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He raised his eyebrows. “So, this is intentional?”
“I guess. Although breaking up with him wasn’t. We were in Vermont when this happened…” I patted my flat stomach. “And when I made it clear I was happy with the consequences of not using condoms, I’d expected that we’d go back to Boston, and that I’d tell him I was in love with him and ask him to move in with me. I’d never expected it to end like this.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding his head, encouraging me to go on. “What’s the second reason?”
“He called me.”
“He did?”
“Yes. I didn’t take the call, but it was his message that reminded me I could be pregnant.”
“How? Did he ask about it?”
“Not in so many words. He just made me remember the dates.”
“How?”
“He said it had been two weeks since we’d been in Vermont… and if I needed him, I should call.”
“In which case, don’t you think you should? He clearly hadn’t forgotten his responsibilities. Regardless of what had gone on between you, he must have still cared, or he wouldn’t have called.”
“He didn’t care about me, though.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked
“Can’t you see? He called about the baby, not me.”
“I don’t see how you can tell that from a message, but are you really not even gonna give him a chance?”
“No.”
“I don’t agree with you, but what’s the third reason?”
“You.”
He leaned back, his brow furrowed. “Me?”
“Yes. I can see what knowing about Lexi’s baby is doing to you.”
“Can you? What’s it doing to me then?”
“It’s ruining your life, Drew. It’s changing you.”
“Yeah… and so it should. I’m gonna be a father in a few months’ time. I can’t live my life the way I used to.”
“But…”
“But nothing. Lexi and I may not be together, but she’s carrying my child, and no matter what the personal consequences of that are to me, I’d still rather know about it. I decided to stand by her, so if anyone is ruining my life, it’s me. I had a choice, because she told me, and you can’t take that choice away from Mac. It’s not fair, Ella.”
I stared up at him, tears filling my eyes. “I—I love him so much, Drew, but it’s over between us and I can’t interfere in his life.”
I could tell he wasn’t convinced by my arguments, but he didn’t pressure me, and he hasn’t done since… not that I’ve had much time to think about it myself. In the intervening weeks, we’ve all been really busy organizing Hunter and Livia’s wedding. We had precious little time as it was, but things were made even more complicated by a piece of news that stopped us all in our tracks. Hunter found out that Ken Bevan had been killed in a car accident just a few days after Christmas. His is a name that’s haunted our family for decades, and although Livia barely knew the man, he was her natural father, and she felt sheshould spend some time with her mom. It was understandable, and I agreed to take over the wedding plans while she was away.
Neither she nor her mom wanted to attend the funeral, but Hunter went on their behalf. He said it was poorly attended, which didn’t surprise any of us, and once that was over, they returned to Newport. I think they both felt they could draw a line under that part of the past, and we got on with the plans for their future… together.
The wedding took place yesterday, and it was absolutely beautiful.
I know being pregnant makes you more emotional, but I barely stopped crying throughout the entire day. I was worse than Livia’s mom. She sniffled a little, although that was understandable. Not only had her first husband just died, raking up some unhappy memories, but her daughter was getting married, and it had been a stressful week for her and Connor. Their house had only just been completed in time, so their move down here had been a little rushed, to put it mildly. The wedding helped her forget her problems for a while, I have no doubt.
