Chapter 34
Charlotte
“You’re pregnant.”
The words pierce the cold, stale air for the fourth time. First, it was me saying it, then Ben, Gavin, and now Ben again. I guess he finally gets his brain to wrap around it.
I am pregnant, and everyone knows.
My worst nightmare has come true. As much as I wish this was all just a bad dream, it’s not. It’s real and everyone is staring at me.
“Hey what’s going on?” Jordan and Josie show up out of the blue. Now I have even more people standing in front of me waiting for answers.
“Charlotte is pregnant,” Holly says, confirming the information she already knows.
“She is?” Josie says, and I shoot her a look. The gig is up, clearly.
Then Holly’s expression changes. Probably because both Gavin and Ben look utterly shocked. Her eyes flash between me and Ben.
“Wait…is Charlotte short for…Charlie?” she asks, and all she has to do is look at Ben to know the answer to that. “Oh, my God.”
“Holly, I can explain,” I say, absolutely mortified by all of this.
“Can you, though?” she asks.
“Wait,” Gavins shakes his head. “Charlotte is Charlie?” he asks. Ben doesn’t understand the significance of it, and he still looks ashamed.
“Yes, but–” I try to explain, but get cut off.
“Ben is your ex?” he asks, looking directly at me.
“Yes, but–”
“And you’re pregnant with his baby!” Holly claps her hands over her cheeks, tears already pouring.
“No!” I blurt out, stepping towards her.
“Oh, thank God,” Ben says.
“The baby is Gavin’s,” I admit. The shit just hit the fan…on high.
“What are you talking about?” Gavin asks.
“Yeah, what are you talking about?” Ben asks.
“So the baby’s not Ben’s?” Holly asks, probably just needing to hear it again.
“No. No, it’s not,” I say. I focus all my attention on Gavin, whose jawline has never been sharper.
“What were you two doing back here alone?” Holly asks Ben while glaring at me.
“Just talking,” he says.
“Are you sure about that?” she asks. “Because from the sounds of it, Charlie has a thing for Lacey men.”
“He’s not lying,” I say. “Ben needed someone to talk to because he was nervous about the wedding and–”
“You have cold feet?” Holly asks, whipping her glare over to Ben. Good lord.
“Why didn’t you tell me that your wedding planner is your ex?” Gavin asks him. With both of them shouting at him, Ben snaps.
“Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been fucking around with my wedding planner?” Ben shoots back.
“Because who I sleep with is none of your business,” Gavin argues.
“Until you get someone pregnant,” Ben snaps.
“Which I didn’t know about…” Gavin shifts to me.
“You know whose business it really is that the wedding planner is your ex, Benjamin?” Holly cuts back in. “Your fiancée’s.”
Ben turns to her, desperation softening his face.
“I didn’t say anything because you liked her so much. And I didn’t even know until we got here. I didn’t want to upset you,” he says.
“Right, because finding out she is Charlie doesn’t upset me,” she says.
“I didn’t want to ruin the wedding,” he tells her sadly.
“Well, I think you still managed to do that,” Holly says.
“Damn, your family is wild, man,” Jordan says before receiving a shut the hell up from both Gavin and Ben.
“You know,” Josie says. “I think this is just that. A family affair.”
“You can say that again,” Ben says as he continues to glare at Gavin.
“I think we should let them talk,” Josie says before giving me an empathetic look and pulling a drunken Jordan away.
“You know, I don’t think I have anything to say,” Gavin announces as he starts to turn around.
“Wait,” I say, grabbing his arm, but he pulls back.
“To anyone,” he tells me before marching off.
With my mouth hanging open and my chin quivering, I turn to Holly. She pulls away from me, her face in her hands as she cries.
And I don’t know what to do. Everything is falling apart, and it’s all my fault.