Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
So I caved, lying next to her in bed—fuck distance—while we ate together.
“This was incredibly sweet, Brock. Thank you,” she said when she’d finished. “And it was really good, by the way. Who says the only thing you know how to make is stew?”
“Well, I’m glad you liked it.” I winked. “And no biggie. I needed a good deed of the day anyway.”
February elbowed me. “I should get sick more often.” Her smile faded.
I started to worry again about what was really going on. Something still seemed off.
“I should probably get going.” I moved off the bed.
“Please stay. I want to talk to you.”
Lying back down next to her, I said, “Okay. What’s up?”
“Did you come for any other reason than to bring me soup?”
“I’ve had a lot on my mind today, actually…”
“Like what?”
“I wondered whether I went a little too far in telling you how scared I was about my feelings for you. I don’t want to scare you.” I hesitated. “And…there’s some stuff you don’t know about my past relationship. I never explained why Nina left town. And I kind of feel like getting that off my chest for some reason.”
A look of concern crossed her face. “Why don’t you tell me now?”
“It’s not very complicated. But it’s not what people think. Everyone knows Nina left. They assume she wasn’t happy here in Meadowbrook and that she either dumped me or I drove her out of town—whatever that means.”
She chuckled. “I picture you driving her out as she sits in the cab of your big red truck.”
“Right?” I shook my head. “Ridiculous.” I sighed. “Anyway, that wasn’t it.”
“So what happened?” She rested her chin in her hand.
“Nina wanted me to make a full commitment to her. And I wasn’t ready to do that. She’d been wanting to move out of town, but that wasn’t the whole story. She’d told me she would stay if I’d commit. But I wasn’t ready—with her.”
“Well, you can’t be forced into something as important as marriage.”
“The thing is…she didn’t even want kids or a family. She just wanted to get married. It felt like more about having a ring on her finger than anything else. Something felt wrong.”
“And you don’t want to get married at all or...”
“I didn’t say that. But I knew it didn’t feel right to marry her. And when she gave me the ultimatum, it all became clear.”
She cocked her head. “So you might be open to marriage someday?”
I needed to be honest. “I’m not sure if marriage and kids are for me. I’ve always said that. But I am open to finding the right person and seeing how it plays out. I feel like what’s meant to be will happen.”
“Thank you for being open with me, Brock.” She caressed my arm.
I arched a brow. “Will you be open with me now?”
She let out a shaky breath. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know why you made up a sickness to get out of seeing me tonight.” I stared into her eyes. “You don’t look sick, Feb. You’re not sick. Am I right?”
February closed her eyes for a moment. “I am sort of sick, but not with a fever or cold.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sick to my stomach. But it’s nerves, not a virus.”
“Nerves over what?”
“I might be in trouble.” Her voice shook.
My heartbeat accelerated. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I looked at the calendar today and realized…” She hesitated.
“What?”
“I’m a week late for my period. That never happens.”
A sinking feeling developed in my stomach. My eyes widened. “You think you’re pregnant?”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t be. But I could be. It’s a remote possibility.”
This situation had gotten a hell of a lot more complicated in a matter of seconds. Are you kidding me? The timing on this…especially since I’d just admitted I might never want kids.
I rubbed my temples. “I assume you have good reason to suspect it’s possible?”
“I used protection with Tobias, if that’s what you’re asking. So it doesn’t make sense.”
“It would be his, though, right?”
She nodded. “He’s the only person I’ve been with recently, Brock.”
I let out a sigh of relief. At least there were no additional surprises.
She exhaled. “I feel terrible having to admit this to you. But I can’t lie to your face any longer. This is the reason I’ve been off today.”
“Why haven’t you taken a test?”
“I’ve been too scared to sneak out and get one. This has only been going on since this afternoon. That’s when I realized the date. Being here at Sierra has made me lose track of time.” She shook her head. “I don’t really want to know. But I need to know.”
“Well, fuck, you shouldn’t be sitting here wondering. The stress alone will kill you. Let me go out and get you a test.” The room was spinning. Who am I kidding? This was partly for me, too. I needed to know so I could move on with my life.