Holly blew out a big breath. “Thank God! I hate keeping things in, but I wasn’t sure, and he should be the one to tell you. I’m sorry.”
Oakley laughed. “You don’t have to be sorry.” She suddenly hugged a surprised Holly. “You’re having my niece or nephew! Welcome to the family.”
My eyes widened, mirroring Holly’s, but I suppose she was now part of the family. She was the mother of my child, Oakley’s niece and Mum’s grandchild. Holly was going to be in our lives forever. I didn’t mind that. In fact, a part of me liked it. Me and Holly got along – out of bed too – and if I had to be ‘stuck’ to someone else for the rest of my life then I was glad it was her. There was something about her that I trusted. Perhaps it was just because she was having my baby and that meant we had to get along and not piss each other off.
“Thank you,” Holly replied, smiling shyly as they broke the hug. “It’s all kind of sudden but Jasper’s been great. He makes me worry less.”
“Good! And if you need anything, just ask, okay?”
“Well, I have an appointment.”
Oakley nodded. “Put your appointments in my diary, so I know when you’ll be out and that’ll save you asking every time.”
Holly visibly relaxed. “Thank you. I’ll try to schedule them when I’m not here, but I think Jasper wants to come too.”
“Stop worrying. Go whenever you have to. I remember all the appointments I had, but luckily I was here so I could take off when I needed.”
“Think you’ll be doing that again one day?”
“If Cole has his own way, definitely.”
“You don’t want more.”
“No, I do. Not yet though.”
She was still dealing with the stress of worrying about something happening to Everleigh. I could relate to that. I felt it every day too.
“Jasper, less earwigging and more kettle boiling,” Oakley said and turned her head.
Damn. Busted. I smiled too wide. “Coming up!”
Ducking back in the kitchen, I made our drinks, listening to Oakley and Holly laugh at Marcus chatting about Everleigh’s latest gymnastic mishap. The kid just did her own thing.
Marcus adored her and her I’ll-jump-off-whatever-the-hell-I-like attitude, even more now he’d given up hoping she’d follow in Oakley’s footsteps and be Olympic material. Oakley was very disciplined, but now I knew it was because she’d needed something else to focus on through the abuse.
I carried our coffees through to the reception.
“Hey, man,” I said to Marcus. “Want a drink?”
“No thanks. I’ve got a class in five.”
Holly hadn’t told him. He definitely would have said something.
I put the drinks down on the desk and wrapped my arm around Holly’s shoulders.
“Me and this one are having a baby,” I said, earning an elbow in the ribs. She stared at me with her jaw hanging open.
Marcus looked between us, silently taking in our news.
“What?” he exploded. “When? How? I didn’t even know you were together.”
I winced. Everyone was going to assume we were together, and it never made me feel any better when we had to tell them our child was the result of a few no-strings nights.
“Oh,” Marcus muttered, noticing our sudden awkwardness and catching on. “Wow, Holly, I didn’t know you had it in you girl!”
“What, to have random, meaningless sex,” she said, blushing and scowling at the same time.
“Meaningless,” I repeated.
I’d had meaningless sex too many times to count in the years between me and Abby first breaking up, and this last – and final – separation and never before had the word made me feel lousy. What the hell is wrong with me?
She shrugged, squirming under my arm. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, just that we’re not together or anything.”
“Well, as interesting as this conversation is,” Oakley said, grabbing her coffee, “I should check my emails.”
She walked into her office, and I turned my attention back to the woman that just called sex with me meaningless.
“As fun as this domestic is I’ve got to set up for class.” Marcus left too, and we were alone.
I raised my eyebrow. “So it was meaningless.”
She sighed. “No. I just explained, and you know what I mean. It was hardly our wedding night, Jasper.”
“That’s not the point. I just didn’t think that was how you saw it.”
“We used each other. That’s what casual sex is.”
“Yeah I know it is, but I didn’t think...”
“You’re bloody impossible, you know that?” She pulled away and walked around to her desk. What have I done now?
“Holly?”
“Don’t. All you want is no-strings sex so don’t complain when that’s exactly what you get.”
“I’d hardly call this no strings. You’re fucking pregnant!”
Her head whipped back as if I’d slapped her, and I groaned. “I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t resent you or this situation. I want our baby, but let’s face it, neither of us planned it, did we.”