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“So maybe your father will surprise you too,” Brian said. “Maybe he’ll take it better than you think he will.”
“That would be a surprise.” I couldn’t imagine Dad reacting well to the news that his daughter was pregnant with his best friend’s baby.
“Listen, there’s only one way we’re going to find out, right?” Brian asked. “And at least we get to tell him we’re serious about each other. He should like that if nothing else.”
He did have a point. It was better than if I’d had to go to Dad and tell him Brian had knocked me up and then abandoned me. At least, this was good news.
I just hoped my father would be able to see it that way.
We left the warm confines of the bed for the first time in hours and got our clothes on. It felt strange to be dressing to go out and face the real world again, as if we were leaving our little fantasy bubble, and I had to reassure myself that we would be able to return to it.
There was just one more obstacle for us to overcome.
Chapter twenty-four
BRIAN
Henrywassuspiciouswhenhe saw the two of us arriving together at his house. He could tell something was going on, and I could see that—but I didn’t think he had the slightest idea of what it was. There was no way he could have guessed this.
Henry was going to be shocked, and badly. As a result, I felt uncomfortable.
But at the same time, I knew what I wanted, and it would be mine. Henry was going to have to deal with that.
“I didn’t think I’d see you two together,” he said, letting us into the house. “I guess this means you’ve made up?”
“Yeah, we have,” Alison said. She sounded wary and anxious, making me want to put my arms around her, but I didn’t want to touch her before we told Henry the truth about what was going on. That was no way for him to find out.
“What do you have going on today, Henry?” It was easier to start this out with small talk than to jump right in.
“Not much,” Henry said. “Thought I’d do a little yard work… shouldn’t the two of you be at work?”“We took the day off. We needed to see you,” Alison said.
Now the suspicion was growing in Henry’s eyes. “You both took the day off to talk to me, together? Is something going on here?”
“Maybe we should go talk in the den,” Alison suggested.
We had agreed that she would take the lead here—she knew her father best, even though he was my best friend, and I knew that he would take this news better coming from her than from me.
Alison led the way into the den and took a seat. I’d been here enough to know which chair was usually Henry’s, so I avoided that one, but that meant sitting on the couch next to Alison. Of course, it was the seat I would have chosen for myself, but I was mindful that it looked like the two of us were on one side of this conversation, and Henry was on the other.
Of course, that’s pretty true.
We just had to be careful, that was all. This revelation was a delicate issue.
Henry looked from one of us to the other. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Well, nothing’s wrong, exactly,” Alison said.
“But you wouldn’t have come here together if there wasn’tsomething. What is it? Are there going to be more arrests? Did the FBI investigation find something else?”
“Oh, no, Dad, there’s nothing like that,” Alison said quickly. “We’re closing the investigation. You don’t have to worry about any more bad surprises regarding the FBI. That’s over.”
“Well… that’s good,” Henry said. “But I don’t understand what the two of you are doing here in that case. If the investigation is closed, why are you even together?”
Alison glanced at me.
“Do you want me to do it?” I murmured. I would take over for her if she had lost her nerve.
But she shook her head and steeled herself. “Dad… the thing is… Brian and I are sort of together.”“What does that mean?”
