by Elena Aitken
“Real estate license?” Gwen looked from Milena up to Mitch. “Don’t tell me Milena’s been helping you with what I think she has.” Gwen almost squealed. “I mean… Are you thinking…”
Cal slapped him on the back. “Did you buy a house?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Cal shook his head and laughed. “Leave it to you to beat me to it. I was just thinking the same thing.”
“You were not.”
“How could I not? No offense, Gwen.” He smiled apologetically across the table. “But the old house is getting a little crowded. And if I’m going to be staying…it was definitely on my mind to spread out a little bit. Maybe I’ll just come bunk with you.”
“We’ll discuss it. But first, I’m going to get us a round of drinks to celebrate my new digs.”
“We were just about to celebrate as well,” Jade said. “Cal has been officially cast as Ian.”
Mitch shook his head. The whole idea of the show was still weird and took some getting used to. But it was extra weird to have his little brother playing the role of his older brother. Oh well, whatever made them happy. “Congratulations,” he said. Then, looking at Jade, he added, “Would you mind giving me a hand with the drinks?”
Jade nodded. He waited until she slid out of her seat and joined him. He didn’t say another word until he walked up to the bar and place their order with Aaron, the new guy who’d been working at the Grizzly Paw.
“A bottle of champagne, please,” he told Aaron.
“And just a glass of sparkling water for me.”
Mitch shot Jade a glance out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t say anything. Maybe it was a work thing; after all, she was technically working and it was only early afternoon.
The second Aaron had gone to fetch the bottle, Mitch turned to Jade. “I had a lot of fun yesterday. I hope you’re not too tired today.”
“I had a great day too.” For the first time since he’d walked into the Grizzly Paw, he was treated to her beautiful smile. “And I’m a little tired today, but it was totally worth it.”
It was worth it. It would be worth not sleeping ever again, if he could have that kind of fun with her every day. Not that he could say that. Instead, he said, “I’d love to do it again sometime. Or maybe even dinner? I haven’t been up to the new restaurant at the Springs resort. Have you tried it?”
“That would be nice,” she said. “It would be nice to have somebody, I mean…a friend to do things with.”
Shit. She still thought of him as a friend. Of course, that had been totally his fault. And it would be totally up to him to fix it.
“Or maybe,” he reached for her hand, taking her first two fingers lightly in his before continuing, “maybe as more than a friend?”
Right then, Aaron returned with the bottle and a tray of glasses. Mitch dropped Jade’s hand and reached for his wallet. He handed over his credit card and Aaron excused himself to run it through.
“I hope that wasn’t too forward,” Mitch said. Jade smiled, but it was tight and controlled. “Honestly, I’m just tired of pretending that I don’t really enjoy spending time with you, and more than that… Jade, I just really—”
“Can we talk later? I’d really like to talk about this tonight.”
Mitch nodded. “Okay. Of course. Maybe over dinner?”
“No. Come to my place. I’m renting a little house just off Main Street. I’ll write down the address for you.”
Mitch agreed, signed his credit card slip and carried the tray back to the table to celebrate with everyone. He probably should’ve been more concerned at whatever was hidden in Jade’s eyes, but all he could think about was having the chance to see her again. This time, alone. Where he was gonna make sure he told her exactly how he was feeling. The time for secrets was long over.
Chapter Eleven
She was just going to be honest. That was the best approach.
The truth was, Mitch needed to know about the baby. He, in fact, had a right to know. So that’s what she was going to do. She was going to tell him the truth. And as much as it hurt her heart to do it, she was going to tell him that he didn’t need to worry about a thing.
And it would hurt.
Because more than anything, what she really wanted to tell him was that not only was she pregnant with his child, she wanted to be with him. And it wasn’t an ideal situation, but…
She couldn’t do that.
He’d made it clear he only wanted to be friends. And the last thing she wanted was for him to be with her because of the baby. She didn’t need his pity.
Or anything from him.
She could do it on her own and that’s exactly what she was going to tell him.
It seemed simple enough.
Right. Simple.
Jade adjusted the throw pillows on the couch for what had to be at least the tenth time. She should have just thrown them in the closet when she’d first moved in. The rental had come fully furnished, which was exactly what she’d needed at the time. Obviously the landlord had decorated with summer guests in mind. It wasn’t that the decor was offensive in any way and truth be told, she was starting to get used to the beach-themed furnishings.
When Jade first moved in, she hadn’t cared much because the whole arrangement was meant to be temporary, but now…well, she’d have to figure out a long-term solution at some point. Maybe get some new accent pieces, a new rug, and—what was she thinking? Decorative accents should be the least of her concerns. She was going to have to start thinking about rounded corners, and cribs and childproofing. Not candles and picture frames.
She really needed to get her head in the game.
Jade forced herself to stop pacing. She stood in the middle of the little living room and took a breath. She closed her eyes and forced herself to exhale slowly using some yoga breathing technique she’d learned years ago in a class she’d taken when she thought yoga might actually be a good idea. It only took her a few classes to change her mind on that particular opinion. Yoga was most definitely not for someone who couldn’t sit still for five minutes at a time and “shut her brain off” for even thirty seconds. It made her crazy, trying to force herself to relax and inevitably she was more wound up when she left the class than when she went.
But now, the yoga breathing technique was actually coming in kind of handy.
One. Two. Three. Inhale through the nose. And… “Ommmmm.”
She focused on holding her mouth open in just the right position, and really forcing the om out on her exhale.
To Jade’s surprise, it actually felt good.
She did it again.
This time louder.
And again. And again, until part of her wanted to get down on the floor and sit in the lotus position. She might have done it too, if the knock on the door hadn’t startled her. Flustered, she smoothed her hair back, straightened her shoulders and went to let Mitch in.
Judging by the grin on his face, he’d seen her little breathing exercise through the side window. “Did I interrupt something?”
She shook her head and dropped her forehead into her hand. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Come in.” Jade waved him inside.
“I’m not.” He took a few steps in before he turned around and stopped short.
Jade almost bumped into him, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. But that was ludicrous.
She sidestepped him and walked toward the kitchen. “Can I get you a drink?”
“I’d love a beer,” he said. “If you’ve got one.”
She did. She’d bought it after their night in the boat on the Fourth of July in hopes that he might come by. There was no way she could have guessed that he’d be in her home under such circumstances.
“Of course. Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”
The moment Jade was in the kitchen, she braced herself on the counter and took deep breaths in an effort to slow her heart rate. She’d handled major diva clients who demanded everything but the moon from her in c
ontract negotiations, and they’d never put her off her game. In fact, she’d handled those very same contract negotiations without even breaking a sweat. She’d stood in front of hundreds of people to give speeches, no problem. But this?
This was threatening to become one of the hardest things she’d ever done.
You got this, Jade. No big deal. Tell him you’re pregnant and you don’t expect anything. Done. Easy.
Right. Except, despite how much she hoped that’s how the conversation would go, somehow she didn’t think it would be quite that easy.
There was no putting it off for much longer.
Jade grabbed the beer and the mug of tea she’d made for herself earlier and went back out to the living room. Mitch wasn’t sitting. Instead, he stood by the window, looking out onto the street. It was still light out and a steady stream of people made their way back from the beach to their rental homes.
He must have heard her come into the room. “It’s nice to see,” he said without turning around. “All the families spending their summers together.” She came to stand next to him and handed him the bottle. He thanked her with a tip of his head and eyed her tea questioningly but didn’t comment. “I remember those days.”
For a minute, Jade had the stupid idea that maybe Mitch actually wanted to recreate that memory with a family of his own. But as soon as the idea came into her head, she pushed it out. They weren’t going to happen. She wasn’t his type. She needed to remember that. Besides, now there was a baby to think about.
Just remembering why she’d invited him over made her stomach roll with nausea again. She took a shaky sip of her peppermint tea.
“Mitch, I need to—”
“I’m really glad you—”
They spoke at the same time.
“Sorry,” Jade said.
“No. Ladies first. What were you going to say?”
This was it. All she had to do was open her mouth and tell him the truth. Easy. She took a breath. Better to get it over with. But when she opened her mouth to blurt it out, she said instead, “Why don’t you come and sit?”
He smiled and followed her to the small couch. It wasn’t a very big living room, and there was only one other chair, but it was pushed so far into the corner it would be awkward for her to sit there. Besides, she needed the stability of the couch around her because the way she was feeling, she needed all the support she could get. Even if it was only superficial.
Even though it wasn’t ideal to be in such close proximity, Jade settled into the corner of the couch, tucking her legs in underneath her. Mitch’s knees were angled close to her. He seemed so at ease, she almost hated to ruin it.
“What were you going to say?” she asked him in a last-ditch effort to procrastinate.
He reached for her hand. “I was just going to say that it’s nice to be able to—”
“I’m pregnant!” The second the words were out, she clapped her hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m pregnant.” She whispered the words this time and opened her eyes to see him staring at her.
“But…why…how…I don’t—”
“It’s yours.”
God.
Jade had never really been one for subtlety, but even for her, this was a bit brash.
“I mean…well…” She sighed. “The baby is yours,” she repeated herself weakly. “It must have happened the night of the summer solstice festival.”
Mitch looked away and shook his head before running his hands through his hair.
“I didn’t mean to tell you like this,” Jade said quickly. “I wanted to tell you…well, I don’t really know how I wanted to tell you. But I knew I had to.”
“Um, yes.”
“I know,” she said, needing to say everything she needed to before she lost her nerve. “You have a right to know. Of course. But I want you to know that this shouldn’t change anything—”
“Fuck, Jade.” He pushed up from the couch and stalked over to the window before he turned around. “This changes everything. How could it not?”
It wasn’t going to change anything—at least not for Mitch—because she was determined not to let it. She’d made her choice. It didn’t have to change things for him.
“Because.” She kept her voice level. “Because this is my decision. My problem. And I don’t expect you to…well, I don’t want anything from you. I was only telling you because I thought it was the right thing to do and frankly, things have a way of getting out in a small town, so I wanted to be the one to tell you.”
He snorted and shook his head again. “Well, that was considerate of you.” Mitch turned and marched over to the wall. For a second, she thought he might punch it, but then he spun on his heel and stared at her, hard. “What do you mean you don’t want anything from me?”
She stood, but stayed close to the kitchen. “It means just what you think it means. I don’t expect anything from you.”
He took a few steps toward her. “This is my baby?”
She nodded.
He took a few more steps until he stood next to the couch. “And you don’t expect anything from me?”
She nodded again.
“I know you’re moving on and you don’t want to be with me. And it’s not like we were ever really together, so I don’t expect you to—”
“Dammit, Jade. Really?” She’d never heard him so angry, didn’t even know he was capable of it. But really there was so much she didn’t know about him. It was just another reason that what they were doing was the right thing. “What the hell are you thinking?”
She held up her hands in an effort to—what? Calm him? She wasn’t scared of him. Not at all. But of his reaction. He was just so angry. Not that she knew what to expect from him. A calm thank you for letting me know. Or a reasonable good luck with your decision. Or maybe even a how are you doing? But she hadn’t expected anger. Not at all.
“Mitch, it’s fine. Really.”
“No, Jade. It’s not fine. Nothing about this is fine,” he growled and then kicked the foot of the couch hard enough to move it along the floor. He turned and stormed out of her house. The mirror hanging by the window shook when he slammed the door and left her standing in the middle of the room, somehow feeling even more alone than ever before.
A baby. Seriously. A baby?
What the hell?
How could that have happened?
Hell. He knew how it could have happened. He knew all too well that the night of the summer solstice festival when he’d gotten her alone and had that first taste of her lips on his, there was no way he could have not let it happen. Especially when she wrapped her lean legs around him and kissed his neck, pressing her body into his, showing him exactly how badly she wanted it to happen too. And then when she’d whispered into his ear that she was on the Pill and they didn’t need to worry, and—
“Dammit, Mitch.” He kicked a rock on the beach. When it didn’t move far enough, he bent down, picked it up and hurled it into the lake.
He’d left his car parked in front of Jade’s house because there was no way he should be behind the wheel of a vehicle. So he’d started walking along the lakefront in the general direction of the McCormick cabin and the house he’d just bought earlier today.
Had that really only been that morning?
It seemed like a lifetime ago. But life-changing news had a way of doing that to the perspective of time.
It altered everything.
Jade was wrong. This news changed everything.
How could it not?
A baby.
He was going to be a father.
Ha. The thought made him laugh out loud. Him. A father.
But why not? It wasn’t that long ago that he’d decided to make a change and start getting real with his relationships. Start dating the right kind of girl. He laughed again. That hadn’t exactly turned out as planned.
But it didn’t matter. Did it?
Mayb
e life wasn’t supposed to turn out the way he planned it. Besides, wasn’t getting serious about having a real relationship only the first step to marriage and a family? Wasn’t that exactly what he was trying to achieve by making the decisions he’d been making all summer?
But this wasn’t his decision.
She was pregnant. They weren’t even together. And she was having a baby.
He’d gone over to her house thinking he’d finally be able to tell her how he felt and actually start a relationship with her and…this.
It was too much to think about and way too much to wrap his head around.
He threw another rock and then another, grunting with each toss. Letting his muscles feel the exertion of throwing heavier and heavier rocks into the water. It felt good because it gave him something else to focus on. He totally lost track of how long he’d been standing at the water’s edge throwing rocks, but when finally his arm grew sore, he dropped the last rock and started to walk again. It took him just over twenty minutes to get home along the water’s edge. He passed his new house. And in just a few minutes more, ended up on the beach in front of his family home.
Mitch dropped to the sand and put his head in his hands.
“Hey. Mitch? Is that you?”
He lifted his head to see a female figure walking down the stairs from the house. He lifted an arm in greeting and a moment later, Chelsea sat down next to him.
“What are you doing out here? I didn’t see your car.”
“I walked.” He dropped his head to his knees again.
“From town?”
He nodded.
“That’s a long walk.” He could hear the unasked questions in her voice, but he didn’t bother answering any of them.
“Yup,” was all he said in response.
They sat in silence for a moment. Chelsea moved her feet through the sand, burying her toes before uncovering them. Finally, she spoke again. “Mitch? Are you okay?”
He could have lied. He could have told her he was fine, everything was fine and everything would be fine, but what was the point? “No.” He lifted his head and looked at his sister. Her face was lit by the full moon. “I’m going to be a—” A thought hit him hard. He hadn’t even asked Jade how she felt. If she was scared or sick or how she was feeling or… God. He was such a dick. He shook his head again and tried again with the only information he actually knew. “Jade’s pregnant.”