Never Say Never: Gravel Hill Boys Book Two

17. Madison

This was a huge mistake.I should’ve gone with my gut and refused to get out of the car. If I had the keys, there was a good chance I’d march across the street, climb into that silly little car, and drive myself right back to the airport. Liane was resourceful; she’d find her way back to Philadelphia.

Not willing to raise the volume of my voice unnecessarily or to invite eavesdroppers, who might very well be hovering on the side of the building, I moved closer to Ian.

“Can you swing yourself around if I sit across from you?”

He huffed. “Doubtful. I’m hanging on by a thread here, but I can try.”

“No, don’t. What if I sit next to you? Can you at least swivel your hips without moving your head.”

Despite how seriously ill he looked, he grinned. “I’m pretty sure you could answer that.”

“Answer what?” I asked, confused.

“I bet you remember how well I can swivel my hips.”

I pressed my fingers to my temples. I wasn’t the one with the concussion, but the headache that had been building over the past hour might rival his.

“Let me make this as quick and as painless as possible.”

“Too late.”

“Then you’ll have to settle for quick. I’m having this baby. My last relationship crashed and burned. Who knows if I’ll find myself in a committed relationship again. I’ve always wanted to be a mother. The timing isn’t perfect; I’m still in the process of building my PR firm, but I’ve chosen to look at this as a gift and maybe the universe’s way of giving me what it thinks I need.”

He seemed to be listening, so I continued.

“I don’t need or expect anything from you. I’m financially stable. My business is relatively new, but it’s quite successful. I own my own apartment. I also have a trust fund and my portfolio to fall back on in the event of any kind of emergency.” It wasn’t necessary to mention that as the only child of an only child, the bulk of my parents’ wealth and grandparents’ wealth, which included a multi-billion-dollar luxury brands conglomerate, would come to me upon their passing.

Night fell, and we were cast in shadow. A light pole in the parking lot and a dim bulb over the side door provided the only illumination. I swatted a mosquito off my arm.

“Our child will want for nothing,” I assured him. Not that he looked concerned. He actually looked constipated, which I assumed was him trying to focus on my face.

“I don’t want child support, medical insurance. You don’t even have to be involved if you don’t want to. My only reason for ambushing you, as you called it, is because I thought you had a right to know that you’re going to be a father.”

“I want a paternity test.”

Did he seriously think I’d seek him out to be the father of my child if there were another option? “Fine, but you don’t need one. Like I said, I don’t want anything?—”

“I don’t care what you want. You dropped a fucking bomb on me, and I’m not about to take your word for it. There are plenty of women out there who’d love to claim they’re my baby mama. Which is why I always wrap it up.”

I cringed. If I didn’t like the term baby daddy, I sure as hell didn’t want to be called baby mama.

“Condoms are ninety-eight percent effective when used correctly. However, since no one is perfect—and you’ve displayed that fact brilliantly tonight—it’s more like eighty-seven percent.”

“What are you, some kind of pregnancy expert?” he groused.

“Hardly, given the situation I find myself in. But I’ve had a lot of time to try and figure out how I got pregnant.”

He snorted, and I knew if I didn’t cut him off he was going to say something stupid, and I’d reached my stupidity quotient for one day. “And…” I insisted, “I did my research.”

“I’m not buying what you’re telling me about those percentages, but even if that’s true, didn’t your boyfriend dump you the night we hooked up? How do I know he’s not the father?”

My blood pressure ticked upwards. “Not that it’s any of your business, but we hadn’t had sex for weeks before that night.”

“Weeks?” He couldn’t seem to wrap his head around someone going without sex that long. “What about after that night?”

I chewed on the inside of my mouth and then shook my head.

His eyes widened. “Not at all? No wonder you’re so cranky.”

I needed to leave before I did him actual harm. “Look, you want a paternity test, that’s fine. It’s unnecessary, but fine. Find a lab in Philadelphia to conduct it because I have no intention of coming here again. And you can pay for it too.”

He snorted again. He was beginning to sound like a goddamn bull. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t.” I rose to my feet. “You can contact me through Liane. There’s no need for us to exchange numbers at this point. Once you get the results, we can talk more if you’re interested.”

I snatched my clutch off the picnic table.

“Hey,” he said in a more normal tone of voice. “Do you want your stick back?” He held up the pregnancy test. “I know girls like to keep these things as mementos.”

Spine straight, head held high; I wiped a clammy hand down the front of my dress.

“That’s not necessary, but thank you.”

There was no need to tell him I had about a dozen more just like it at home.