I checked the empanadas in the oven and set the table for dinner. Will was at work all day, and Liv was busy at her place, prepping meals and getting things tidy for when her brother and sister-in-law came home with the baby in a couple of days.
I wanted to surprise her with a dinner at home. Even though my schedule was a bit erratic, we’d settled into a routine that seemed to give each of us the time we needed. I had no idea how it worked, but it did. Seeing her and spending a little time with her every day made the world feel right, no matter what shit I had to face at work.
Liv came through the door first. Her eyes were tired, and her body seemed to tense a little when she saw me.
“Hey, baby. Everything okay?” I went to her and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips.
She kissed me back, taking our kiss from chaste to passionate quickly.
“Hello to you too,” I teased in a velvet tone when we broke apart.
With a small smile, she softened in my arms. “You made dinner?”
I glanced back to the mess I’d made in the kitchen. “Yeah, it’ll be ready in a few minutes. Should be good by the time Will gets home.”
She tensed a little again. Then she stepped out of my embrace and began cleaning up. Even though I’d grown used to our easy silences, something felt uncomfortable about this one. I’d expected her to be all smiles and energy about her brother’s baby, but maybe something else had happened today that was throwing her off.
I didn’t push her about it, but when Will walked through the door, they shared a look that gave me pause.
Will masked it quickly, carrying himself into the room casually. “Smells great. Thanks, Ian.”
“No problem,” I said, trying to shake off the edgy feeling.
Dinner carried on fine. I talked a little about work, as did Will. Business as usual, and things were going well with the fund for the most part. Thank goodness, since Will had committed himself to it so completely.
But when the conversation shifted to Liv’s new nephew, she began to tear up. Normal, I told myself. Babies inspired emotions in women that I’d likely never understand.
Then she looked to Will, and a fresh wave of worry came over me. Something wasn’t right.
She swallowed hard and dropped her fork on the table. “We need to talk to you, Ian.”
The worry grew, spreading cold down my limbs.
“What’s going on?”
She chewed relentlessly on her lip and stared silently at the table.
“Liv, talk to me. What is it?”
Finally, she lifted her tearful gaze to mine. “Ian, I’m pregnant. Please don’t be angry.”
Time seemed to stand still while my brain stuttered, struggling to catch up with what that truly meant.
Pregnant? She’d been with both of us. But I’d always been safe. I’d never been with a woman without protection. It wasn’t worth the risk, and I sure as hell wasn’t ready for fatherhood.
“How?”
Will spoke up, his expression rigid, like he was bracing himself. “It’s my fault.”
All I could hear was my heart beating furiously. The breath seemed to squeeze out of my chest as I absorbed his admission. I stared at him in disbelief.
“You did this?”
Suddenly, every overprotective and insanely possessive thought I’d ever had about sharing Liv with another man forced into the forefront of my mind.
I’d been willing to fight for her at every turn, but ultimately, I’d bought into the notion that we could, truly, both be in her life in a healthy way. How could I have been so fucking wrong?
Will avoided my gaze, betraying his discomfort. “I was careless. She didn’t know.”
She didn’t know… That meant he’d fucked her bare without thinking of the consequences. She’d told me she wasn’t on birth control. Had he known? Had he taken her the way he wanted to anyway? Suddenly I wanted to fucking throttle him.
I pushed up from the table and came to him. “You couldn’t have her to yourself so you had to knock her up?”
He rose to stand, his stance and his shoulders wide and defensive. “That’s not what happened.”
A fierce jealousy tore through me, and I tightened my fists. “How could you do this to her? To us?”
“I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s no excuse, but that’s how it happened.”
“You weren’t thinking? You think I believe that for one second? You could get your dick hard, but you couldn’t think about covering it up to protect her?”
“It was the middle of the night—”
“Bullshit!” I shoved my finger at him. “You’re a fucking cheat, like your father.”
He narrowed his eyes. Rage and a searing pain sent a rush of adrenaline to my muscles. Before I could talk myself out of it, I lunged for him, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. I pushed him across the room and slammed him against the wall.
“How could you do this to her?” I seethed through gritted teeth.