Page 46 of Double Daddies (Dirty Daddies Anthologies #8)

Chapter One

Cami

“I’m pregnant.” My eyes are shining with unshed tears.

“Cami.” My name is a gasp on Ben’s lips. He reaches for me, his blue-gray eyes glowing.

I hesitate for a second, wondering if it’s right to let him think I’m handing him a gift just to have to snatch it away. Knowing what I say next will change everything.

I decide to be selfish. I let him pull me into his arms, taking in a deep inhalation, immersing myself in his earthy, manly scent.

I rest my head on his chest, soothed by the familiar rhythm of his heartbeat.

I have loved Benton Ross for nearly a decade.

We were best friends through college, brought together by our freakishly tall, oddly soft-spoken psych professor.

Then approximately a year ago, I worked up the courage to admit to having feelings that ran deeper.

I was so nervous. Nervous until I saw the hope shining at me through eyes I could drown in. I could still drown in those eyes, and even though I know I need to give him the bad news, I tip my head back and let myself fall into those familiar blue-gray orbs.

“When did you find out? How far?—”

His excited barrage of questions brings me spiraling back to the present. Sighing reluctantly, I force myself to pull away and look him in the eye. “Ben… wait.” A sudden lump in my throat makes it hard to speak.

“What? What is it?”

He looks so elated, so enamored with me, that knowing what I’m about to do to him—what I’ve already done—feels like a punch in the gut. But I have to. Ben and I have always been honest with each other. It’s one of the hallmarks of our relationship. I know what I have to do.

“Ben.” His name comes out in a hoarse whisper. I clear my throat and force myself to speak up. “The thing is… as much as I hope… as much as I want…”

“Cami?” His brow furrows. “What’s going on?”

I suck in a shaky breath. “I have to be honest with you. You remember, um, that six weeks ago we were… on a break.”

The exhilarated light in his eyes dims. Ben nods.

But, of course he does—it was his idea. As the first man I’ve ever loved, the only man I believed I’d ever love, Ben wanted me to be sure about us, our relationship, before we took the inevitable next step.

The one thing neither of us planned on was that I would fall for another guy.

Ben

“Cami?” My throat is so tight I can hardly speak, but I manage to croak out her name.

I wish I was wearing my Fitbit to track zone minutes because my heart is beating incredibly fast. I don’t know where she’s going with this, though I have my suspicions.

I just want her to spit it out, whatever it is, so we can deal with it.

“I… you remember I met… someone.”

The words hit me like a gut punch. Not because it’s new information, but because ever since we reconciled, I’d pushed her admission to the back of my mind, determined to pretend it and the break had never happened.

It had been a stupid idea anyway, one that I hated myself for insisting on in the first place.

“You… you said… you didn’t want t-to hear about it.”

This is killing her. I can see by the pained look on her face and the way her eyes are shining with unshed tears.

Tears that, two minutes ago, I’d assumed were happy ones.

Despite the churning in my gut, I find her hand and grasp it.

I want her to know that whatever she says next, I’m down for her, and I always will be. Whatever she needs.

“I remember,” I say, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. I have the distinct feeling I’m about to hear about it now, whether I want to or not.

“I…” Her voice is thick with tears. “I think it might… might be… his.” She has been breathing hard but when she manages the last word, she bursts into tears.

My heart feels crushed, but I pull her to me, holding her tightly with one arm around her waist and rubbing her back with my free hand. “Shh. Cami, stop. Come on, honey, it’s okay.”

She sobs harder, and the sound of her despair hurts worse than the news she’s just delivered.

“I… I’m s… so sorry .” She continues to cry, heaving against me.

I feel like shit. She’s killing herself with guilt over something that’s not her fault. In fact, technically speaking, it’s mine because I know we’d never be having this conversation in the first place if I hadn’t made us take time apart.

“Cami… it’s going to be okay.” I release her just long enough to push the chair back, and I sit down and pull her into my lap.

I let her cry as long as she needs to, forcing myself to endure the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs and comforting her the best I can.

When she’s finally settled on a softer cry, I try again. “I need you to look at me, honey.”

She slowly lifts her head, and her brown eyes are sad and tired, not to mention red-rimmed. Her lower lip is trembling.

I know she has something else she wants to say. “What is it, baby?”

“W… why are you b-being so… so nice to me?” By the time she’s finished, her lower lip is in full wobble mode and it looks like she’s on the verge of fresh tears.

“Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?” I counter, my voice gentle. “I love you, Cami. That doesn’t change, no matter what.”

She pulls back, looking at me with an expression that is equal parts skepticism and hope. “R-really?”

I chuck her under the chin and smile. “ Really really.”

She gives me a tentative smile, and I lean in and kiss her. When I pull back, she does indeed have fresh tears falling, but I hope these are the happy tears.

“But...” She tucks a strand of loose brown hair behind her ear and sniffles. “How?”

I frown, my brow furrowing. “What do you mean, ‘how’?”

She shifts closer and lays her head against my chest, sighing when I tighten my arms around her. “I just… I thought you’d be so… so mad .”

“I’m not mad, honey,” I say at once. “I can’t lie to you, I’ll be a little disappointed if the baby isn’t mine, but it’ll always be yours. Which means I’ll always love it, no matter what.”

When she tips her head back and looks at me, her smile is radiant. “You’re the best, you know that?”

I lower my head and kiss her mouth again, noting the salty taste from her tears. “No. You’re the best. Now, can you answer my question?”

Confusion clouds her eyes.

“When did you find out?”

“Oh. This morning. I’m a week late, so I took a test.”

I nod. “And how far along?”

“I’m guessing about six weeks.” She blushes prettily, and I can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking about. Cami is a nurse, so chances are she has a pretty good suspicion about whose baby it is.

“Cami… I meant what I said. I will love this child no matter what, but I do have to ask you a question.”

Fear begins to chase away the happiness in her eyes, so I squeeze her, trying to reassure her. “What makes you think… I mean, is there any chance… it could be mine? Or do you think?—”

This time Cami is the one who cuts me off with a kiss.

I relax against her, eagerly accepting her lips. I put all thoughts on hold and focus on simply loving her. But eventually we have to break apart, and I wait, knowing she already understands what I want to know.

She is smiling, and I relax. “It definitely could be your baby, Ben. I hope it is, you know that, right?”

“Well, of course.” I reach out and tug her messy ponytail, making her laugh. “You want him or her to have my eyes, and my incredible dance moves, of course.”

“Oh.” She makes a face. “Of course .”

“Watch it,” I growl, shifting her so I can give her bottom a firm pat.

She cuddles closer—spanks always make her move in closer, which is one reason I give her butt plenty of attention.

“I know I said I didn’t want to know,” I start slowly, not wanting to cause her any more pain than what she’s already feeling. “But could you give me some sort of ballpark of…” I trail off, unsure how to put my question into words.

Cami knows me better than anyone ever has. We’ve developed a shorthand of sorts and she curls into me, seeming very Little at the moment. That happens a lot during stressful situations when she’s feeling vulnerable. “I don’t want you to think I’m horrible,” she admits in a Little girl voice.

“Honey…” I gentle my tone, brushing my hand down her cheek. “I could never think that.”

She ducks her head, pressing her cheek firmly into my chest once more. “He was two days before we got back together,” she mumbles, but the words are clear enough that I hear them.

Ah . And we’d celebrated getting back together the same way any healthy couple would.

“I’m going to be a good dad,” I tell her, hoping the words will ease any bad feelings she’s holding on to until I can figure out how to make her let them go.

“I know.” She looks at me again, and there’s something at least approaching happiness back in her eyes. “Of course you will be. You’re already a great Daddy.”

Cami

It’s been a long day and when Ben suggests it’s time for bed, I’m quick to agree. I can feel his eyes on me as I undress, and by the time I’ve stripped, he has my pajamas ready.

“Come here,” he beckons with a crook of his finger.

Yawning, I make my way to him. Just seeing the ultra-soft, plush top in his hand makes me exhausted.

“Is this how it’s going to be?” Ben chuckles as he pulls the top over my head. It falls to just above my knees. “You’re going to sleep the day away?”

“It’s nighttime,” I point out, but I know very well what he means. It’s hardly eight o’clock, and I’m about to fall over.

“That’s okay.” He reaches over and tugs the covers back.

The light-blue bedspread is sprinkled with pink and purple flowers and is reminiscent of the comforter that used to decorate my bed when I was a little girl.

I climb atop the bed and let Ben tuck me in.

I gaze up at him, smiling softly at the familiar act.

For just one second, I allow myself to pretend this is normal, that everything is always going to be just like this.

“I love you, you know that, right?”

I smile. “Of course I do.”

“No matter what?”