She held her hands up.
“Stop, please. I’m getting a headache. Uni is the last thing on my mind right now; I’ve recently found out I’m having a baby! Whatever happens, I’ll never move away and take the baby with me. You’re half responsible for this-” she pointed to her stomach “-so you can bet your arse you’re going to be close by to help take care of it!” She sounded nervous. I couldn’t blame her. I felt like I was in a dream.
My shoulders relaxed in relief. “Okay. Good. I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”
“Me neither.”
“I thought you were on the pill?”
“Hey,” she snapped. “You didn’t wear a condom so don’t-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I wasn’t blaming you. I just thought you were. And I always wrap up, it’s just with us…” I was too into you to think straight.
She nodded. “I was, and I still was up until the day before I took the test. My doctor said the antibiotics they prescribed for an ear infection I had could have interfered with the pill.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t even think about it.”
I wrapped my arms around the now most important person in my life and pressed my forehead against hers.
“It’s okay. Happens, right? We’re just lucky it’s with someone that isn’t freaking out about it.”
She melted into my chest.
“Not many men in your situation would class it as lucky. Not many women would either.”
“Well we’re not like many men or women. What do you need from me, Holly?”
“I just want you to be there. I want you to attend the appointments, or as many as you can that don’t clash with work.”
I raised my eyebrow. “Fuck work. I’ll sort something out. What do you need?”
“I just answered that,” she replied, looking at me like I’d lost it.
“You answered for the baby, me being there is a given. I’m talking about you.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks reddened. “Um, I guess I need you too. I may have weird cravings in the middle of the night.”
I tightened my arms around her.
“Really, just for midnight craving runs, huh?”
I was flirting with the mother of my baby five minutes after she’d told me we were having a child. Only Holly could get me to do that. She was unlike any girl I’d known or been attracted to. I was quickly becoming addicted to her shy blushes.
Lowering my head, I raised my eyebrow, making my intentions clear and giving her the chance to stop me. She didn’t, so I kissed her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Holly
I sat beside Jasper on his sofa. Telling him went a lot easier than I thought it would. I loved that he was happy about it and planned to be there for our baby. My child deserved a dad and Jasper was going to be a fantastic one. It was such a relief that he wasn’t running.
I could still feel his lips against mine, kissing me tenderly. Right now I just wanted to kiss him again, but I’d just dropped the baby bomb and we had a lot to talk about.
“I really, really thought you’d freak out,” I admitted, pulling my legs up on the sofa.
“Why?”
“Because of everything that’s happened recently. I mean eight weeks ago you thought you were a year off having a baby with your wife. Then you thought she was having your baby only to find out it’s the man’s that she cheated on you with. Now this.”
His frown deepened. “Thank you for that lovely summary. And for making me sound like a prick.”
Okay, that was a lot. Jasper had crammed about a year’s worth of ups and downs, heartbreaks, one-night stands and drama into about seventy days.
“That’s not what I meant to do. Your marriage breakdown was Abby’s fault. She wrongfully made you believe you were one hundred per cent the father.”
“Still, doesn’t look that great, does it?”
Well, no.
“It doesn’t matter, Jasper. I’d just like to concentrate on the future, not the past.”
“This future,” he said, biting his lip and running his fingertips over my stomach. I stopped breathing. Why did his touch make me feel like I was floating? He was the wrong person for me. I didn’t go for cocky, womanising older guys. He was seven years my senior but sometimes seemed five years my junior!
It was the eyes. Those smouldering, grey eyes that pulled me in. He was painfully good-looking and cheeky too. No wonder he’d had so many women. Would that continue? There was no reason why not; he was single and just because he was a dad that didn’t mean he couldn’t still have a social life.
I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
“What’re you thinking?” he asked. “Your eyes have glazed over.”
“Nothing,” I replied a little too quickly. “Just trying to get my head around the fact that I’m going to be a mum.”
“You’re gonna be a great mum.”
“I hope so. Me and Brad had a great childhood, and I really want our child to have the same.”