Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
She’d told me clearly that she didn’t want to be more than friends, and I would respect that. Just friends with the woman who was having my kid. I knew it was for the best, though.
Shelby deserved to find an amazing man and be treated like a queen one day. I wouldn’t be that man, though.
“Hi!” Shelby beamed at me as she opened her apartment door. “Come in!”
I stomped the snow from my boots on the mat next to her door and crouched down to untie them.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
I looked up at her. “It’s colder there than here. But we won.”
“That’s great!”
Once my shoes were off, I stood up and our eyes met. She had little, if any makeup on, and her hair was up in a messy bun. Still, she was pretty. For the first time, I had a friend I found attractive.
“So I have news,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I’m pregnant.”
“What?” I grinned and opened my arms to hug her. “That’s amazing. Congratulations!”
“Thanks!” She hugged me and I picked up on a sweet scent that reminded me of a bakery. “Only you and Marlowe know, and it was so hard to wait until you got back to tell you.”
Wow. The news was hitting differently than I’d expected it too. Shelby was having my kid. Even though it wouldn’t be my kid to care for, biologically it was mine. I’d thought I’d feel like Santa Claus, giving someone an amazing gift and then peacing out on my sleigh.
Instead, I felt…weird. I couldn’t ruin Shelby’s moment by saying so, though.
“How far along?” I asked her.
“Almost six weeks.”
“And how are you feeling?”
She burst into a huge smile. “I’ve never been so happy. I can’t believe it worked on the first try. You must have potent sperm.”
“Yeah, my brother got his wife pregnant immediately both times they tried. I guess it was three times, actually. They lost one early on.”
Shelby put her hand on her stomach, which was still flat. “I kind of want to wrap myself in Bubble Wrap and never leave the apartment. I know miscarriages happen, and it’s not because of anything the mother did wrong, but it’s hard not to worry.”
“This is a time for celebrating, not worrying.”
Her expression lit up. “Which reminds me. I said I had something for you.”
She walked into the kitchen and took a white box from the table, bringing it to me.
“I made hot cross buns. To celebrate my bun in the oven. And also, cinnamon rolls.”
I grinned. “This explains why you smell so good.”
“I do?”
“Yeah, kind of like vanilla and cinnamon.”
Good enough to eat, I would have added with a wicked grin if she were any other woman I was this attracted to. Not Shelby, though. I wasn’t as emotionally checked out about her baby as I’d expected to be, and I needed to stay on good terms with her for at least the next couple of decades. Maybe I’d want to play a small role in my child’s life, if she’d let me. Even if the kid only knew me as her friend.
“I just want to go buy all the baby things,” she said, sighing wistfully. “I know I should wait, but I don’t think I can.”
“I’ll take you shopping.”
It was a terrible idea, but the offer popped out before I had time to think it through. There was a back and forth in my head between what I wanted and what was best.
“I’d take you up on that, but Marlowe and I are going shopping on Tuesday. She’s flying out Wednesday for the long weekend.”
“That’s right, Thanksgiving. Do you have plans?”
There was a flash of something in her eyes, but she covered it quickly with a smile.
“I’m taking the day off and reorganizing my closets. I’ll make soup or something. I’m not big on turkey.”
My parents hosted a huge Fox family Thanksgiving every year. With aunts, uncles, and cousins, we usually had at least twenty-five people, sometimes more. There was always way too much food and alcohol, football, and board games.
“Why don’t you come to my parents’ house with me for Thanksgiving?” I asked. “My mom puts on a big spread. It’s always a good time.”
“Oh no, I’m good. I’m used to spending holidays on my own. I don’t mind it at all.”
I couldn’t stand the thought of her cleaning out closets by herself on Thanksgiving. My family was used to me bringing teammates to holiday gatherings because they didn’t have family close by. One year, I’d brought five teammates who had put away four entire pies.
“I’ll pick you up at ten that morning if that works,” I told Shelby.
She lowered her brows. “No, I’m eating soup in my kitchen.”
“No, you’re coming with me.”
She scoffed. “Don’t be that guy, Beau. I don’t want to go to a big family thing with people I don’t know. I’d be super uncomfortable. Remember what I said—I know I’m not like other people, but I like me.”