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Checkmate.
She could actually hear the cage click into place around her. Becka didn’t have a chance in hell of winning that argument with all the parties involved. Allie would be sympathetic to her plight, but Lucy would offer a secondary option of moving in with her. Both Gideon and Roman would go into protective older brother roles and, no matter which way they fell on the argument, Becka wouldn’t come out on top. She didn’t stand a chance.
She snarled. “That’s blackmail.”
“It’s called skillful negotiation. You should try it sometime.”
I will not punch my baby daddy. I will not just chop him in his stupidly attractive throat.
She counted to ten, but it did nothing to lower her blood pressure. There had to be a way out of this. Aaron was obviously only steamrolling her because he had an honorable streak that apparently demanded he borderline kidnap her. Okay, maybe not that honorable. She just needed to buy some time, to get a little distance to figure out what she wanted.
It was the one thing Becka couldn’t pin down.
She knew she wanted the baby. The rest was terrifyingly hazy.
She gritted her teeth. “I’ll consider it.”
He stared at her so long, she just knew he was weighing his options—including throwing her over his shoulder and hauling her ass back to his place. Finally, Aaron nodded. “You have until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“At that point, I’m coming back here. Whether I come back alone or with Roman and Gideon in tow is entirely up to you.” He strode to the door and paused to look over his shoulder at her. “Don’t let stubbornness get in the way of what’s best for the baby.” He was gone before she could give in to the impulse to throw something at his head.
Becka stumbled over to her ugly green couch and sank onto it. She let her head fall to her hands and spit out every single curse she knew. It didn’t make her feel better. She wasn’t sure anything could make her feel better at this point.
“I am so freaking screwed.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“OKAY, LET ME see if I have this straight—you’re pregnant.”
Becka didn’t lift her face from the pillow. Maybe if she concentrated, her couch would swallow her whole and she wouldn’t have to deal with this mess anymore. She’d called Allie in desperation, but confessing the truth had taken the last of her energy and now all she wanted was to curl up in a ball and wait for this to blow over. Fat chance of that happening.
Allie’s footsteps echoed through the apartment. “You’re pregnant,” she repeated. “Okay, right. Pregnant.”
“You said that already. Three times.”
“Right. And it’s Aaron Livingston’s. And Aaron wants you to move in with him for, what, the duration of the pregnancy? Or are you supposed to live there forever?”
She groaned and pressed her face harder into the pillow. “He didn’t specify.”
“Because you kicked him out after yelling at him that you’d live with him over your dead body.”
Becka frowned and lifted her head. Allie stood across the small living room, her hands on her hips. She looked like some kind of plus-size superhero on her day off, her blond hair windblown and her black leggings and fitted sweater comfortable and stylish. But it was the contemplative look on her face that sent alarm bells pealing through Becka’s head. “You don’t sound angry and self-righteous. Why don’t you sound angry and self-righteous? You should be angry and self-righteous.”
“Unpopular opinion—but Aaron Livingston isn’t a total monster.”
She rolled onto her back and flung her arm over her eyes. “That lack of monstrosity really commends him to be my baby daddy.”
“Becka, I’m serious. He and Roman are good friends. I’ve hung out with him a few times.” She hesitated long enough that Becka lifted her arm and shot her a look. Allie seemed to be silently arguing with herself. Finally, she said, “I think you should do it.”
“What?”
“I know you, and if I offer for you to stay with me and Roman, you’re going to say—”
“Hell, no.” She didn’t need her family and friends to swoop in and take care of her. Becka had gotten into this situation on her own—well, technically with Aaron, but whatever—and she wasn’t going to drag anyone else in alongside her. Allie and Lucy finally had things working out for them. They didn’t need Becka’s mistakes putting a damper on their happily-ever-afters.
Which really only left her one option.
She closed her eyes. “Damn it, I have to do it, don’t I?”
“I mean, you could put on your martyr’s sash and try to power through it on your own, but that’s not going to accomplish anything but to save your pride—and only for a while.”
She would need help eventually. Whether it was financially or with babysitting or... God, Becka didn’t know where to start.
Easy. You start with Aaron and go from there.
