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Chapter Fifteen
Riley
Ihad every intention of telling Ethan that he would be a father when I had arrived at his house, but I never got the chance. He was confrontational and slightly bitter right from the start. Was that because I had told him previously that I didn’t want a relationship with him? Or was he angry with me for not telling him about his mother?
I rushed to my car and fought the tears the whole way. I should never have listened to them. Roxy, Charlotte, and Daniella had talked me into coming to see him. It had taken two days of urging me, but finally, I had sucked up the fear and shown up on his doorstep.
The sight of him standing there had taken my breath away. I forgot how handsome he was, how beautiful his blue eyes were. I’d forgotten just how tall he was, how I felt almost dwarfed by him at times, but protected too. When he had stalked me to the wall, I’d been tempted to throw myself around him, beg him to forgive me for everything.
But how could I do any of that without telling him that he would be a father? I couldn’t, and with the mood that he was in, today was not the right time to do it, either—especially since he had to leave.
It was later that afternoon when Roxy and Henley showed up at my door, and Roxy took one look at me. “Oh, no! What happened?”
I shook my head, glancing at Henley. I could not talk about this in front of my brother.
“Why are you crying?” Henley said, and Roxy winced and mouthed sorry toward me.
“I was thinking about Rebecca,” I said as I gave him my back.
“You know, you’re almost more upset than her own kids.” Henley followed me into the room. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Because I am. Let it go, Henley.”
“No, I think there is something else going on.” He took a seat, and I watched him as he stared at Roxy. “Wait, you know something. You know why she’s upset.”
She shook her head dramatically.
“Oh, bullshit!” Henley turned to me. “What’s going on? What aren’t you two telling me?”
“Nothing, Lee!” I hissed at him and put my face in my hands. “Just let it go.”
It was quiet for a minute, and then my brother came to sit beside me. “Riley, what’s going on? I know you haven’t been yourself for weeks. Ever since Ethan left—” He paused. “Is this because of Ethan? Did you finally realize you were in love with him?”
“No,” I said softly.
“But this is about Ethan, right? What’s going on? Did you two have another fight?”
I heard the whisper of shoes across the carpet and knew Roxy was coming to sit near us. “Riley, tell your brother.”
Oh, my god! I couldn’t! Once I said this out loud, it was going to be more true. Henley would freak out, and what would the rest of my family do? I could just hear Henley now, going on about how irresponsible I was.
He put his arm around me. “Riley, whatever it is, it’s not so bad. Tell me what’s going on. Let me help you. I know that something has been bothering you for weeks, but I was giving you space. I’m not going to do that anymore, and I’m not leaving until you tell me.”
“I’m pregnant,” I breathed out softly, and it went silent around me, only the sound of my heart thundering in my ears.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
I pushed my hair back from my face. “I said I’m pregnant, Henley.”
He leaned back from me and stared at me. “You’re serious?”
“No, I’d joke about something like that,” I growled at him.
“Is this Joe’s or Ethan’s?”
“I haven’t slept with Joe.”
“Is it Ethan’s or someone else?”
