,” she yelled, though her voice was wobbly.
“I never said you weren’t,” I yelled back, swinging my legs to the side of the chair.
“I don’t think of our baby as a plant.”
“Then stop treating her like one.”
“What am I supposed to do? You have no idea what I feel.”
“Because you won’t tell me,” I shouted, my patience near the end.
“I don’t know how to do it.” A few tears leaked down her cheeks.
I swiped them away with my thumb. “You’re an amazing mom.”
“I know that,” she snapped before she softened. “I mean I try.” She knotted her hands in her lap. “If I had to give up Blake half of the time it would kill me.” I touched her knee, but she refused to look at me. “It hurts to think about being apart from her. Which is crazy, right? We’re having this baby neither of us wanted, but the thought of being without her makes me sick.”
“I know,” I whispered.
“We did this to an innocent person. Because we were so stupid and selfish, she’s the one who will pay the price.” Pure agony ripped through her voice.
“Not if we don’t let it. We can figure it out together.” I squeezed her knee. “We’ve got the same goal, Wicked. That’s doing what’s best for our child. Our children.”
Her lips parted, but nothing came out. Just because Blake wasn’t my blood didn’t mean I’d exclude him. He was part of Marlow and our baby’s life. Part of mine too.
“Right now, all options are on the table. We just have to decide what works for our family.”
She sniffled, aggressively wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
“I don’t see a solution.”
“We could . . .” I drummed my fingers on the edge of the chair. “Live next to each other.”
“No way would either of my neighbors sell their house.”
