Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 104766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
I hear her soft laughter on the other end. “Why are you always so sensible?”
“Because. I’m the boring Colter, remember?”
The quiet, kind brother who can’t keep it in his pants and gets himself in trouble.
She hesitates, and I can practically hear her thinking on the other end of the line. "You're right. We need to talk face-to-face. When can I fly to see you?”
I glance at Drake, who's pretending to be engrossed in a magazine. "I mean, we’re still off-season, so things aren’t crazy yet. I can come and see you."
Stay with my mom.
Figure shit out.
Hide.
“Tess?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
Gee, where do I start?
“Not bein’ there when you needed me, not bein’ there when you found out. Not bein’ there when you saw the story on the news.”
She laughs again, but it’s not like a ha-ha funny sort of laugh. “Yeah, it hasn’t been great.”
“I’ll…” I watch my brother through the glass and hold up a finger so he knows I’m almost done. “Figure out when I can come and let you know.”
“Okay.”
“Alright.”
So awkward.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Hey, Tess?”
“Yeah?”
“How are you doin’?”
I should ask that, right? This isn’t all about me and how I was fucked over by my buddy, and this isn’t about her keeping this pregnancy a secret.
“I’m doing better.”
“Like, how did you know?”
“As soon as I didn’t get my period, I knew something was off. Then I took a test or five or a billion. I couldn’t sleep for days. It was pretty bad. I was freaked out.”
“I bet.” Now what do I say? “Grady told me you’d been sick.”
“Morning sickness,” she says. “He didn’t know that’s what it was, though. I hadn’t told him yet.”
“What did he say when you told him?”
“He went ballistic. He’d already been mad about us sleepin’ together, which he figured out on his own. Don’t know how. So the baby thing didn’t go over well.” She pauses. “I always thought he’d support me no matter what, but it turns out, he hasn’t.”
“What about your parents?”
“My mom cried, but honestly, she’s excited. I wasn’t planning on having kids, remember? She sees it as a blessing in disguise.”
“That’s awesome. I’m glad.”
“What about your mom?”
Er.
Uh.
“It’s complicated.”
I can’t come out and say my mother has already demanded a paternity test, lawyers, contracts, nondisclosure agreements, and wants to silence the Donahues with money.
Like, calm down, Mom.
Chill.
Tess isn’t a gold digger. I know it deep in my heart.
Tess is silent. “I imagine that to your family, this would be complicated.”
“It’ll be fine.” I won’t let them come after you…
My brother taps on the glass, shrugging his shoulders and mouthing the words, “Dude, what’s going on?” because the moron never wants to be left out of anything. But I might as well end this phone call while we’re still on good terms.
This is good. Everything is fine.
“I’ll try to get there soon.”
“How soon is soon?”
I worry my bottom lip, going over the calendar in my brain.
“Let’s see, it’s Tuesday? So…I don’t know, like this Friday maybe?”
“Oh, that is soon. I thought maybe you’d try to get here by next month.”
Next month? Is she nuts? “We have to get this figured out.”
And we need to do it face-to-face.
I wanted to see her.
And now I have to see her.
All the hopes I’d had about possibly dating her, having fun with her—those hopes are gone. But at least we can be friends, yeah?
“Okay. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
“You don’t have to wait to hear from me. You can text or call whenever you want.”
“Okay.”
“Alright.”
“Thanks for calling.”
I look over at my twin brother, whose face is pressed against the glass. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
When I end the call, I stuff the phone in my pocket and go back into the gym. Some of the tension has lifted from my shoulders but not enough to get the scandal out of my mind. I’ll never stop thinking about this, not even for a second.
"Looks like everything went well?” My brother smacks me on the back, ushering me inside the weight room.
I nod. “Yeah it went well.”
“Good. I'm counting on you to keep this family drama from turning into a full-blown circus.”
Drake smirks, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Don't worry, Drake. I'll be the trusty ringmaster. "I shake my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. "Just make sure to keep the lions and acrobats in check."
“Groan!” he yells, giving me a mock salute. "Aye aye, captain. Lions and acrobats are under control."
Who would've thought that a romantic comedy could take such an unexpected twist?
CHAPTER 40
TESS
I LOVE HIM AND HE HAS FEELINGS FOR ME, SO WHY IS NONE OF THIS SIMPLE?
I thought my belly was going crazy when I found out I was having a kid, but it’s going absolutely bonkers now as I wait for Drew to arrive from the airport.
This whole situation is bonkers, but there’s not much to do about it now…