Page 11 of The Unexpected Lineup (Lost in Translation #2)

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WITH TWO STRANGERS RAISING A BABY TOGETHER ANYWAY?

HAISLEY

M y first thought following the words that changed everything between us is how there’s no turning back now. That alone causes a massive wave of relief to go through me. I didn’t realize how much I’d been holding my breath, waiting for the truth to come out.

“You’re what?” he asks, his voice wavering as his round eyes stare at me.

“I’m pregnant, Rasmus. It’s yours.” I repeat, watching the color drain from his face.

His mouth opens slightly, but no words come out. His gaze flickers between my face and my stomach, suggesting he’s expecting to suddenly see proof right in front of him. But there’s no neon sign flashing BABY ON BOARD across my torso.

He blinks rapidly, his gaze darting around the room. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. “We can’t talk here. ”

“That door right there leads to my dad’s home office. We can go there.” I point to the door on our left, hearing my heartbeat in my ears.

Rasmus doesn’t hesitate. He takes my hand, his grip firm, and leads me to the office. The tension radiates off him, his fingers twitching against mine.

As the door clicks shut behind us, he spins to face me.

“How’s this possible?” he demands loudly and paces across the room.

“Well, when someone with a penis and a person with a vagina get naked and put their private parts?—”

He stops mid-stride, shooting me a glare. “I understand the science behind how people get pregnant! But how did it happen to us ?”

“There’s always a risk of pregnancy when having sex,” I point out, crossing my arms defensively.

“But we used condoms, and when that one broke, you said you had it covered.” His voice rises slightly at the end, his expression tightening.

He’s breathing a little too fast, his chest rising and falling at a rapid pace.

“You had it all covered.” His voice comes out quiet, repeating his earlier words.

Laughing dryly, I shake my head. Of course, he would latch onto that little tidbit. “As they taught us in high school, abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy completely.”

”And anal,” Rasmus quips, a corner of his mouth twitching, even if the situation didn’t need a poorly timed joke about butt sex.

“I’m pretty sure there’s at least one baby who was conceived during anal sex gone wrong.

” I laugh at my own joke before my mind sobers.

The humor barely masks the importance of the conversation.

“But back to us. Here’s everything in a nutshell: I’m pregnant.

Yes, I’m sure it’s yours. I haven’t slept with anyone else in over a year.

I’m going to keep the baby, and you can decide whether you want to be involved or not. It’s all up to you.”

His fingers grip his hair as he exhales through his nose. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, resuming to pace like a caged animal. “I…This is…This is so fucking huge.”

He stops and looks at me, his brown eyes intense. The kind of intensity that makes my stomach flip for the wrong reasons.

“Haisley, this is not what I expected tonight. Hell, I never even thought of having kids. But now that we’re having one—or maybe two—let me help.”

Wait, what? “What do you mean by two babies?”

“There are twins on the Spanish side of the family,” he explains.

I shake my head. “I already had my first appointment, and there’s only one baby.”

“Oh, cool.” He exhales, visibly relaxing. “One is manageable.”

Manageable . The word sticks with me. It’s as if Rasmus is already making a list in his head of what he can and can’t handle regarding this pregnancy. How brilliant.

“Wait,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “Aren’t you Swedish? Where’s this Spanish side coming from?”

He smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve got a Swedish passport and grew up there, if that’s what you’re implying. But my mom is half Swedish, half Spanish. My dad was Australian. As my mom likes to say, I’m a United Nations baby. ”

“So, our baby is going to have Swedish, Spanish, and Australian heritage from your side, not to forget that I’m half Spanish?”

“Yep,” he says, his voice softening as he switches to Spanish for his following thought. “Nuestro bebé.” Our baby .

I repeat his words in a whisper. The weight of those words lands between us, heavy and undeniable.

Before I can respond, he steps forward and wraps his arms around me.

His body is tense, his hold a little tighter than usual friendly hugs, like he’s grounding himself with the contact.

Yet, his embrace is still comforting and steady, and I lean into him without thinking.

The feel of him against me brings back memories from that night we spent together. His large hands gripping my waist, that rock-hard naked body against mine, the deep sounds he made when we kissed, and how he worshiped my body all night long.

Damn, Haisley, you shouldn’t be thinking about how you want to hump your baby daddy in the middle of your parents’ party. Ugh, baby daddy. Nope. Just nope. Maybe I should call him something else. Or use his first name. That’s neutral.

Lost in my thoughts, I don’t notice Rasmus stepping back. When our gazes connect, he whispers, his voice breaking, “We’re in this together, okay? No matter what happens.”

“Okay,” I whisper back, feeling hope ignite in my chest. “But if you ever find yourself unable to handle this new reality, tell me. We can come up with an arrangement.”

His grip on my waist tightens. “No way. Haisley, listen. I’m not the kind of guy who bails on something this important.” He lets out a breathless sigh. “Even if I feel my brain is short-circuiting right fucking now.”

“But aren’t you scared? ”

Rasmus drags both hands down his face. “Me? Scared?” He asks with a humorless laugh.

“Fuck, I’m absolutely terrified. My entire life flipped upside down in the span of five minutes.

I was planning on spending the rest of this party avoiding rich old ladies trying to set me up with their granddaughters.

Instead, I’m standing in your dad’s office, who happens to be my new GM and the team owner, finding out I’m gonna be a dad,” he rambles on.

“I’m about to have a panic attack, but I can’t because you’re the one who’s actually carrying the baby, and me freaking out won’t help either of us…

so, no, I’m not scared. I’m fucking petrified.

But I’m not walking away from this baby. ”

His words wash away my doubts and fears of raising a kid alone. But they also bring vulnerability to the surface. I hadn’t realized until now how much I’d braced myself for rejection or for him to run. But he’s still standing here, holding onto me, promising that we face all this together.

“I didn’t expect you to just accept this.”

He chuckles softly, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“Are you kidding me? It feels like I got hit in the face with a puck, and my brain is still rattling inside my skull. As I said, I’m freaking out inside.

But I’m—” He pauses, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t know how to explain it in any of the languages I speak.

Somehow, this was supposed to happen, you know?

The universe is giving me a wake-up call or something. ”

I blink at him, caught off guard by his thoughts as they’re mirroring my own. “You truly believe that?”

“I don’t know what to believe right now. You could tell me that the sky is green, and I would nod, agreeing with you. All I know is that I’m here, and I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

“Okay. Then we figure this out together. ”

“Together,” he echoes, the word feeling as solid as a foundation being laid between us.

And I feel maybe, just maybe, we truly can figure this out.

What can go wrong with two strangers raising a baby together anyway?