Page 266 of The First Taste

"Oh yeah. Burn and his fiancée Daisy were at the Morgan estate the other night. So, I realize that in sleeping with me, Burn was essentially cheating on Daisy. Actually, he was not doing anything essentially. He was just plain cheating. And now I’m supposed to show up with news that literally no one wants to hear?"

"Well, it’s your decision. But if you want, I will go with you to tell Burn. Whenever you decide to do it, that is. Because if you decide to have this baby you definitely have to tell him."

"How am I supposed to show up with this news that no one wants to hear? What is Burn going to think? He is going to think that I’m a burden. He’s going to think that me and my child are both an albatross—a weight around his neck pulling him down into the water. And I don’t want anyone to ever feel that way about me. I don’t want my child to grow up thinking that they are imposing on someone. No way. I’ve done that my whole life."

"You may have felt that way, but realistically, you were never a burden. You couldn’t have been. Without you, who would have kept Minnie from drowning in her own mess?"

For a moment, I think that Olivia is referring to Aunt Minnie's loan from a loan shark. But that’s when Olivia gestures around her, to the disaster of a house that I’ve spent so much time cleaning.

"I guess," I say apathetically.

"So?" Olivia asks.

I give a slow nod. "Yeah. I think that I can’t stop feeling a little bubble of excitement in my heart at the thought of having a baby. I know that it will probably be chaotic. And probably not the best childhood that I could’ve provided if I had only waited a few more years. But…" I motion with my hand. “How can I get rid of this bundle of cells when I have such a deep yearning for a child?"

She gives me a tiny smile. "I don’t know. I don’t know if you can."

I push off the kitchen counter and hug myself. "I am not going to do it, then. I’m not going to have an abortion. I’m going to keep the baby."

Olivia’s squeal of glee shocks me a little bit. She lunges at me from across the kitchen, wrapping me in her arms and squeezing me tight. "Yes! I knew you were going to decide that."

I break away. "I will need help triangulating where Burn is going to be. Maybe in the next two or three days?"

"Wow, you are taking this very seriously. I appreciate your total commitment."

Olivia pulls out her phone and scrolls for a minute. "So, I found Burn on Instagram..."

"You what?"

"Just let me have this moment. I found him on Instagram, and according to his post from today, the whole family is gathering at the Morgan estate tonight for yet another charity ball. That’s probably your best chance."

I blow out a shaky breath, and my heartbeat skyrockets. The very thought of having to tell Burn that he knocked me up is unnerving, if nothing else. "Okay. Okay. You’re going to have to help me figure out what to wear to tell Burn that his one-night stand got me pregnant and I am keeping the baby."

Olivia beams at me, as though I just told her that she won the lottery. "I thought you’d never ask. Come on, come to my house. Let me dress you up. Then you can go in style."

I shake my head and roll my eyes, but I let her pull me out of the room.

Seventeen

Dare

The Morgan estate is absolutely bursting at the seams with charitable donors and their hangers-on. It’s the usual sort of crowd here: a packed house full of people in black tuxes and splashy, colorful ball gowns.

Honestly, it’s what I’ve become used to. In the last few years, Remy has become increasingly charitable, especially when the charity involves him giving up the house for the night. He's a grumpy old motherfucker, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he's a deeply lonely old man.

I shut the door that separates the partygoers from the rest of the house. I can still hear the violin music and the murmur of voices, but as I turn and look at all my relatives, scattered here and there on the living room sofas and standing by the fireplace, I suck in a deep breath.

I hate these big events. In fact, when I take over the company, I am going to be glad to see them held at someone else’s house for once. When Remy dies, this entire house is going to be a ghost town. And the balls and galas will follow him.

At the moment, no one even looks my way. Instead, my brother, Daisy, and all my cousins are focused on the sight of my Uncle Felix going toe to toe with my father, both screaming at one another. Red-faced and clutching their fists, they have eyes for no one else.

"You guttersnipe!" My Uncle Felix howls. "You are an absolute piece of human garbage."

"That’s nice coming from you. We all know what happened to your first and second wives. They both died under mysterious circumstances. Which I interpreted to mean that you paid someone to knock them off so you could avoid paying them alimony. So, you’re actually a murderer!"

Felix gulps. "I'd like to see you present your evidence for that claim."

"If I had hard evidence? You would already be in jail," my father says.