Take Me On

A chuckle met his words. “Beautifully horny, I like that. Well, let’s see. I’m starving but I don’t really want to eat, because I’m always a little sick to my stomach. I’m really sick in the mornings, but usually by noon it’s better. My boobs are killing me.” She sighed. “As soon as I get back to Dallas, I’m going to set up an appointment with my doctor there.”

He wanted to go with her to those appointments, but she’d be a good three hours away. Shit, this was gonna be miserable. “I’d like to go with you,” he said, cautiously putting it out there.

“Really? I’m sure we could work that out if you wanted,” she said lightly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“This is just me being curious. How is it a great guy like you hasn’t met someone yet? Why hasn’t anyone snatched you up?”

“I guess you’d have to ask all the silly little girls who passed me up,” he said with a laugh, tracing the soft line of her jaw with his fingertip.

“Have you ever been serious with anyone?”

“A couple of times. Did the cohabitation thing for a while with both. Didn’t work out.”

“Were you in love?”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far. I was content.”

She was silent for a while, and he couldn’t get a good read on her. “I don’t want to be that way,” she said at last. “I think about my ex now and, you know, I think that’s all I ever would’ve been with him. Why the hell couldn’t I see that? If I’d known then what I know now, I’d have backed out of my own wedding.”

“What is it exactly that you know now?”

She traced her fingers up his forearm, her touch feather-light. “I know what you feel like. I know how you make me feel. At the same time, though… Ian, I can’t put myself in a position to get hurt like that again. I mean, I lost everything. And it wasn’t even mine. I never saw it coming even though I should have. I’ve thought ever since then I shouldn’t seriously offer myself to someone until I’m on my feet permanently. That’s going to be a while. Even longer than I’d originally thought, now that I’m pregnant.”

“Sounds smart, Gabby. Sucks for me, of course. But good for you.” It hurt to say those words. But not as much as her words had hurt him. She’d pretty much shut the door on a relationship with him or anyone else. “Do you need any help? I’ll do anything I can for you when you move.”

“I’m pretty much only taking me and my clothes. Furniture and everything I’ll get up there. Besides, what would you tell Brian?”

He hadn’t the vaguest notion what he was going to tell Brian. For all he knew, he might have to go crawling back to Marco and Kara once his boss caught wind of this.

Sighing, he buried his face in her hair. The warm, silky strands made him think of the lyrics to “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” his favorite song. He’d never thought to find that place with anyone. Now that he’d found it…he couldn’t have it.

Kelsey answered Gabby’s call with a laughed “Hello,” obviously amused by something Evan or Alex had done before she picked up. Such a sickeningly happy little family. But that was okay, because she loved them intensely. After everything they’d been through with past relationships, no one deserved happiness more than Evan and Kelsey.

“I have something to tell you,” Gabby blurted.

“Okay,” her beloved sister-in-law said, cautiously drawing out the word.

“First, if you’re in the room with my brother, I need you to leave it. He can’t know about any of this yet.”

Kelsey caught on fast that something major was up. “Sure,” she said brightly. “Hey, Alex’s cartoons are blaring. Let me go upstairs.”

She waited while Kelsey put distance between herself and Evan, listening to the phone bump along until finally a door closed. “Okay. I’m alone,” Kelsey said at last. “What’s going on?”

“Now I need you to sit down. And do not shriek.”

“Gabby! You’re scaring me.”

Freaking hormones. Somehow, the concern in Kelsey’s voice made Gabby’s eyes well. She couldn’t wait any longer to prepare her for this confession. “I’m pregnant.”

Dead silence met the announcement. So dead that she thought for a moment the call had been dropped. She checked her phone’s display. Yep, still connected. “Hello? Are you breathing? Do I need to hang up and call Evan to run up and start CPR?”

“Gabby,” Kelsey breathed, her voice barely audible. “How are you pregnant?”

It was too good to pass up. “Well, see, the man inserts his erect penis into the woman’s vagina, and—”

“I know how, you freaking idiot. I mean how, how did this… Oh my God! What man?”

“Shh! I haven’t told anyone but the man and you. I want to keep it that way for now, all right? I’m not ready for it to be out there. First I’m the dumped bride, and now I’m knocked up out of wedlock. I almost wish I could get out of here in a couple of weeks without anyone knowing.”

“You cannot do that. I’ll tell everyone before I let you do that.”

“You evil bitch.”

“Who is the father?”

“You wouldn’t know him.” Gabby pressed the heel of her free hand to her forehead. “Really. You wouldn’t.”

“Doesn’t matter. I want to know about him. You said he knows?”

“He knows. He’s, um…he’s one of Brian’s employees.”

“Gabby!”

“I know, okay?”

“Your mom told me you came home with a tattoo a while back.”

“I came home the next morning with way more than that, it seems.”

“So it was your artist? Does Brian not have…I don’t know, rules against that?”

Gabby scoffed. “Oh, please, he hooked up with Candace the first time because he gave her a tattoo. I’ll remind him of that little fact if I need to. But Ian’s worried what Brian will think about…all this. Yeah. That’s a problem.”

“I don’t even know what to say. What are you going to do?”

“What is there to do? I’m having a baby. I’ve thought of all my options. This is the only one I can live with.”

“What will you do about school?”

“I’ll just…I’ll deal with it. I’ll take a leave of absence when the time comes.” She remembered her and Ian’s conversation the night they conceived. “Take life as it comes at me.”

“Did you say the father’s name is Ian? What does he think about it?”

“I think he’s in shock. We’ve talked about it. He wants to be involved, but…I don’t know. We were only supposed to be together for one night. Now he’s someone I’ll have to deal with for the next eighteen years.”

“Oh, at least,” Kelsey said, not being helpful at all. “Do you like the guy?”

“Luckily, yes. I like him a lot. He’s…he really seems like a great person, from what I know.” She chuckled. “Damn, he’s hot. He’s literally wanna-have-his-baby hot. I think back, and it’s like, no wonder I got pregnant.”