AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ginger breathed. “Fine, here’s my card,” she said, handing the woman her credit card.
“You have to insert the card into the chip reader,” the woman reminded.
“Yeah, I know,” Ginger mumbled. She was losing her damn mind, worrying about a possible pregnancy, she couldn’t remember how to even pay at a pharmacy. “Sorry, I’m just a bit on edge.”
“I understand, dear,” the woman said. She handed Ginger the bagful of tests and the receipt.
“Thank you,” Ginger said, quickly making her way to the door.
“Have a good day,” the woman called after her. Ginger waved over her head and left the store. There was only one way that her day would end well and that was if she took the damn tests and they were all negative, but she had a sick feeling that wasn’t going to happen.
* * *
Ginger Leigh wasn’t about to throw away her career in fashion to follow a man she barely knew across the country. That was not a part of her plans, and neither was getting pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, yet here she was. She hadn’t gone to college and spent countless months in New York and Paris at some of the top fashion houses to just toss it all in the garbage for Jude Connors. It was bad enough that she was going to have to figure out how to add a baby to the mix in just seven short months.
As soon as she took the tests, she knew that they were going to be positive. She could feel it in her gut and when she read the results, all positive, she knew that she was going to have to make some serious lifestyle changes. And those changes didn’t involve the sexy man sleeping next to her in bed every night. Jude was a fun distraction, but nothing could happen between them—nothing. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them, but then again, she was used to life not being fair. Catching her ex in bed with another woman wasn’t fair. Finding out that she was pregnant with that asshole’s baby wasn’t fair. And having to work up the nerve to tell him about the baby wasn’t fair at all, but that’s what she had to do.
She and Jude had spent the better part of a month getting to know each other after being stuck together in a beach rental that was double booked. Agreeing to share the beach house with three men wasn’t her idea of a fun “Girl’s summer vacation,” but she didn’t want to give up her chance at a whole summer at the beach with her two best friends.
She was supposed to be trying to get over her ex, Trevor, and she was hoping that a whole summer away from town would do the trick. Ginger had broken things off with him just before agreeing to take this little girl’s trip after he admitted that he wasn’t looking for a commitment. Well, he should have thought about that before she gave him four prime years of her life. Now, she had nothing to show for it except a broken heart and an unexpected pregnancy. Sure, she lied and told the girls that she was fine but finding out that Trevor was cheating on her before they broke up, with his now-skanky girlfriend, was a slap in the face. But this summer was supposed to help her get over all of that—she just hadn’t planned on Jude crashing her life and her bed.
When Savannah convinced her and Norah to go to the beach with her for the summer, she arranged everything including the great beach house. The only problem was the house had also been rented to three hot guys. When they decided that they could all be adults and share the rental for the summer, she never dreamed that would also mean sharing a bed with a complete stranger.
At first, she thought about sleeping on the sofa, but that lumpy old thing was so uncomfortable she gave up that plan. Jude offered to share his bed and she quickly agreed, knowing that it would be better for her back than the sofa. Her friend, Savannah, hadn’t gotten so lucky with her decision to sleep on the sofa. Her poor friend didn’t last more than a night on that thing though. It was honestly the most uncomfortable sofa on the planet.
Out of the three women, she was the first to cave and share a bed with one of the guys. She saw Jude as a nice guy—even kind of shy, and that appealed to her. He wouldn’t spend his time hitting on her and when Ginger found out that he was planning on moving to the West Coast after the summer was over, she knew that he wasn’t a threat. She had chosen the path of least desire, and that worked for her—until it didn’t.
Watching her best friend fall for Brooks during their first month at the beach had her longing for a guy in her life again. Savannah seemed so happy with Brooks and Ginger started to wonder if she’d ever find that with a guy or if she was doomed to pick the safe bets and never fall in love again.
Savannah came back to the beach house, after getting her father situated back at home after he broke his hip. Her dad convinced her to live her life and promised to be there waiting for her when her summer of fun was over. It was crazy to think that when they all went home, Savannah would be married to Brooks, and they’d be moving in together. Her father’s nurse was going to move in with him—well, not as his nurse, but as his girlfriend, and Ginger thought that was the sweetest thing she had ever heard. Watching them all make plans made her both happy for her friend and sad that she didn’t have anything to be excited about once this summer was over—well, except for the pregnancy she was hiding from everyone. She would have her baby in the new year, and if she could figure out how to tell her friends about him or her, she might find some way to be happy about the unexpected little bundle growing inside of her.
Of course, Jude could tell that she was upset about something, and when she foolishly spilled her guts to him, telling him about her whole sorted past—everything except for the truth about her being pregnant, she found herself letting him comfort her, and when she woke up the next morning naked, in Jude’s arms, she knew that she had made a mistake. She quickly extricated herself from his warm body and snuck off for the day to be alone with her thoughts. She couldn’t fall for a guy who was planning on moving across the country in just two short months. Ginger knew that going home with another broken heart wasn’t going to get her to where she wanted to be. She wanted a relationship with a man who wasn’t going to disappear or cheat on her. Jude seemed like the perfect guy, but then, she also knew that long-distance relationships never worked out. She had a baby to consider now and trying to make a relationship that was doomed from the start work, would be too time-consuming. Instead of facing the issue head-on, Ginger decided to hide out on the beach, knowing that Jude would be going fishing with Colter for most of the day. She just never counted on Savannah and Norah tracking her down in her secret spot she thought only she knew about.
“Found you,” Norah said.
“You sure did,” Ginger grumbled, “and here, I thought that I had found the perfect hiding spot.”
Savannah unloaded her arms of beach equipment into the sand. “Well, letting you hide isn’t really our jam. I mean, you two didn’t let me hide when everything was happening with Brooks last month. In fact, you made sure that I faced every single painful decision head-on. We’re just trying to return the favor.”
“Gee, thanks,” Ginger grumbled.
“So, you did the nasty with Jude,” Norah said, sitting down in her beach chair.
“Does everyone know?” Ginger groaned.
“Afraid so,” Savannah said. “From what Brooks told me, Jude is pretty into you.”
“Great,” Ginger mumbled. “It’s not a matter of us liking each other.”
“What’s the problem then? Because from what I heard, you two seemed to really click,” Norah teased.
“Shut up,” Ginger growled. She took a deep breath in and let it back out. “The problem is that he’s moving across the country once our summer is over.” There was also the problem of her being pregnant with another man’s baby, but she wasn’t ready to share that with anyone yet.
“So, have some fun with him now, while you’re both here. There’s nothing wrong with a summer fling,” Savannah insisted.
“Sure, and how is your summer fling working out with Brooks? Because I remember you saying that was all the two of you were doing and now, you two are inseparable, in love and getting married, and moving in together when we all go home. You found your happily ever after and maybe that’s what I’m looking for.”
“Who says that Jude can’t be your happily ever after?” Norah asked.
