“I want more than friends, Milly.”
This was the hard part, she knew. Milly wasn’t sure she was ready for more than friends. She had so much to think about. Namely trying to figure out how to be a mom. She didn’t have the slightest idea how to be a parent. She was reading books, trying to educate herself on diapers and feedings. It was all so overwhelming. She didn’t think she’d have time for anything else.
“Can we start with friends?” she asked, staring back at him. “I just… I need to get through the pregnancy, AJ. I don’t…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
AJ’s eyes remained locked on her face. He was quiet for the longest time and she sensed some residual pain from her request. Admittedly, Milly’d had a great time with him on the ship. However, she always ended up on the bad side of the relationship and she didn’t want that with AJ. He was her child’s father. She didn’t want anything to come between him and their daughter. Certainly not her.
“We’ll take it one day at a time,” she added, hoping he would agree.
Finally, AJ nodded. “One day at a time.”
Relief swamped her.
“But I want to see you, Milly. I want to spend time with you. Doesn’t matter when or where. You just can’t shut me out anymore.”
He was right. She couldn’t. And if they were going to be friends, there was no reason she would have to. They could do this together if they put their minds to it. She didn’t have to be alone and clueless. He could be right there with her. They could learn together.
“I won’t,” she promised. “No more shutting you out.”
“Good.” AJ flopped back on the sofa, his eyes closing. “I’m gonna be a dad.”
The way he said it wasn’t negative. His words were laced with wonder. When he opened his eyes and peered over at her, she knew he was feeling the same way she had when she found out. Lost, excited, worried. They were natural emotions, she assumed.
“I didn’t grow up with a father,” AJ admitted. “He hightailed it when I was little.”
Milly frowned.
“I won’t know what to do.”
Milly’s frown flipped as she reached for his hand. “Well, I had a great dad. He’s excited, by the way. And regardless, we’ll figure it out together.”
AJ smiled and squeezed her hand. “I guess that’s the plan, then. Let’s figure this out together.”
Had it really been this easy? When Milly had talked to Gannon, she’d worked herself into a frenzy, terrified about how AJ would take the news. He didn’t deny her or the baby. In fact, she’d go so far as to say he was happy about the news.
“Does anyone else know?” he asked. “Other than your dad?”
“Just Gannon. Probably Cam since they’re married. I asked him not to say anything until I could tell you.”
“Well, I guess it’s time to tell the masses, huh?”
“What do you think Hudson will say?” she asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
Milly laughed even as tears filled her eyes.
Damn pregnancy hormones.
Eight
Time flies when you’re having fun
One month later, October
AJ sat beside Milly on her sofa while they watched Pretty Woman, a movie he never would’ve picked out if he’d had a choice. Since he left their movie nights up to Milly, he couldn’t complain.
For the past few weeks, AJ had been spending as much time with Milly as he could. He would take her to lunch on the weekends when he was in town, and he made a point to text her all the time to see how she was. She was no longer ignoring him and AJ breathed easier because of it.
Milly must’ve felt him watching her because she peeked over and smiled. Before AJ could smile back, her cell phone rang.
Hitting mute on the television, AJ waited while Milly answered the call.
“Hey, Gannon. You sad you weren’t invited to watch Pr—”
She paused and AJ assumed Gannon was saying something. When her eyes widened, her mouth falling open, his heart lurched into his chest. The thought of someone calling to give her bad news wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate. As it was, AJ was trying to keep Milly as stress free as possible.
“What do you mean Roan has a baby?” Her voice was pitched high, panic glistening in her eyes. “Cassie’s baby?”
AJ didn’t know who Cassie was.
“Oh, my God, Gannon! She’s dead? How? Why?”
Milly was silent and AJ assumed Gannon was relaying more information.
“Is Roan okay? How’s the baby?”
Once again she was silent and AJ kept his eyes on hers.
“Okay. Yeah. Sure. Tell Roan I’m here if he needs me. I’m more than willing to watch the baby if that’ll help.”
Milly hung up the phone and turned to him.
“That was Gannon. Roan’s sister’s dead.”
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah. I know.” Milly’s eyes dropped to her belly. “Apparently his sister was an addict. Roan found her in her house with a syringe in her arm.”
Fucking hell. “You mentioned a baby?”
“Yes!” Her eyes widened as they met his. “Apparently, Roan’s been taking care of his sister’s baby. And he didn’t bother to tell anyone!”
So much for keeping Milly stress free.
*
Two weeks later, Halloween
AJ sat on his front porch with Milly, waiting for the trick-or-treaters to show up. She had insisted they be there to pass out candy, and since his neighborhood would have more kids than hers, they had decided to come here.
With his heart in his throat, AJ willingly did as Milly requested, enjoying every single second he got to spend with her and, admittedly, falling more and more in love with her every damn day.
*
November
AJ had expected to spend Thanksgiving alone. He would have, too, if Milly hadn’t called, insisting that he come to her father’s house for the holiday. Apparently, Dare and Noah would be there, as well.
Since he’d already met her father once and the man hadn’t pulled a shotgun out of his closet, AJ had agreed.
Needless to say, it had been one of the best Thanksgivings he’d had in a while.
*
December
Christmas was never a big holiday for AJ. Not even before his mother had taken her own life. Having lived with a woman who was so deep in depression, AJ had come to expect her to not want to celebrate much of anything.
So, this year, after he returned from his business trip in California, AJ had expected to come home to an empty house.
He’d been surprised to find Milly there.
“I’m not much of a cook,” she admitted. “But I thought maybe we could have a little Christmas dinner of our own.”
With that simple request, AJ had fallen completely in love with the woman.
Not that he had told her.
*
January
AJ sat on Milly’s sofa, her feet in his lap. He still couldn’t believe they’d made it through the past four months since she told him she was pregnant without a single hiccup. Well, not between them, anyway. There had been quite a few road bumps for Roan as of late, but they were trying to pitch in where they could. After all, according to Milly, spending time with Liam was giving them a firsthand glimpse of what it would be like for them very soon.
As they counted down the weeks—only seven more until Milly’s due date—AJ was spending more and more time with her. They’d become friends the way Milly had requested. Completely platonic. The only intimacy they shared was when he went to her doctor’s appointments with her and that wasn’t really intimate.
He spent every Saturday night at her place watching whatever movie she wanted to watch while he rubbed her feet and her swollen ankles. Not once had AJ felt as though he was forced into this, either. In fact, he’d been the one to insist he ease as much of her discomfort as he could.
And w
ith every passing minute, AJ was falling more and more in love with the woman. He hadn’t bothered to tell her that, not wanting to scare Milly off. He knew she would run the instant she thought he was in over his head. That had happened quite a while ago, but he wasn’t going to share that, either.
So, rather than try to push things along, AJ was taking it one day at a time, enjoying every single moment, and secretly hoping that Milly was falling in love with him, too.
*
Tuesday, February 7
Milly was antsy.
She wasn’t sure if that was because AJ was so close and because he smelled so good or if there was something else at play. She enjoyed being with AJ, and she liked that he’d come over to help her babysit. Although babysit was probably a stretch for what she was doing. Considering Roan had put Liam to bed before he left, Milly was pretty much guarding the house and that was it.
“Wanna watch a movie?” AJ asked, glancing over at her.
She wondered if he could feel the tension, too. It was there every time they were together. Ever since she’d told him she was pregnant, they’d become friends.
Not more than friends.
Not friends with benefits even.
Just plain old boring friends.
Sometimes she wished for more.
That was probably her hormones talking, though.
“I don’t care,” she told him.
Before he could flip through the channels to find something to watch, there was a knock on the front door.
Milly’s gaze slammed into AJ’s. It was midnight, for goodness sake. Who in the world was showing up at Roan’s house in the middle of the night?
“Probably Cam,” AJ said, getting to his feet. “He jetted out of here so fast, probably forgot his key.”
Milly nodded, watching AJ as he walked to the door.
Damn, the guy had a nice butt.
Like, really nice.
Again, hormones talking.
AJ frowned after peering through the security hole. “It’s Roan’s dad.”
It took more than a little effort, but Milly managed to get to her feet. Being a million months pregnant was a pain in the butt.
“Want me to open it?” he whispered, his gaze imploring her.
“Yeah.” Milly had a few things she wanted to say to this man. She’d heard all about the crap he was pulling with Roan, and she didn’t much care for it.
AJ opened the door and Milly joined him, staring at the newcomers. Not only was Roan’s dad standing on the porch but Roan’s stepmonster—the nickname Milly had not-so-lovingly given the woman—was there, too.
“Roan’s not here right now,” Milly informed them. “Is everything all right?”
Daniel, Roan’s father, looked a little put out to be standing there when he should’ve been sleeping, but Milly didn’t miss the nudge Lydia gave him.
“We wanted to check on Liam,” Daniel said with a sigh.
“He’s asleep.”
“Where’s Roan?” Lydia questioned. “It’s the middle of the night. He should be home with Liam.”
“He ran an errand,” Milly lied effortlessly. “He should be back any minute now.”
“Then we’ll wait,” Lydia stated, pushing her way into the house.
No, Milly wasn’t fond of this woman. She’d met her on the day of Cassie’s funeral, and something about the woman had put her off then.
AJ placed his hand on her shoulder and gently guided Milly out of the way.
“I … uh…” Milly did not want to sit here with these people. “Why don’t I tell Roan that you stopped by?”
Lydia’s gaze dropped to Milly’s left hand, then her belly, then up to AJ.
No way could Milly resist rolling her eyes.
“Lydia,” Daniel said softly, his eyes searching the room. “I think she’s right. We should go home.”
“I need to know that Liam’s safe in this house.”
Okay, so maybe her hormones were a little out of whack from the pregnancy, but Milly did not miss the accusation in the woman’s tone.
“Liam’s perfectly safe,” Milly told her.
“I’ll check for myself.”
“Uh, no.” Milly was not going to let this woman come into Roan’s house while he wasn’t here. “He’s asleep and I don’t want him woken up.”
Lydia paused, once again glancing down at Milly’s belly.
“As a soon-to-be mother,” Lydia began, “I would think you would understand my concern.”
Milly lifted an eyebrow. “Actually, no. I don’t.”
“Is that man Roan’s dating going to come back here with him?” Lydia inquired.
“Uh…” Milly glanced over at AJ, then back to Lydia. “I’m not sure. Not that it’s any of your business. Or mine, for that matter.”
“It is if you’re at all worried about Liam.”
Okay, enough was enough. Milly was tired and she wanted to sit down. Motioning toward the door, she forced a smile. “Well, I’m happy to say that Liam’s perfectly fine. And he’s more than safe with Roan and his boyfriend.”
And yes, she added that part just to piss the woman off.
Lydia’s gaze moved to Daniel, a line forming between her eyebrows.
“If you don’t mind,” Daniel said with a huff, “we’d like to take Liam back to our house tonight. We need to talk to Roan about a few things, and we can do that when he comes to pick him up.”
Milly’s back straightened and her anger exploded.
“No. First of all, I’m babysitting for Roan. He didn’t mention you coming over at all, so I think it would be best that you leave.” She turned her attention to Daniel. “If he chooses to come talk to you and he wants to bring Liam along, he can do that tomorrow.”
“Young lady,” Daniel snarled, his hand lifting as he pointed toward the back of the house, “that is my grandson in there and I have every right to—”
“Actually, you don’t,” Milly snapped. “Go. Now.”
AJ’s warm hand curled around her waist and Milly appreciated the comfort. She could tell he was on edge, but he was doing his best to stay out of it. With him there, she felt safe. Then again, with him there, she felt a lot of things.
Lydia started to the bedroom and Milly stepped directly in front of her.
“I don’t think so.”
“I will call the police if I need to,” Lydia stated softly.
“Well, you need to,” Milly countered. “Because I am damn sure not letting you leave this house with Liam. And if you try, I’ll call the police myself. That’s kidnapping.”
The woman’s eyes grew wide. She probably wasn’t used to anyone standing up to her, but Milly wasn’t a pushover. There were a million things she wanted to say to Lydia Gregory, and she’d managed to keep her mouth shut so far. She was playing nice.
That wasn’t going to last much longer.
Nine
Their daughter is born
This wasn’t at all how AJ had expected to spend the evening.
The moment Roan’s father and his father’s wife showed up, he’d known the shit was going to hit the fan. AJ knew what was going on thanks to all the conversations taking place between Gannon and Milly these days. To make a long story short, everyone was worried about Roan. After his sister’s death, he’d taken custody of Liam. During that time, he’d been fighting his father and stepmother because they didn’t believe Roan could be a good parent because he was gay. Yep. They were stupid, but whatever.
Of course, Roan was dealing with a romantic entanglement, as well, but denying that. Hence the reason everyone was worried about him. And they had every right to be.
“I think it’s best you leave,” AJ insisted, feeling Milly’s tension rise.
“We’re not—”
“Oh, God,” Milly groaned, clutching her big, round belly. “AJ. Ugh.” She moaned loudly, holding her stomach.
AJ’s gaze shot up to Daniel. “You take your wife and go right fucking now or I’ll escort you
both to the street.”
Daniel looked almost apologetic when he nodded. His hand curled around Lydia’s arm as he led her away. AJ shut the door and turned to Milly.
“Sit down,” he ordered. “You need to relax.”
“You’re right,” she said in a pained whisper. “That’s what I need. Relax. I’ll just sit on the couch and we can watch a movie.”
He helped her to the sofa, keeping an eye on her every movement. Her forehead was creased and he suspected she wasn’t telling him everything. Of course, his heart was beating a million miles a minute. While she wasn’t due for a few more weeks…
“I’ll get you a glass of water,” he told her, not wanting her to see his concern.
“Thank you.” She leaned back against the cushions.
AJ went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass. He didn’t know his way around Roan’s house the way he did Milly’s but he figured it out quickly.
“AJ!” Milly screamed.
He dropped the glass into the sink with a loud clatter and raced into the living room. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
Milly was breathing hard, clutching her belly as she leaned over. “I’m in labor.”
Son of a bitch.
“Okay.” He thrust his hand through his hair. “All right. Well. We need to get you to the hospital.”
“You need to call Gannon.”
“Yes. I do. Wait. Why?”
“Because Liam’s here.”
Shit. Liam was there. “Right. I’ll call Gannon,” he assured her. “And then I’ll get Liam.”
“And his car seat,” Milly added.
“Yes, that, too.”
While he headed for Liam’s room, AJ reined in his panic and called Gannon. He had his phone number for exactly this reason. In case Milly went into labor when Gannon wasn’t around.
“Hey, man,” he said to Gannon when he answered. “We had a little snafu tonight.” Okay, maybe he sounded a little too carefree. “Roan’s dad and stepmonster—uh … I mean stepmom showed up. They caused a scene. Milly got a little miffed, told them off. Then, of course, she went into labor.” His voice rose on the end of the word, but he continued. “I’m grabbing Liam and his car seat, along with Milly, and we’re heading for the hospital.” AJ wasn’t sure he breathed once during that.
Clueless (Pier 70, 5) Page 6