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“Fuck.”
“Exactly. Isn’t there some sort of rule about waiting to tell people?”
“Yeah, there is. Twelve weeks, usually. But I think that’s just in case something goes wrong, you don’t have to tell too many people.”
“Okay, so we keep it strictly to a needs to know basis until then. That’s my parents and maybe your adoptive parents, just in case they can give you any more information. Right?”
“Yeah, that sounds right.” Really not a conversation I wanted to have with them, but it had to be done.
“I would say we’ve covered everything we can for now.” He pushed to his feet, and I did the same.
“Seems like.”
“Let me know when you’ve made the appointment with the doc. I’ll take you. If you want.”
I found the tinge of uncertainty in his voice endearing. Maybe it was the hormones. “Yeah, I do want. I’ll let you know.”
“Okay. Great. Anything else you need?”
“Um, yeah.” Now it was my turn to feel uncertain. “I could do with a hug.”
The smile he gave me had my heart turning over. “Me too.”
Then he was wrapping his arms around me, holding me close as he rested his chin on my head. I could stay there all day.
CHAPTER 19
Rhett
Five days. It had been five days since I’d picked Scarlett up on the side of the road and my world had imploded. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around the fact that I was going to be a father. Ridiculous. Me, a dad. Utter madness.
It still didn’t feel real. Even a few days ago, when we’d gone to the comprehensive exam and seen the babies on the monitor again. They just looked like fuzzy gray blurs to me. Of course, I’d smiled and held Scarlett’s hand through it, grabbing her a tissue when she’d teared up. I’d made sure to go through all the motions. But I just wasn’t feeling it.
I pulled into the curb in front of Scarlett’s apartment building and, switching the engine off, leaned back against the headrest.
Reeling. That’s what I was doing. And to avoid the feeling that I was teetering on the edge of a precipice, I’d thrown myself into action mode. It was all I knew how to do.
I watched as Scarlett came out from her apartment building, walking towards the car. My heart squeezed when she gave meone of those uncertain, shaky smiles. I rubbed at my chest. It was all just too fucking confusing for words.
Leaning over, I pushed the passenger door open for her and took a deep breath as she slid into the seat. Christ, she smelled amazing. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“You ready for this?”
“Not sure.”
“Hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to move in.”
“You’ve already bought it.”
I shrugged. “I can sell it again. But as I said, it’ll be good for me to have a base in Esperance. if you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”
“Just buy another house, just like that?” She snapped her fingers.
“Of course.”
“You’re crazy, but I’m very intrigued, so let’s get going.”