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"Fine, well, dinner when you get home?"
"Sure, I'll call you." I tried to be noncommittal, but she wasn't going to let this go. At least it was dinner. I could probably hide my pregnancy from her for a while longer, right? I needed to figure out what was happening between True and me before I told them. We needed to be on more solid ground than we were now when we faced the inquisition that was my parents. They'd spent months lecturing me when I'd secretly chosen to attend MIT instead of Harvard, and that was just my education. Bringing a whole person into the world? I doubted I'd ever hear the end of it.
"Fine, we'll talk soon." Disapproval dripped from her voice, and I rolled my eyes.
"Okay, mom. Bye." I tossed my phone back in my bag, regretting bringing it with me in the first place.
True sat nearby, waxing his surfboard. "Everything okay?"
I blew out a breath. "No? I don't know. It just hit me. I have to tell my parents about the baby. They're going to make my life a living hell with all of their disappointment and criticism. I don't know if I can handle it."
He came over and sat down beside me, pulling me into his arms. "I'll be there with you, and it'll be fine. You're an adult. If they get too upset, we leave. It's that simple."
I sniffled, my eyes pricking with unshed tears. "Are you sure? You don't have to come with me. I don't expect you to."
He tilted my chin up, so I was looking into his deep blue eyes. "Amara. I'm not letting anything happen to you or our baby, not even the stress of dealing with your parents alone. Eventually, you'll believe me, but you're not going through this alone. I'll be by your side from now on." He held out his pinky to me.
I laughed through the tears now running down my face and wrapped my pinky around his. "I'll hold you to that."
"Good," he said before pressing his lips to my forehead and going back to his board. I felt a little like I was floating. Was this really my life? My heart definitely wasn't safe. Every word out of True's mouth, but more importantly, every action he took showed me he would do whatever he had to to take care of our baby and me.
I lowered my hand to rest on my still flat stomach gently. "You got so lucky, little P," I whispered. "You've got the best daddy in the whole world. We already love you so much."
True lifted his gaze from his board and smiled at me before turning back around. We could make this work, right? There was only one way to find out. We deserved to give ourselves a chance at being a family. If I got hurt in the process, it'd be worth it. He'd be worth the risk.
"Ready to learn the basics?" True asked, holding out his hand to help me up off the sand.
"Let's do this," I said, the double meaning not lost on me.
Surfing with Amara was an experience I’d never forget, but it wore her out. She told me growing a baby was hard work, and I believed her. Tonight we’d be having dinner with all of our friends. Since Zen and Kennedy’d gotten married, we’d had weekly dinners, and anyone who was in town would come. Amara wasn’t usually around, so I was looking forward to having everyone together tonight.
I walked into the kitchen, giving Amara space to nap. I wasn’t leaving the house because she might need me, but I’d hang out downstairs while she slept. Kennedy was making herself some tea.
“Can I make you some?” she asked, holding up the whistling kettle.
“Sure, thanks.” I was more of an iced tea kind of guy, but what the hell.
I pulled out the stool at the kitchen island and sat down. “Where’s Z?”
A small smile passed over Kennedy’s face. “Out for a run. He says the sand makes it harder, and he likes the challenge. I don’t know how he does it. Running sucks balls.”
I chuckled. Kennedy was always saying shit like that. It seemed out of character for her, this put together, tall model-like blonde woman with huge blue eyes. She looked completely classic and innocent at the same time. Yet, she’d always say things out of left field like “sucks balls” or like last week when we were in the car, and she called someone a “pirate hooker” for cutting her off. She kept Zen on his toes, and I loved her for it.
“Yeah, it’s not my favorite either.” I blew across the steaming surface of my tea in an attempt to cool it down.
“Are we going to talk about it?” she asked.
“Should I pretend I don’t know what you mean and ask ‘about what’? Or should we just skip all that and get straight to it?”
She grinned. “Just this once, let’s skip it, mmkay?”
“Sure.”
She tapped her fingers on the counter, her blue eyes boring straight into my skull as if she could extract my thoughts with her mind powers or something.
“I’m actually really excited. I know Amara’s pretty confused and freaked out and understandably so. We don’t have all the answers or know how everything’s going to work out, but I’m happy to try.”
She studied me for a second before her lips lifted in a smile. “I’m glad to hear you say that, True. I’ve told Amara a thousand times what a great guy you are deep down. When I first met you, I thought your goodness was deep, deep down,” she laughed. “But that’s not the case. You’re a catch, and she’d be lucky to have you.”
