Page 10 of Falling for You (Balsam Cliffs #2)

Roman Thomas has a baby. A baby that was conceived, right before we started dating, or hooking up, whatever he wants to call it today.

Shit.

Me: Rome has a baby. With another woman.

Violet: What the fuck?!

Willow: There’s no way! He wouldn’t cheat on you.

Me: Yup. Come to the inn. I’ll explain it all. He didn’t cheat, it’s just my fucking luck.

Violet: Starting the chocolate cake now. And told Mom to stay.

Willow: We left a little bit ago to come back to Lupine Valley! I tried to find you.

Me: Ugh. I was going to help Rome with his books —not his baby.

Willow: You better FaceTime me later. Vi — make extra chocolate icing. hug emoji

If Willow is in the car that means she’s with Gunnar in a quiet car for four more hours. She’s definitely going to tell him. There is no way Willow can keep her mouth shut the whole way back to Lupine Valley.

Between Willow being with G and Rome’s waitress, Jasmine, I can only imagine the rumors that are already swirling around town.

I’m sure Esther and Margaret, the resident business owners and town gossips, are trying to figure out how they missed the fact that I was pregnant, and that must be why I didn’t come home for months.

If we had a town Facebook page, this would be front page news.

I better get home and tell Hunter the truth before he hears through one of his crew’s wives that it’s my baby. Hopefully Roman already called him like he said he was going to and I won’t have to explain.

But maybe after thinking he secretly got me pregnant, us dating won’t seem so bad. Maybe ? The inappropriate timing of the thoughts don’t help me with my current predicament though.

I park next to the inn and take a deep breath before dragging myself and baby Olivia up the front porch.

Opening the back door, Olivia looks at me with her big golden honey eyes that match Rome’s. “You ready for this Livvy girl? Because I’m not.”

She blows a raspberry with her tongue sticking between her sweet little lips shaped like a perfect heart. Her feet kicking a mile a minute in excitement against the toy across the handle.

Taking another calming breath, the two of us start walking toward the porch where I see Mom and Violet in the window.

Before I can even start up the steps, Mom has the door open and she’s waiting for us with her cardigan pulled tight around her.

The ocean is bringing in a cool breeze that swirls around our front porch.

I look down at Olivia, should she have a blanket on her legs?

Do I have a blanket for her? There must be one somewhere in that pile of bags.

“Would you look at that sweet girl?” Mom coos.

She reaches out to pull me in for a hug, and then takes Olivia and the carseat from me, rushing inside.

I let Mom have her baby moment and I go off to the kitchen in search of Violet. Since I won’t be grabbing a shot of tequila tonight, I need chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

The swinging door to the kitchen pushes open with a whoosh of air, and I find Violet pouring the dark chocolate batter into two cake pans.

“I’m sorry I can’t bake a whole cake in five minutes, but I did make a test run of s’mores cookies earlier. They could use a taste test.” She doesn’t even look up at me, just keeps working on the cake. This is why she’s currently the best future sister-in-law.

“I can’t believe G made Willow leave just when I need her.”

“He’s a jerk, no cookies for him.” She fakes a pout in my direction while she wipes the chocolate off her hands and onto her apron.

“Thanks for the support.” I unwrap the s’mores cookie and break off a piece, popping it into my mouth.

Fuck that’s good. I pop in another piece, larger this time to get a chunk of gooey marshmallow.

“Okay, so is it too soon to ask you what the hell happened in the hour you’ve been gone?”

I groan. “Yes.”

She raises her brow as she sets up the bowl and all her ingredients to make my favorite chocolate fudge icing.

“Finnneee,” I whine under her scrutinizing gaze.

“When I got there, he was standing outside with an older couple. I walked up just in time to hear Rome say he doesn’t have a daughter.

He was basically experiencing shock so I took over, and invited them into the brewery to explain the whole situation.

Her name is Olivia Rose Thomas. The mom even gave her his last name, that’s how sure this family is that she’s his daughter.

And I mean you have to see her, she’s his double.

Her lips are his lips. Her eyes are his eyes.

Her hair is the same black as his. There’s no denying it, Vi. ”

I pop the last piece of cookie in my mouth and lower my forehead to the cool stainless steel island.

“So how did we get here? Who is the mom and where is she?” Vi walks over to me and rubs my back, comforting me.

“He apparently hooked up with a tourist here on a girl’s trip.

The timeline seems like it was a couple weeks to a month before we started whatever it was that night at the cove.

She had cancer, and came for a last hoorah trip before she started her treatment.

And when she tried to start chemo they told her she was pregnant.

When the baby was born, the cancer was too much, it progressed too far, she passed away just a few months later. Her parents just found Rome today.”

“That is heartbreaking!” Mom’s voice breaks through the room as soon as I finish.

“What’s heartbreaking?” Liam walks through the back door from the office with Pops and Hunter.

“Whose baby is that?” Hunter stops dead in his tracks taking in the looks on our faces.

“Oh, honey, why don’t you boys sit. We have something to tell you.” Thank God Mom is taking over this part. I don’t want to do this again.

All three of them eye us suspiciously, but follow Mom’s orders. “Uh, please tell me that’s not a Keaton baby,” Hunter half jokes, but we all know between my brothers there’s no telling. It could be any one of them in Rome’s position.

“Not quite, but close,” I offer.

“Boys,” Mom steps in, “this is Olivia Rose Thomas .”

Hunter pushes his stool back so quickly it falls over. “What do you mean Thomas? Thomas as in Evelyn Thomas?”

“Seriously?” I stare at him with a what the fuck face. “You just saw her. Does she look like she just had a baby, you idiot?”

“Wait, this is Rome’s baby?” Liam chimes in now, with his jaw on the floor. At least his brain works faster than the other two.

“Yes, An older couple came by the brewery today when Emma was there to help him with the books. They are claiming that their daughter gave birth to this sweet pea a few months ago, and that Roman is the father. Unfortunately, the mother has passed away. So we are going to be supportive , and help Roman in any way we can.” She levels Wyatt, Liam, and Hunter with a stare letting them know she will not tolerate any shit giving just yet.

“What is he going to do?” Wyatt asks.

“I don’t know. I offered to take Olivia for the time being because his staff was starting to show up. He said he’ll be here after the dinner rush so Clark doesn’t have to do that alone. But I don’t know if he’s thought farther than that,” I explain.

“Shit. He’s always at the brewery. If he couldn’t bring Fi sometimes he shouldn’t even have a dog. What is he going to do with a real, live baby?” Hunter runs his hand through his hair.

“He could bring her here?” Liam offers.

“And do what? Ride the tractor with you? Throw some hammers around?” Violet rolls her eyes.

Hunter slams his hands on the stainless steel table, “Oh! Why don’t you nanny for him, Ems? You could move in with him and then you wouldn’t have to live in a construction zone. It’s a win-win for both of you!”

Hunter looks so proud of himself for this revelation. Too bad he’s lacking sufficient background on Roman and my relationship.

“Uh,” I try to find a reason this doesn’t make sense.

“You just expect her to move in with Roman? What if he doesn’t want her to live with him?” Violet saves me with the logic I couldn’t find myself.

“Like he can deny the help. He’s kind of stuck. Plus he’d always help Ems out. She’s like another little sister to him. He knows what her cabin looks like.” He shrugs. “It’s mutually beneficial.”

Among other things.

Violet and Mom look at me, a knowing glance shared between the three of us that Roman does not in fact think that I’m like his little sister.

“Beggars can’t be choosers. And currently, Rome is a beggar, honey. He needs you. It would be the friendly, neighborly thing to offer to help.” Pops urges me to agree with Hunter.

Since when does being friendly and neighborly involve moving into someone’s house? Let alone someone who has ruined you for all future men.

“Jeez, you guys are really pushing for someone we don’t even know if he wants my help.” I throw my arms in the air, frustrated with the situation I seem to have gotten myself into.

“Oh, he wants your help,” Violet mutters under her breath as I walk past her to grab another cookie.

Olivia starts to cry, and Mom tells me she thinks she’s hungry according to the schedule she found in the diaper bag.

“Listen, thanks for the brainstorming ideas, but how about we wait and see what Rome comes up with on his own, yeah?” I grab Olivia and the bottle from Mom, heading out to the living room to feed her in peace. And try to get my own mind under control from the spinning it’s on right now.

I settle us in the large oversized chair with a chunky knit blanket draped over our laps. Olivia grasps at the edge of her bottle, loudly gulping down her formula. She’s looking up at me like I’m supposed to be the one who has my shit together here. I’m not.

“Livvy girl, what do you think?” She doesn’t answer, just continues to stare at me while she chugs. I lean down and kiss her forehead.

The pain of seeing her, Rome’s child, in my lap, is hell on my heart. I feel guilty that it makes me the tiniest bit sad to look at her.

Then there’s the real question. Could I live with her father? I can barely be in his brewery with him. We’re constantly at each other’s throats, figuratively and literally.

I prefer the literal option when he gives me a two handed necklace followed by a little hair pulling… Nope. I can’t do this.

He will need to find another nanny. And she better be old and have warts.