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“Oh god,” she says under her breath. “Oh my god,” she repeats, louder this time.
“Trust me, babe. I know. It’s crazy.”
Kiara drops the cup in her hand and runs her hand through her hair. I let her stew in silence for a couple of minutes. When she’s done wrapping her head around it, she looks at me.
“When did this happen? And how? And why? I mean, I know you’ve always had feelings for him—and don’t you dare even try to deny it.”
I shrug. I’m not going to deny it. But after my conversation with Roman, I realized something important. Whatever feelings I might have had for him needed to be smothered by a pillow. And I did do that. I told myself not to care anymore. He made it pretty clear he doesn’t give a fuck about me, so I had to do the same. Now, though, I’m not sure how to feel.
“You need to tell me what happened, Lena,” Kiara says softly.
So I do. I tell her everything. How we slept together, and our subsequent conversation where he told me to never speak of it again.
“He called it a mistake,” I say flatly. “We slept together and he labelled it a mistake. What do you think he’s going to say about this baby?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Lena. Roman’s not that kind of guy. You should talk to him about it. Maybe—”
“Kiara,” I say cutting her off. “Roman’s the Don. And they’re currently at war. You expect me to just walk up to him and go, ‘Oh hey, remember that time we fucked? Yeah, well there’s a baby growing inside of me right now, surprise.’”
“You think he’s going to turn you away?”
“No,” I say firmly. “I know he won’t. He’ll take responsibility for the baby. And in doing so, I’ll upend his entire life. He just got his position, Kie. You and I both know how much trouble he’s going through to keep it. Adding a baby into the mix would be a disaster.”
Kiara sighs. I can tell she’s starting to see my point.
“Also, before I left home, they were trying to arrange a marriage for me. Our parents try to micro-manage every aspect of our lives. We’re fucking Catholic. Sure, I haven’t been to church in months, but good Catholic girls don’t get pregnant out of wedlock. It just doesn’t happen.”
This is all I’ve been able to think about since yesterday. I’ve thought of every scenario, and in each one, we’re fucked. There aren’t any other options.
“So, what’s your plan?” Kiara questions wearily. “What do you want to do?”
“I’m having this baby,” I announce. There was never any doubt as to that. “But no one can know. I can’t tell my dad or Tony and especially not Roman.”
“How’s that going to work, sweetie? You’ll start showing in a couple of months. Anyone one of them could come see you. How do you plan to hide the baby until then?”
“I already thought that out too, and I was wondering if you wanted to go back to England for a couple of months. With me,” I say nervously. “You don’t have to, but I need my best friend there. I’ll come up with a story as to why I have to leave. Maybe I’ll tell them my company transferred me there temporarily or something. But really, I’m going to quit my job and stay there for a while. Maybe an entire year.”
“Wow,” Kiara breathes. “You’ve really thought this through, huh?”
“Yep. You know me. I always have a plan. So, will you come with me?”
Kiara doesn’t think about it for long. “Of course I’m coming with you. You’re my best friend.”
I let out a soft breath of relief. “What about work, though? You just got back and I hate that you have to leave again so soon. Your parents.”
“My work is mostly remote. I don’t have to be in New York to do it. As for my parents, they’ll just have to deal with it. Honestly, I was getting a little sick of the city. And my dad’s really angry with the De Lucas right now. He says they fucked him over, gave his congressman seat to someone else. And then there’s Michael. He hasn’t been speaking to me much.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s just been keeping his distance since the whole gang war thing began. It’s pissing me off but it’s not like I’m going to confront him or anything like that. There’s nothing keeping me here,” she assures me.
One day, I’ll understand the complicated relationship between her and Michael De Luca. But that day isn’t today.
I move closer and hug her. “You’re the best. Thank you so much. I was worried I’d have to do all this on my own.”
“Never,” Kiara promises. When I pull away, she’s looking at me with a serious expression. “I have to ask, though. Are you sure you’re ready for this, sweetie? Having a child… it’s a lot.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” I admit. “But I’ve got about nine months to prepare. I have to be ready by the time my little one comes.”
