Her gaze meets mine and she thrusts her chin up and crosses her arms. “It’s yours.”
“Bullshit.”
She flinches and her breathing grows rapid. I don’t want to scare a pregnant woman, but Goddamnit, I need the truth.
“Tell me. How pregnant are you? Or shall I get the doctor back in here?” I hold her gaze and she withers under the heat of my stare, crumbling into tears.
“Sixteen weeks.” Her hands cover her face and she plops into the chair I just vacated.
Her words fill me with joy because I won’t be tied for the rest of my life to this woman I don’t have any feelings for. Then guilt, because whoever this baby’s father is obviously is not in the picture, and the baby deserves a father. Then anger because what the fuck was she thinking trying to trap me?
I inhale a few calming breaths. “Why did you try to trap me in a lie?”
She shakes her head as though she’s unwilling to answer.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know how to reach the real father. He was a one-night stand and I didn’t get his name or anything about him. And my parents are going to kill me when they find out.” She sobs even harder into her hands.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I try to strip some of the venom from my voice just because a pregnant woman is falling apart in front of me and I don’t want to be the one to make it worse.
“I thought you might fall in love with me.” Her hands drop, pain and sadness coating her features.
I don’t know what’s happened in this girl’s life, but it’s clear she’s desperate for someone to love her. But I’m not that guy. “You have to know how ridiculous that sounds.”
She squeezes her eyes shut and nods. “I do. I was desperate to have you in my life before I told my parents, so that it wouldn’t be so bad. At least the father was standing by my side, you know? Then with any luck, you would’ve fallen for me and forgiven me once you did find out.” She breaks down into tears again.
I don’t have it in me to console her, but I do feel slightly bad for her. She must have been desperate to try to pull this off.
I let her cry for a moment longer, then yank my phone out of my pocket to check the time. “We gotta go if I’m going to drop you off before I head to city hall. Come on.”
She nods, wiping the tears and keeping her head down as she walks through the door I’ve opened.
We make it to the parking lot and into my Jeep without speaking, which suits me fine. I pull out of the spot and head to the parking gate. I reach into my back pocket for the parking ticket, but I come up empty.
“Shit.” I unbuckle my seat belt and squeeze out of the car, then I shove my hands into both my pockets. Nothing in there except my phone. “Damn it.” I check around my seat in the car to see if it fell out. Nothing. “Wait here.”
I dash from the vehicle back toward the building, putting my hand up in an I’m sorry gesture when the guy waiting behind me beeps his horn. I locate the parking office on the main floor of the building but have to wait behind an elderly lady inquiring about a monthly pass.
Damn it. I’m never going to make it to that meeting on time if I don’t get out of here right now.
“Can I help you?” the person working there finally asks me a few minutes later as the old lady shuffles out.
It takes almost five minutes for me to pay and get another pass that will lift the bar for me, but once I have the new ticket, I run back out to my Jeep. The line has grown five cars deep and they’re all looking at me as though I’m the world’s biggest asshole as I climb back into my Jeep. I feed the piece of paper into the machine and the parking gate lifts.
“You’re going to have to come with me to the city hall meeting. I’ll drop you off after.”
Annabelle nods, not saying anything.
The last thing I want to do is spend any more time with this woman, but I can’t be late. Not only is this meeting the key to getting what I want out of life, but it might be my opportunity to speak to Fiona, if she’s even there.
I arrive at city hall with ten minutes to spare, thanks to green lights the entire way. I don’t wait for Annabelle to keep up with me. Instead, I rush inside and find Jacques pacing in the hallway outside the doors that lead to the council chambers.
“I’m here!” I call.
He looks up from the floor with relief, but it doesn’t last long. His next expression is worry. “You’re almost late.”
“Sorry, I got caught up with something.”
“What is she doing here?” He nods behind me.
I turn to see Annabelle making her way down the hallway. “Long story.” I push my hand through my hair.
“Hi, Jacques,” Annabelle says when she reaches us.
“Hi.” He frowns.
I don’t think I’ve seen him this stressed before. It’s understandable, I suppose, but I’m surprised he’s letting it affect him outwardly this much.
“So how does this work?” I rub my hands together in front of me.
“We’ll each have a turn to say our piece, and at the end, council will put it to a vote. I can’t believe we’re having to deal with this bullshit because some damn do-gooders with rose-colored glasses want to preserve a building that’s in shambles.”
“Isn’t that your girlfriend?” Annabelle says out of nowhere.
My stomach introduces itself to the floor. “Where?”
She nods, indicating behind me. I turn, sucking in a breath when I spot Fiona walking down the hallway with an Asian woman about her age. Her friend carries a folder full of papers, and they’re both dressed professionally, Fiona wearing a pair of black pants and a sleeveless light blue blouse.
It takes me a minute to feel my heart beat again. My eyes are starved for the sight of her, and they soak her in. But her steps falter for a second when she notices me. She recovers quickly though and meets my gaze. It feels like a crime that I can’t tell what she’s thinking. Her face is expressionless, so I have no idea whether she’s happy to see me or if finding me standing here is her worst nightmare.
“Your girlfriend is the person who submitted the motion to council?” Jacques seethes.
Hmm. Okay, this is probably my worst nightmare.
Forty-Five
Fiona
I’m going to throw up. I wasn’t this nervous when I met my dad. Seeing Keane for the first time in weeks makes me jittery inside, and when I recognize Annabelle standing beside him, I want to turn and run.
What does it mean that he’s here with her? Did he get together with her?
No. It doesn’t matter. I’m here to do one job, and whatever is or isn’t going on with that situation doesn’t matter. If only for myself.
I’ve realized that in my efforts to make the world a better place, I’ve sometimes done that at the expense of the people who exist within my own world—the people I love. They should be my first priority, then the rest of the world. Because if I can’t make them feel valued and loved, what really is the point?
I’ve already explained the situation to Emily. She’s disappointed but understands.
“Your girlfriend is the person who submitted the petition to council?” I overhear who I assume is Keane’s boss, Jacques, say as we approach.
Keane pulls at the collar of his shirt while his wide eyes take me in. He looks happy to see me, but he also looks nervous as hell.
“I’ll see you in there,” I say to Emily, and she nods and heads through the double doors.
“Technically—” Keane starts, but I cut him off.
“I’m not the one who put the petition in front of the council, but I support it. I think we need to work harder to preserve our city and stop the gentrification of entire cities.”
Jacques steps forward with his finger pointed at me. “Listen here, you can’t stand in the way of capitalism. Do you have any idea how overbudget we’re going to be if we have to refurbish what’s there?”
“Hey, hey.” Keane grips Jacques by the shoulder and pul
ls him back.
My heart swells with hope.
Jacques turns in Keane’s direction. “You expect me to stand here and listen to this bullshit? And why haven’t you mentioned that your girlfriend is involved in this? You should have put a stop to this before it ever got this far.”
A line forms between Keane’s eyebrows as anger flashes in his eyes. “I have no control over what Fiona does, and F-Y-I, she’s entitled to her own feelings about anything she wants. Just because we’re together doesn’t give me authority over what she can and can’t do.” He speaks the words so passionately that I believe them.
At the same time, I feel bad. I didn’t come here to cause problems between him and his boss. Quite the opposite actually. “Keane, I—”
“You need to make a choice,” Jacques says, crossing his arms over his barrel chest and stepping closer to Keane.
“A choice?” Keane asks.
Annabelle seems to enjoy the show, but she remains silent, much to my surprise.
“Her or the restaurant. You can’t have one foot on each side. I need to know you’re committed to this endeavor.”
Keane’s head rears back. “Are you serious right now?”
“Entirely. I won’t partner with someone I can’t trust.”
Keane shakes his head. “Wow.”
No, no, no. I did not come here to ruin this for Keane.
“Keane.” I tug the sleeve of his shirt, but he waves me off.
“Since when can’t you trust me? Just because my girlfriend has a different opinion on something? Do you know how much I’ve busted my ass to make this happen?”
“You clearly don’t have your head on straight if you’re willing to let this opportunity pass you by because of some girl.”
Keane’s head tilts as he contemplates Jacques words. “It’s really no choice at all. The day this woman agreed to be mine was the best day of my life. So if you’re telling me it’s one or the other, it’s going to be Fiona. Always.”
I press my hand to my chest, overcome with emotion. Keane’s gaze meets mine and I hope he sees how much his words mean to me. At the same time, I feel terrible and partially responsible for blowing up his career.
“If that’s how you want it to be.” Jacques nods and lets his hands drop to his sides. “You can gather your things from the restaurant after you leave here.”
Keane waits a moment, then nods.
Jacques storms into council chambers. Annabelle looks between us and him, choosing to follow Jacques, calling his name.
“Guess she’s on to looking for her next baby daddy,” Keane grumbles.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not the baby’s father. Annabelle admitted it to me earlier today.”
A rush of relief rolls over me like a rising tide. “Oh, thank God.” I bring my hand to my mouth. “I mean, if you think that’s good.”
Keane chuckles. “Definitely good.”
“Yeah.” We stand in awkward silence before I speak. “I didn’t come here to blow up your career. I feel terrible. Maybe you should go in there and apologize, see if you can keep your job and your buy-in to the restaurant.”
He’s shaking his head before I’m done speaking. “I meant what I said. I would always choose you.” He steps forward so there are only inches between us. “I’m sorry for the things I said that day that we fought.”
“Me too. That’s what I came here to tell you. There was a lot of truth in what you said about my dad. Besides, I should’ve backed down from the project and let Emily handle it regardless of how I felt. It was something that was going to hurt you personally. And now look what’s happened.” I motion in the direction Jacques went.
“No.” Keane shakes his head. “It’s who you are. And I love who you are.”
My breathing hitches.
“I love you, Fiona.” He steps into me and wraps his arms around me.
Being back in this place with him, surrounded by his heat and strength, feels so good.
“I love you, too,” I whisper. “That’s the other thing I wanted to tell you.”
“That’s all I need to make me a happy man.” He cups my face and places his lips on mine in a slow, tender kiss that thickens my blood and turns it into lava in my veins.
I never want to let go, so when he pulls away, I whimper at the loss. “What will you do now?”
He shrugs. “I’ve had some other ideas kicking around my head for a while actually. Might have to explore one of them. Either that, or I’ll get a job elsewhere. I’m confident it will all work out.”
“I hope so.” Wrapping my arms around his waist, I squeeze tightly.
“You ready to head back to my place?” he asks into my hair at the top of my head.
I pull away and give him a questioning look.
“I hear make-up sex is the best.” He grins and winks.
“By all means, let’s find out.”
After a night of making love over and over, I can report back that make-up sex is indeed pretty damn terrific.
Epilogue
Six Weeks Later…
Fiona
I glance out the window and spot Keane parking his Vegan Delights food truck in the apartment’s parking lot in the far corner where Mrs. Davenport said he could park it.
After quitting his job at the restaurant, Keane decided to use the money he had saved and that he’d received from insurance to purchase a food truck and get his business off the ground. He saw an opening for a vegan food truck to make a profit and has capitalized on the idea. He’s open for breakfast and lunch every day in Food Truck Alley downtown, and so far, it’s been a success. He’s not a vegan himself, but he still enjoys figuring out new vegan dishes—much to the enjoyment of his customers and myself.
I’ve just finished writing a letter similar to the one I found in my bedroom. Jemma told me she did that, and I felt inspired to pass on whatever magic I could to someone else—real or not.
Now I just have to decide where to hide it. I glance around the room. Because it’s an old building, our apartment has high ceilings and crown moldings. There’s a crack under one section of crown molding and it looks as though I might be able to fold and push my single piece of paper in there.
I head down the hall to grab the ladder and bring it back to the living room, where I position it under the crack. The apartment door opens behind me, and Keane tosses his keys in the bowl on the entry table near the door.
“What are you doing?” he asks, coming behind me and placing a kiss on my skin where my neck meets my shoulder.
I look at him over my shoulder. “Trying to put this letter in that crack up there.” I point at exactly where I’m talking about.
He chuckles. “Should I ask what this is about?”
“I wanted to write a letter for someone else like the one I found.”
“Ah, okay. Want me to do it?”
“That’d be great.” I step back and pass him the folded piece of paper.
He climbs the ladder and slides the letter through the crack. It goes through easily.
“Perfect. Thanks.” I smile at him as he steps off the ladder. “How was work?”
“Another day in paradise.” He steps into me and wraps his arms around me, squeezing my ass in his hands.
“Are you sure you don’t miss your old job?” It’s something I worry about. The last thing I could handle is if he resents me down the road.
He gives me an indulgent smile. “I told you before that I’m happy doing what I’m doing now. It’s not how I originally pictured having my own business, but it works. I find inspiration in the food I’m creating. I don’t have a bunch of different employees to worry about, my overhead is low, and it lets me be home with you every night.”
I wrap my arms around him and squeeze. I’m back to working days at the shelter because Jerica’s mom finished her treatments and is doing well. It is nice to spend every night with my boyfriend, rather than only seeing him on weekends, which would’ve
been the case if he’d still been working at Chez Jacques.
“Are you excited for tonight?” he asks, nuzzling into my neck.
Tonight is the big gala for my work. I’ve invited all my friends to join us, and it should be a lot of fun.
There’s only one downside to tonight and that’s seeing Adam from the The Grocer’s Mart. Keane and I were shopping there a few weeks ago and Adam’s smiling and contagiously happy mood soured fast upon seeing Keane put his arm on the small of my back. When I introduced him as my boyfriend, the small smile Adam did still bear fell faster. But they gave the entire twenty-five thousand to the shelter, which means the world, and during the pick up of almost-expired food, Adam’s been friendly. I just hate if I somehow gave him the wrong idea.
“Excited and nervous. It should be a good night.”
“It’ll be amazing.” He tucks a stray hair behind my ear.
“We should start getting ready.”
“I was hoping to ravish you first.” His eyes are needy and heat pools between my thighs.
Before I respond, John Mayer’s “In Repair” plays from my phone on the coffee table.
“That’s my dad,” I say.
He nods, maintaining eye contact.
“I can call him back later,” I say.
My dad and I try to get together every couple of weeks to share lunch. There’s still a lot of work needed to repair our relationship, but I no longer feel gutted every time he calls. I feel confident that we’ll get there. Maybe not back to the way it was before, but some new version of a father/daughter relationship.
Keane nods and grins. “So are you prepared to be ravished?”
I chuckle. “Totally and completely. Do your worst.”
He kisses me, slowly and thoroughly.
The door to the apartment whips open behind me.
“Ugh, seriously, take it to your bedroom,” Marlowe says.
Keane gave up his apartment and lives with us now. Technically he has his own bedroom, but he never sleeps in it, instead spending every night in my bed.
I face my friend and see something is bothering her. “Are you okay?”
Three's A Crowd: A Best Friend's Older Brother Rom Com (Love in Apartment #3B Book 2) Page 22