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“What?”
“You look like you’re going to be sick, and you don’t seem too happy to see me. In all honesty, I’m not new to the breakup thing. This feels as awkward as it did that morning with Tara’s dad. Trust me, if you don’t want to—”
“I didn’t use a condom last night,” he said, blurting it out. “And I don’t want you to get the morning-after pill.”
Silence fell between them. This was so not smooth. This was a mess.
Caleb wanted to bang his head against the nearest surface and maybe then he’d actually make some kind of sense, because right now, this was the worst confession he’d ever made.
“Oh,” Annie said. “We didn’t use condoms last night.”
“I don’t know if you’re on the pill.”
“I’m not.”
“And I know it’s a lot to ask, with the risks and stuff.”
“Wait, do you have a sexual disease you haven’t told me about?” She frowned so hard.
Yep, it was official, he was fucking this up. “No, no, no, no, hell, no. No, I don’t have any diseases. Shit. Crap. That is not what I meant.” He winced. “I was thinking pregnancy. You know. You being pregnant because we had unprotected sex. Those kind of risks.”
Annie smiled. “Yes, of course.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you, Annie. I promise.”
She held her hands up and took a breath. “I think we’re kind of panicking after last night and the fact Tara’s not here. So, we had unprotected sex. You don’t want me to get the morning-after pill, and I won’t. I don’t want to, either.”
“Great.”
“Great.”
He hadn’t even fucking led with the whole feelings. He’d not told her he loved her. Was it too soon? Would she think he was just saying that so she wouldn’t get the pill? Damn it.
“What do we do if we’re pregnant?” Annie asked.
“We will deal with it together. You know, I think we can handle it.”
****
“I’m going to make sure you are never confused, baby girl. You will know your own mind, and you will become a force to be reckoned with. You will never doubt anything.” Annie held Tara’s head as she washed her in the small bathtub.
Caleb had to go into work, and they were currently spending the night at his place. He’d insisted they start dividing their time between homes. Thanksgiving was only next week. It had been two weeks since he’d asked her not to get the morning-after pill.
Annie woke up each morning, and she felt so freaking nervous about everything. Was she pregnant? They’d not had sex either since that night. They slept together, side by side, and each morning she woke up in his arms. She had fallen in love with him, little by little, but she feared he regretted getting involved with her.
“Do you think you’d like a brother or sister?” Annie asked. “I always imagined having children a few years apart, you know. Giving them the time they needed.” She smiled down at Tara. “Don’t you worry about a thing. You will not be forgotten or pushed to the side. I promised you I would take care of you, and I will. I will love and protect you, Tara. Always.”
She finished bathing the little girl and wrapped her in a towel, holding her close.
“I didn’t think I would love you, but I do.” She pressed a kiss to her cheek and emptied out the tub. “Let’s get you dried and dressed.”
Caleb had stopped off at a store and purchased Tara a few new baby clothes.
She moved to the baby unit and placed her down gently, drying her body, and then got a diaper back on her butt.
“I am not looking forward to potty training.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have a feeling that’s going to be a pain. My mom told me I was a little pest when it came to potty training, but I got there in the end.”
She missed her mother.
She tickled Tara’s stomach, loving the baby noises she made. After Tara was changed, she lifted her up in her arms. “I love you so much, baby girl. You are getting heavy. You’re going to be my big brave girl.”
She had finished dressing her when there was a knock at the apartment door. Holding the little girl close, she made her way toward the main door. Caleb’s building had security on the main desk. One glance through the peephole, and she saw it was Ryan on the other side. Annie frowned and opened the door immediately.
“Ryan, what’s going on? Is something wrong with Caleb?”
“No, why? Caleb is fine. Why would there be something wrong with Caleb?” he asked.
She moved out of the way for him to pass her by so he could enter Caleb’s apartment. “I don’t know. I figured there had to be if you’re here.”
“Oh, no, I’m here to speak to you.”
