EOINI THOUGHT I TOLD ALINE GOODBYE, BUT I HONESTLY COULDN’T BEsure. A part of my brain was even wondering if I’d dreamed the entire conversation while still sleeping next to her in bed. Or maybe I’d actually passed out again in the hospital and was now unconscious, and my mind was trying to freak me out to wake me up. Or maybe I’d actually died, and the afterlife was just some strange shit that made no sense.Because there’s no way this could be happening. Could it?I’d had sex with a lot of women over the years, and since graduating high school, I’d always used condoms, even if a woman said she was on birth control. Then I’d met Aline, and all that had gone out the window.And now, she might be pregnant. Might.Possibly? Probably? Shit.Then again, when I considered the odds, the fact that this was the first time anything like this had ever happened to me, I supposed it wasn’t too far-fetched. Shit like this happened every day.Hell, it’d happened to my brother, Alec.At le

ALINEBY THE TIME I ARRIVED AT THE CAFÉ GRATITUDE, THE CRACKERS I’Deaten at Martina’s had calmed my stomach enough that the absolutely amazing smells made me hungry rather than nauseous, for which I was grateful. If I could eat and didn’t have to excuse myself to the restroom to throw up, my parents would think everything was okay.I’d actually arrived before them, which I thought would set a good tone, but I waited for them rather than choosing a table. Part of what I wanted to show them today was that we could have an adult relationship where we all respected each other and interacted with the same sort of politeness and consideration we would grant to any other ‘grown-up.’ Part of that, in my mind, was getting their opinion on where we should sit rather than choosing for them, especially since I was unsure if they would’ve done the same for me.I had to admit, I felt some satisfaction when I saw the surprise on their faces when they came inside and saw me.“Do we want

ALINEI DIDN’T KNOW IF I’D THROWN UP FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO BECAUSE Ihad morning sickness or if it’d been nerves, but either way, it hadn’t been pleasant. I’d been able to force down some crackers, and they’d helped with my upset stomach, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to completely quell my anxiety until I had the results of the blood test. Even if I was pregnant, the waiting was far worse than either answer would be.Eoin seemed to share my sentiments as he arrived nearly twenty minutes early, and apart from the drive, hadn’t been able to sit still. Even in the car, he’d been moving, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel or on his leg, flipping through radio stations, that sort of thing.The latter would have annoyed me normally, but nothing about this situation was normal. And if I were to be entirely honest, I didn’t mind the radio being on because neither of us had said more than a few words, and I preferred the background noise that prevented a total awkward silence betw

ALINEEOIN’S PLACE WAS GORGEOUS. AND HUGE. NOT AT ALL WHAT I’D BEENexpecting, even after he’d told me that he’d leased a condo rather than an apartment. I’d already known that he’d come from a wealthy family, so it wasn’t the cost of a place like this that surprised me. It was more that this didn’t seem like the sort of place that a single, not-quite-thirty, former military man would live. This was more of a…family home.A beautiful one, but I was starting to feel like seeing all of it, being here with him while such a large question was looming over us, was untethering me from reality. I had experienced this strange disconnect only a few times in my life, most of them recently.“Hey.” His hands were on either side of my face, his skin hot against my cheeks. “It’s okay.”I looked up at him, and then his mouth was on mine, firm pressure without being aggressive, and the contact sent a wave of warmth washing over me, pushing away thoughts of anything else.This man could distract

EOINI PUT MY PHONE DOWN ON THE COUNTER AND GOT A BEER FROM THEfridge. If I wasn’t driving anywhere tonight, I didn’t need to worry about how much I drank. If I couldn’t be with Aline, taking care of her, getting a little drunk sounded like a good idea. Not so much that I’d be hung over tomorrow, but enough to take the edge off.It was a hell of an edge. Pregnant.I was going to be a father.Maybe. Aline could decide to terminate the pregnancy, but after how her parents had struggled to have kids, I didn’t think that was going to be the route she took. If she did, I’d be there with her, but even as shell-shocked as I was right now, I was hoping she’d have the baby.My baby. Fuck.I needed to sit down, but the few chairs I had were covered with shit from my storage unit. The floor would have to do. I leaned back against my refrigerator and took a long drink.I’d never really thought about being a father. My parents never pressured any of us kids about giving them