Page 60 of The Trouble with Flings

I take a deep breath. “She said I’m pregnant.” It’s the second time I’ve said it out loud, and it still feels unreal.

“Oh, Jen.” Mia’s voice drops solemnly. “I assume you told Fitz. How did he take the news that you don’t want to keep it?”

“I didn’t tell him that. I changed my mind. I’m keeping the baby.” The decision still feels right, even if it’s terrifying.

Mia is silent for a full thirty seconds before saying, “You changed it, or Fitz changed it for you?”

It’s a fair question from my protective sister, given my lifetime of not wanting children, but it still irritates me that she thinks I can be swayed about something so important by any man.

“It was me, Mia. When I saw the baby on the sonogram and heard the heartbeat, everything changed. Suddenly it wasn’t hypothetical. It was real, and the only thing I wanted to do was protect it.” My eyes well with the memory. I squeeze them shut.

“Wow. That’s a big change. You know I support you, and I will be here every step of the way, right? You’re going to be an amazing mother.”

“Thanks, Mi.” Emotions bubble up inside me, bringing fresh tears. I swipe at them. “God, these hormones are killing me.”

“Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“No. I’m okay. Still kind of in shock, and scared, but I know it’s the right decision. I feel it in my bones.”

“Am I allowed to be excited?” she asks carefully.

I smile. “Yes, but don’t tell anyone yet. We haven’t discussed telling people yet. I should talk to him. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course.”

I get up and head out of the bedroom. The apartment is dark, save for the light of the moon coming through the living room windows. Fitz is looking out at the city, arms crossed, gray Henley stretched across his broad back. Seeing him in here should scare the hell out of me, but it doesn’t. That should scare me even more, but I don’t have the time or focus to think about it right now.

“Just tell me how Fitz is taking it before you hang up,” Mia says.

My chest tightens thinking about the look on his face when I first saw him in front of my apartment. I’m done playing games…Is any of this real for you? And the way all that frustration fell away when he saw the sonogram pictures.

I swallow hard. “Better than I deserve,” I say quietly into the phone.

Mia makes a sound that tells me she heard everything I didn’t say. “Call me tomorrow.”

“I will.”

As I end the call, Fitz turns around, a warm smile stretching across his handsome face. “Everything okay, wild girl?”

My emotions go a little haywire at the endearment.

Damn hormones.

“Yeah.”

“We should probably talk about breaking the news to our families,” he says. “Unless you already have?”

I shake my head. “I haven’t told anyone but Mia, and that’s only because she’s the one who dragged me into the drugstore and made me take the first test. I’m not ready to tell anyone else yet.”

“Okay,” he says skeptically. “Are you questioning your decision? It’s okay if you are.”

“No. I’m not.” I put my phone on the surfboard. “It’s just…there’s a lot up in the air. I’ve had three weeks to think about this, but you just found out a couple of hours ago. You might change your mind like I did, but in the opposite direction, and that’ll change what we tell them.”

He cocks his head, his expression turning serious. “Jen, I’m not going to change my mind. I want this to work between us, and I want this baby.”

“You can’t know that for sure.” The same way Gary told me he’d never hurt me. A shiver runs down my spine. “We don’t even know if we get along outside of vacation. What if we aren’t compatible with the stresses of real life at our doorstep? What if we drive each other crazy?” The words tumble out, panic rising inside me. “Shouldn’t we figure that out before your entire family meets the woman who ruined your life?” I fan my face, pacing. “I can’t…I—”

His hands close around mine, turning me toward him, and then he draws me into his arms. “Take a breath, wild girl,” he says quietly.