by Noelle Adams
“Excuse me?”
“There’s a great diner around the corner. It’s a lot cleaner than this office, and we can walk there. What do you say?”
“I should probably go.”
Hell no. Carter certainly wasn’t a genius, but even he knew if she left right now, she wasn’t going to come back again, and she definitely wouldn’t make it easy for him to try to be involved in this pregnancy or in his baby’s life.
“Daisy, we really need to talk about this. If you want, I’ll get Chris and Heather on the phone right now to vouch for me,” he pleaded, desperation starting to sink in. “We haven’t discussed anything beyond your taking a shit-ton of pregnancy tests.”
“But I told you I don’t expect anything from you. I have a good job and… and I have a great group of friends, and my family lives close by so…”
Shaking his head, he raked a hand through his hair in frustration. “So if you essentially are just going to write me off, why even bother to come here?” he demanded, hating the fact that he was starting to freak out. “If you’re so hell-bent on doing this on your own, why not wait until the baby was born and send me a damn birth announcement?” His voice grew louder, and he saw her wince, and he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“That wouldn’t be right. I wanted you to know. You deserve to know!”
“Why? If you’re going to stand here and tell me how you don’t need me—and believe me, angel, I can tell that you don’t want me to be involved—what was the point?”
She sighed as she looked up at him, and he could tell that maybe she hadn’t thought this through all the way.
“Can we please just go someplace and talk for a little bit? I swear, I… It’s not my intention to argue with you.”
“You could have fooled me,” she murmured, and Carter almost laughed at her snarky tone.
“This diner makes the best milkshakes,” he said, hoping to convince her to go with him. He remembered them talking about favorite desserts at the wedding, and milkshakes was definitely in her top two, she had said. “They have about a dozen different flavors.”
Daisy seemed to perk up, and that was when he knew he had her. She’d at least give him the time to talk over a milkshake.
How sad that he had to resort to bribery by ice cream to convince a woman to talk to him.
“Okay,” she finally said.
Carter didn’t give her a chance to think about it. He immediately pulled open the door and stepped out.
He waved to Kirk. “I’ll be back in a bit,” was all he said as he led Daisy through the garage and out to the sidewalk.
The huge mastiff was sitting exactly where they’d left him a little while ago. Carter smiled as Daisy gave the dog a wide berth to get around him.
“I told you he’s harmless,” Carter said conversationally. “He’s been sniffing around for a while, and I thought he belonged to someone, but considering he’s here every morning when I arrive and every night when I leave, I kind of gave up on that theory.”
“How could someone just abandon him?” she asked, and her voice was soft and laced with concern. “That’s just cruel.”
“He’s a big dog. For all we know his owner wasn’t prepared for him to grow to be quite that big.”
“There are other ways to go rather than just dumping an animal on the street.”
“He could be a runaway,” Carter suggested.
“Has anyone put up posters?” she asked. “Have you seen any around?”
He shook his head. Honestly, he hadn’t been looking, but this was a safe conversation for the time being. For the remainder of the walk, they talked about dogs and how people could be so mean for abandoning them.
Ironic, he thought, considering how she was basically asking him to abandon their baby. Granted, that might be an overdramatization, but it still kind of felt that way.
His mother had abandoned him.
He wasn’t like his mother.
The diner wasn’t crowded, and Carter knew everyone who worked there. They received some curious looks, but he waved to the owners—an older married couple, George and Roberta—and led Daisy to a booth in the back corner. Immediately their order was taken, and once they were alone, he knew they had procrastinated long enough.
“So,” he began.
“So…”
He smiled, wanting nothing more than to put her mind at ease. The urge to take her hand in his was strong, but he wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do right now.
So he did it anyway.
Stroking his thumb over her knuckles, he began to carefully plead his case. “Daisy, I know this is all a little crazy and unconventional. I realize we barely know each other, but… I want you to know that I want to be there. For you and the baby.”
There was a flash of panic in her eyes, but luckily it went away quickly. She fidgeted in her seat and looked at their joined hands before meeting his gaze.
And damn. Those green eyes got him every time.
“Why?” she asked, her voice so low that he could barely hear her.
“Uh, excuse me?”
Her voice stronger, she asked, “I mean, why? We both know how this happened. I’m clearly not the kind of woman you would normally date, and I’m offering to let you off the hook. Why wouldn’t you just take it?”
He wasn’t sure which part of that question pissed him off more.
“First of all, it happened because we were incredibly attracted to each other. We had a great time at the wedding long before we took it to the back room.” Daisy tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her. “If you remember correctly, we had quite a few things in common, and we laughed and got along just fine.”
“That’s not enough reason to—”
“And how do you know what kind of woman I usually date?” he interrupted. “You have no idea. For all you know, the cute librarian thing is my type.”
“How did you… I mean… I’m a…”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “You’re not the only one who had a conversation with one of the newlyweds.”
With her head tilted, she frowned at him. “Why? Why would you talk to them about me?”
A low growl of frustration was out before he could stop it. “Because I wanted to see you again,” he said, louder than he intended. They both glanced around to see if people were looking at them, but luckily, no one was. “When I came to town yesterday, it was you I was hoping to see. It was something I’ve been thinking about, but yesterday was the first time I had the guts to do it. It wasn’t until I got to Preston that I realized I had no way of knowing where to find you. That’s when I went to see Chris.”
“Oh.”
“Here you go,” Roberta said, placing their milkshakes down in front of them with a smile. “Enjoy!”
For the first time since she showed up at the garage, Daisy’s color was back, and she looked at her milkshake with a smile and immediately reached for it and took her first taste.
“Darn, that’s good,” she said, eyes closed, lips still smiling.
Darn? he thought. Clearly there were a few more differences to them than he’d believed.
Taking a sip of his own mint-chocolate shake, he sighed with appreciation. “I’m telling you, these are the best in the city, if not the county.”
“I can believe it,” she said, and Carter chuckled when he realized more than a third of her drink was gone.
For a few minutes, they seemed happy to turn the conversation toward ice cream and diners and other innocuous topics. It wasn’t until Roberta came back and took their glasses that Carter knew their time was up. She was going to find an excuse to leave, and there was no way he could let that happen without getting her to agree to let him in.
“Can I ask a favor?” he said.
She eyed him warily. “O…kay.”
“Just don’t shut me out, Daisy. Please. Just call me. Let me know how your first doctor’s appointment goes. Will you do that?”
“Carter…�
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He took her hand in his again. “I’m not asking for anything beyond a phone call right now. Please.”
There was a lot more he wanted to ask for, but he figured out the key to this whole thing was that he was going to have to take it one step at a time. If he could convince her to call him after the doctor’s appointment, then he could possibly get her to agree to do it after each of the appointments. Maybe the more she got to know him, the more comfortable she’d get to be around him, and she’d see that he really was serious. He wanted to be in the lives of both her and their baby.
Reaching behind him with his free hand, Carter took out his wallet, fished out a business card, slid it across the table toward her.
“That’s the business line on the left and my cell number on the right. This way you can reach me at any time, day or night.”
“I’m pretty sure the appointment will be during the day,” she said, examining the card.
She had a spunky and a bit of a sarcastic sense of humor, he realized, and wondered if she was even aware of it.
“Well, just in case the appointment was late in the day and you couldn’t reach me at the shop, you can call my cell.”
“Carter—”
“It’s just a phone call to let me know everything’s okay with the two of you,” he said quickly. “That’s all I’m asking for.”
“All right,” she finally said. “That’s reasonable. I’ll call. I don’t know about anything else yet though. You have to respect that.”
“You have my word,” he said.
And he would respect that.
But he also knew that the next time they spoke, he was going to do his best to convince her to let him come and see her or even join her for the next appointment.
Smiling, he stood and helped her up. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your car.”
Five
Two months later, Daisy was sitting with her parents on the patio of a little sandwich shop in downtown Preston.
She’d already eaten a turkey club, her pasta salad, half her mother’s chips, and three pickles. She was debating between cherry pie and a triple-chocolate brownie for dessert.
She’d entered the second trimester of her pregnancy now, and the morning sickness was starting to get better. She was feeling great today, and she was excited after her doctor’s visit that morning.
She’d gone to the doctor with Chloe, but she’d met her parents for lunch afterward to talk about it.
“Did you want something else?” her mother asked, staring down at Daisy’s empty plate with round eyes.
“Don’t you want dessert?” Daisy was already waving for the server to come back over to their table.
“I’m full, dear, but get something if you want.”
Daisy glanced over at her father, who was obviously hiding a smile. “I’ll get a piece of cheesecake, just to keep you company,” he said.
Pleased with this offer, Daisy ordered the brownie for herself and the cheesecake for her father.
“Isn’t it a little early for food cravings?” her mother asked, her eyes still wide and her brows arched high.
“I’m not having food cravings. I want perfectly normal food. I’m just hungry.” Daisy paused, giggling as she’d thought about how much she’d eaten for lunch. The doctor had said her weight was right on target for this point of pregnancy—maybe because she’d thrown up half what she’d eaten in the first few months—so she wasn’t particularly worried about eating more than normal. “I’m eating for two, after all.”
Her mother’s face softened into a smile. “I know, dear. I wish I could have heard the heartbeat too.”
Daisy couldn’t seem to stop grinning. “It was so amazing! I can’t believe there’s a little heart beating in there.” She patted her stomach, trying to imagine what the little person inside her would be like when he or she was born.
As the weeks had passed since she’d found out her condition, she’d gotten more and more used to the idea and consequently more and more excited.
She’d always wanted to have babies, and just because this had happened in a way she’d never expected, it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be happy about it.
“Let me see my little grandbaby again,” her mother said, leaning over to where Daisy had laid the sonogram image on the table.
Daisy handed her mother the sonogram and watched her mother’s face as she gazed down at the image.
Her parents had really been amazing about this whole situation. They’d predictably been shocked when she’d first told them, and she knew they were probably a little disappointed with the choices she’d made that had led her here. But they’d never expressed that disapproval to her in any way. They hadn’t given her any lectures or sermons or sad, worried looks as she’d feared they would. They’d been matter-of-fact about the circumstances of the pregnancy, genuinely supportive, and openly excited about their first grandchild.
They were really good parents to have.
Daisy was about to say something that might have been slightly sappy when a noise from the road distracted her.
She glanced over at the approaching engine roar and then grew very still as she discovered the sound was originating from a large motorcycle coming down Main Street.
She recognized the man—the dark hair, the leather jacket, the rough, overall appearance.
Carter.
On his motorcycle, driving through Preston’s pretty, quiet downtown street. Making everyone stare.
Including her parents.
They hadn’t met Carter yet, and she wasn’t looking forward to it happening anytime soon.
She might like the look of him—and like the sound and feel of him too—but her parents and everyone she knew in Preston were going to be shocked and concerned about the kind of man he was.
Daisy herself hadn’t seen Carter since she’d gone to his garage in Norfolk to tell him about the pregnancy. She’d called him three times—once after her first doctor’s appointment, and then again after the next two. She’d been planning to call him again tonight to tell him about her visit this morning, and she never would have expected to see him making an appearance like this.
He must have spotted her on the patio. He pulled over to the curb, turned off the engine, and stood up. He took off his helmet and looked in her direction.
He didn’t approach. He was obviously waiting to see what she would do.
“Oh dear,” her mother said in a hushed voice. “That’s him, isn’t it?”
Daisy let out a little breath. “Yeah.”
“Oh dear, oh dear. He’s a little scary, isn’t he?”
That was what she’d been afraid of—that her parents were going to think something was wrong with Carter.
“He’s not really. He’s a decent guy.” She didn’t really know that much about him, but she hoped he was a decent guy. He’d acted like it anyway, and she wanted her parents to know it. “I better go talk to him.”
Going to him seemed a lot safer than inviting him over to meet her parents. She stood up, stepped from the patio onto the sidewalk, and then headed over to where he was waiting.
As she walked, she smoothed down the lavender dress she wore. It was casual and comfortable but still feminine. It made her feel pretty, and she was glad of it as she reached Carter.
His blue eyes were raking over her, obviously taking in her appearance and lingering on her belly.
She wasn’t showing her pregnancy yet. Not really.
“Hi,” she said, feeling strangely shy as she stood before him. She dropped her eyes.
“Hi.” He cleared his throat, still holding on to his helmet. “You look pretty.”
His voice was low and gravelly as usual, but the words were surprisingly sweet coming from such a rough, intimidating man.
She blushed, her eyes flying up to his face. “Thank you.”
“I can’t tell you’re pregnant.”
“It’s too early yet for me to show much.”
“Oh.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I went to your building, and Chris said he thought you might be having lunch downtown. So I just took a chance.”
“I mean, what are you doing here at all?”
“You had your doctor’s visit today,” he replied. “And I hadn’t heard anything.”
“Oh.” She blinked, trying to process this piece of information and figure out what it meant. “I was going to call you tonight.”
Carter didn’t explain his visit any further or apologize for showing up so unexpectedly. His eyes rested on her face, like he couldn’t look away. “How did everything go?”
“Good. Good. The baby is healthy. I heard the heartbeat.”
Something seemed to tense in him, although she couldn’t see a reaction on his face. “You did?”
“Yeah. It was… amazing.” She glanced back at the table where her parents were both openly staring at her. She felt embarrassed, self-conscious. She preferred for her connection with Carter to be completely private, but of course it couldn’t remain that. “And I have the sonogram image. I’ll…”
“I can see it?”
“Yes. Yes, of course you can.” She had a weird moment of indecision until she finally figured out what to do. “I’m just finishing lunch with my folks. If you don’t mind, maybe you could head back to Preston’s Mill, and I’ll be there in twenty minutes or so. We can talk then, and I’ll show you the sonogram and everything.”
He almost smiled. “That sounds good. I’ll be waiting.”
She wasn’t sure if the last words were a promise or a warning, and she wasn’t sure whether she was more excited or terrified by it.
It didn’t matter.
Either way, she was going to be inviting Carter into her apartment that afternoon. The comfortable distance they’d had for the past couple of months wasn’t going to last for long.
On a different thought, she glanced back at her mom and dad, still watching them from the table. “I guess maybe you could meet my folks. If you want.” It occurred to her that a lot of guys wouldn’t even want to meet the parents of a girl he’d screwed at a wedding one time.