Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
She squeezed my hand and looked into my eyes. “I want it to be yours, Owen. Very badly.”
Me, too. “I think the biggest challenge for me is trying to stop myself from falling in love with the idea of this baby being my kid. Every time I start envisioning him or her—my baby—with your beautiful eyes, I have to stop myself from going there.” I can’t breathe.
Her lashes fluttered. “You said you weren’t sure if you wanted kids…”
“I know what I said. And I also know from watching my friends that even the most unlikely people can become great fathers. Both Colby and Holden have said becoming a dad is the best thing that ever happened to them.” I smiled. “I might not be ready, but there’s no way I won’t fall in love with my kid.”
Devyn’s eyes glistened. “What do we do, Owen? It’s going to be a while before we can find out the paternity. I left the doctor’s office in a fog the other day, so I didn’t even get a chance to speak to her about the risks of having an amniocentesis to find out about paternity. I may not know who the father is for a long time.”
There was only one choice.
“Then I say…we live life. Continue getting to know each other. Share an occasional pie.” I paused. “And generally try not to freak out. We’ll need to help each other with that.” I leaned in to kiss the top of her head. “We keep figuring out how to keep your brother and sister safe, too. And with each week, we’ll be closer to the answer.” I wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “But make no mistake, the whole time, while pretending to be calm, I’ll be wishing this baby is mine. And if it is, I’ll figure out a way to become the dad this baby deserves.”
Devyn sniffled. “What if it’s not yours?”
That was the burning question. More than anything, I wanted to give her a clear answer. But I couldn’t.
“Is it okay to admit I’m not ready to go there right now? That I don’t want to think about that?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s okay.”
“We have some time, Devyn. This is not something we have to figure out this minute.” I paused. “You know…when Ryan died, it hit us all hard. But his death taught me not to take life for granted anymore. I’m alive. I’m healthy. You’re healthy. This baby is hopefully healthy. We’re all gonna be okay. Life is a privilege, even when times are tough. It’s a privilege to experience it all—the good and the bad.”
“Losing someone so close to you puts things in perspective, huh?”
“It does. The ability to be here with you right now, to share a pie, and to ponder the fact that I could be having a child is a blessing, even if it’s not the perfect situation.”
Devyn let out a long breath. “Thank you for putting my mind at ease, even if just for today.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “What can I do for you? What do you need from me to get through this?”
“You sure you want to ask a question like that?” I asked seductively.
She raised a brow. “Loaded question?”
“Actually, I know exactly what I want.”
“What?”
“I’d love for you to be my date to Holden and Lala’s wedding next week.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
She beamed. “I would love to go.”
“Cool.” I grinned. “Then that’s what we focus on next. Let’s not worry about anything else until after the wedding.”
Devyn smiled, and I could feel her shoulders relax. “I can deal with that.”
“I get to bring a plus-one, but shhh… I won’t tell anyone it’s actually plus two.”
CHAPTER 19
Devyn
“Holy shit!” Two days later, Heath busted into my room while I was getting dressed. Getting an eyeful of me standing in my underwear, he turned around as quickly as he’d rushed in and groaned, “Is there a pain-free way to poke your own eyeballs out?”
I’d been about to put on a bra, but instead grabbed my bathrobe from the bed and wrapped it around me. “You don’t barge into a room with a closed door without knocking, Heath!”
“I’m sorry.” He kept his back to me while he spoke. “But there’s someone here.”
I pulled the tie of my robe snug. “Well, they’d better be important. And besides barging in, you need to stop with the language.”
“But this is holy shit worthy.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m decent. You can turn around.”
“I’d rather not look at you. Maybe forever.”
“Who is here, Heath? Is it CPS?”
“No. The dude from The Last Man Down is here, that movie about the fighter pilot. The freaking pilot is in our living room.”
My eyes bulged. “Robert? Robert’s here?”
“I didn’t ask his name. But he’s looking for you.”
Shit. I walked over to my brother and nudged his back. “Go put your shoes on. You need to leave for school.”