I expect to ease the pregnancy into the conversation at some point during the evening, but the first thing out of my mouth when Keatyn opens the front door is, “Shelby’s pregnant and wants to get married.”
“What? Ohmigosh, Riley. You and Ariela just—”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, hanging my head in defeat.
She wraps me in a hug, probably because she can tell I need one. “It will be okay, Riley. Go sit on the deck with Aiden. I’ll get you a drink.”
“You should probably bring the bottle,” I mutter, even though I know she won’t.
But she surprises me when she sets a twenty-five-year-old scotch on the table along with two glasses.
“What’s wrong?” Aiden immediately asks.
“Shelby is pregnant and wants to get married,” she tells him.
Aiden looks at me shrewdly. “And you believe her?”
“It’s not like she’s the first girl to tell me she’s pregnant. I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I keep a stash of pregnancy tests in the bathroom for such an occasion. She’s the first girl to make the line turn pink. She’s definitely pregnant.”
“You’ve told me before that you always use condoms,” Aiden says. “Did one fail?”
“Not that I was aware of but, obviously, one did since she’s pregnant.”
“Were you drunk when you were with her?”
“No, it was premiere week. All business.”
Keatyn raises an eyebrow at me.
I roll my eyes. “Fine. It wasn’t all business with Shelby, but I was never drunk when I was with her.”
“What do you know about her?” Keatyn asks.
“Not much, other than her sexual preferences, and I’m well acquainted with her body but, beyond that, nothing personal. She suggested we get married right away. Has even found her dream dress.”
“Riley, you aren’t marrying her!” Keatyn gasps. “You can’t!”
“And you need a paternity test,” Aiden agrees.
“Do you have to wait until the baby is born for that?” I ask, taking a slug of scotch. I know I’m supposed to be sipping it, but fuck. I’d say this warrants it.
Marvel interrupts our conversation when he brings a charcuterie and cheese tray out for us along with a cucumber-infused water for Keatyn. “Dinner will be served shortly. Will Mr. Johnson be joining you?”
“Yes, he will be. Thank you, Marvel,” Keatyn replies. Once he shuts the door, she scoops up a handful of almonds. “I would think you could test for paternity when they do the amniocentesis, but many women are against that because it’s invasive.”
“Invasive?” I ask, feeling dumb.
“In some cases, the test could harm the baby.”
Aiden holds up his phone. “It says here there is new paternity testing technology that is noninvasive and can be done anytime after the eighth week.”
“Riley, do you know anything about this girl?” Aiden asks again.
“I haven’t been very picky about who I date,” I admit.
“Date isn’t really the right word for it,” Keatyn mutters under her breath.
“I heard that, and you’re right. Since Ariela and I broke up, I haven’t wanted to know anything about them.”
Tears form in Keatyn’s eyes. I know she’s pregnant and emotional, but I also know it’s because she loves me. Especially when she reaches across and gives my arm a squeeze.
“The fact that she wants a quickie wedding concerns me,” Aiden, ever the voice of reason, says.
“You’re having a quickie wedding cuz you knocked up Keatyn,” I tease.
Aiden gives me the eye and is ready to tear me a new one, but Keatyn grabs ahold of his hand and intervenes. “I can kind of sympathize with Shelby on that part,” she says. “I’ve been in a long relationship with Aiden and when the line turned pink that was the first thing I thought of. How I’m not married. How I don’t want to raise the baby alone. And once I got over the shock of it, I started worrying about bringing up the baby in the best environment and all that stuff.”
Aiden starts to say something, but Keatyn holds her hand up and continues. “You both just need a little time to process it all.”
“She said she grew up without a dad. I wanted to tell her I could care less, but if it is my baby—speaking of that, is it even possible? Like from a timing standpoint? I don’t understand all that ovulation stuff Dallas is always going on about.”
“That’s because they use the rhythm method of birth control.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a contraceptive method where you decide when to have sex based on a woman’s cycle.”
“They have five kids.”
“And all but the first and last were planned. When was the first time you and Shelby were together?”
“The Paris premiere.”
“Which was on September the twenty-third.” She sets her phone down and counts out days on her calendar. “Twenty days ago. Which is about right, Riley. A woman’s cycle is roughly twenty-eight days long. You typically ovulate in the middle of that, at around day fourteen. So, more than likely, she’s about five weeks pregnant.”