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“I do, but I always figured I wouldn’t take care of them well enough, and besides, having animals near the pub would be a recipe for disaster in terms of hygiene and food safety.” He cleared his throat and cupped the coffee between his palms. “Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk about pets. I wanted to say that I’m sorry about the other day. I reacted badly and accused you of something I know you’d never do.”
“You were shocked.” As was she, by his apology. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been though. He was a decent man. But she’d understood how much her news had rocked his world, and he was entitled to lose his shit for a while. Even if she didn’t like the things he’d said.
“That’s no excuse.” His expression was sheepish. “I hope you know I really don’t believe you tricked me.”
“I do.”
“Good.” He nodded to himself, gnawing on his lower lip. “Look, we have a lot to work out, but I’ll support you and I want to be involved in raising our baby.”
Something inside her eased. A tension she hadn’t even known she was holding. It felt like taking a deep breath after days of surviving on shallow gasps.
“Thank God.”
His lips twitched. “Glad to know you had faith in me.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not every day you have to tell a guy you’re pregnant with his baby. I have no experience with it, so how should I know how you’re going to respond?”
His eyes warmed. “I know, and I’m sorry you went through that on your own. It’s crap that men get to go on with their lives while women are left to deal with the rollercoaster of figuring out they’re pregnant on their own.”
“Right?” Not that this was a common occurrence for her, but it would be nice if, for once, it was the man who had to feel sick and get hormonal crying jags and figure out how to tell some poor woman he’d slept with once that they were having a baby together.
He flashed her a grin. “I’ll do whatever I can from now on, but I’m a complete beginner as far as pregnant women go, so you’ll probably have to tell me what you need.”
“I can do that.” Did that mean he was planning to be there for her, as well as for their baby? Because a lot of men would probably assume they had no responsibility until the baby was born. Then again, Logan had been raised by a single mum, so perhaps that affected his attitude. It certainly couldn’t be because he was interested in her. After all, they’d slept together several times over the years and he’d never given any indication he wanted her for more than that.
“I have no doubt.” He winked. “You haven’t had any trouble telling me your opinion before.”
Despite herself, she laughed. If Logan was one thing, it was entertaining. Infuriating sometimes, but always entertaining.
“I’m going to start dinner soon,” she said. “Why don’t you stay and we can talk?”
He stood. “I’ll help cook.”
She waved him down. “Finish your drink first.”
She could use the delay. For all the thinking she’d been doing over the past few days, they still had a lot to discuss and there was no need to rush. It would be better if they took their time and thought everything through properly. Since Logan was impulsive, she’d have to be the one to make sure they didn’t end up in a mess. She also needed to remember that anything he promised now might go up in smoke as soon as he was faced with the reality of a baby. She could hope for the best, but she needed to prepare for the worst.
10
Logan was metaphorically shitting himself.It was Easter weekend, a little more than a week after Gabby had told him they were expecting a baby, and they were visiting Shane and Faith to break the news. For the first time he could recall, he’d canceled poker last night. He couldn’t stomach the idea of spending the evening with Shane when he’d agreed not to confess anything until he and Gabby could do it together. It would have felt too much like lying, even if it was a lie of omission, and Logan may not be boyfriend material, but he liked to think that when push came to shove, he was a good friend. He certainly hadn’t been that to Shane.
“Are you sure we should have brought the Easter eggs?” he asked Gabby, who was riding shotgun while he drove them to Shane’s home a couple of blocks away from the beach.
“Yes.” She awkwardly patted his hand where it rested on the steering wheel. “This way, Hunter and Dylan are distracted and hopefully the fact they’re happy will put Shane in a good mood.”
“Unless they end up with a sugar high he has to deal with later,” Logan grumbled. Giving kids treats was always a risk. He generally did it anyway because he loved to see their big smiles and he found it funny as hell when their parents had to deal with the fallout. Nowhe’dbe the one dealing with the fallout. He winced. No doubt his friends with kids would be paying him back for that as soon as they could, and he’d deserve it. He’d been an irresponsible ass.
“He’s going to be furious,” he muttered. His heart felt like it was hammering out the William Tell Overture, and as he parked outside their house, he was slightly lightheaded. What if he lost Shane’s friendship? He should never have been so cavalier and assumed that his bad behavior wouldn’t catch up with him. Shane was one of his favorite people. Steady, reliable, kind. All things Logan wasn’t.
Shit.
“Just breathe,” Gabby said, twisting to face him. “In and out. It’s going to be fine.”
She was full of positivity for someone who looked even paler than usual. Maybe she’d been throwing up again. She’d shared with him during their dinner last Sunday that she’d been struggling with morning sickness. He hated that she had to deal with feeling physically awful on top of the emotional stuff they were going through. He’d read up on morning sickness after he left, to see if there was any way he could help, but it seemed like she was doing most things right and he just needed to be there for her. Not that she’d tried to lean on him at all. He’d told her to call for anything she needed, but so far, she hadn’t asked anything of him. He wished she would, so he’d feel like he was contributing.
“Logan?” she prompted. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He pushed the car door open. “Let’s get this over with.”
