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22
LIAM
What in the actual fuck?I hadn’t seen Aria in a good eight months or so. There wasno waythat was my kid. We’d been on about three dates and slept together a sum total of one (not-at-all- memorable) time.
No fucking way.
“Aren’t you going to say something?” Aria chirped, rubbing her very round, very large belly, and smiling up at me.
“Uh—” I muttered, at a total loss for words.
“Oh, the baby’s kicking! You want to feel?” She lunged for my hand, grabbing it and bringing it down on her hard belly.
Super fucking weird, since she was practically a stranger.
A light tap pushed up against my hand, kind of like a strange alien thump.
“Cool, right?” Aria beamed, her dark eyes wide as she stared at me, waiting for some kind of reaction.
“Um, yeah. But listen—there’s no way this baby is mine. We haven’t seen each other in months and we slept together once. And used protection. The condom didn’t break, and you said you were on the pill.”
“Well, I’m not, like, super great at remembering to take my pill. I forget about half the time. And you know, no contraceptive is one-hundred percent effective!” she said, reminding me of a high school sex ed teacher, and my heart literally sunk.
I mean, the odds were exceedingly low, but I supposed itcouldhappen.
“I’m sure this is a shock to you, but I really thought you’d be a little more excited about it. I mean, I’m the one doing all the heavy lifting here. You’re not suffering through the morning sickness, the sore boobs, the back aches...”
“Right, right. I’m really sorry about that...”
“I thought you’d be happy about this. That’s why I tracked you down, and it wasn’t that easy. But you at least deserve to know...” Her voice trailed off, her plump lower lip popping out in a pout.
“I appreciate that. But I really don’t think this is possible,” I stammered, sweating now, my heart hammering in my chest.
Was it? Could this really be my baby? And if so, what did that mean for me and Macy?
Oh God. Macy.
I glanced behind me towards the kitchen and noticed a shadow on the floor; no sounds of coffee-making echoed from the kitchen.
“Listen, Aria—let me make sure I have your number and we’ll circle up in the next day or two, figure out a plan. If this is my child, obviously I’ll do whatever I need to do to support the baby.”
“So, like, you’re not going to be in your kid’s life? That’s fucked up,” Aria said, her voice low, her eyes filling with tears.
“Whoa. I didn’t say that. This is all just a shock. I’m gonna need a minute to digest.”
“I really thought you’d be more of a stand-up guy, Liam. I mean, you give gobs of money to charity and you’re not going to raise your own fucking kid?” Aria swiped at the tears on her cheeks, crossing her arms over her massive belly.
“I don’t know, Aria, okay? I need some time to think. Also, I’m going to need a paternity test.”
“What the fuck, Liam? Are you saying I’m lying?” Aria threw her hands on her hips, a bright pink flush rising from her neck to her cheeks. “I wouldn’t come all the way out here if I wasn’t sure this kid was yours.”
I held up my hands. “No, not making any accusations. I do need some verification, though; I hope you can understand where I’m coming from on that. Then we can go from there.”
“I can’t believe this,” Aria said, her lip trembling again as she smoothed her dark hair over her shoulder.
“It’s nothing personal,” I said, reaching out and awkwardly patting her shoulder. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll be in touch.” I fished my cell out of my pocket and took down Aria’s number, then walked her out to her car, effectively ushering her off my property. As soon as she cleared the gate, I closed it shut behind her, blowing out a huge whoosh of air.
Fuck me.This could be a real game-changer. I had no intention of raising a kid with a woman I barely knew. And how did I even know it was mine?
