Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Zander
“Absolutely not,” Romy says, standing in my suite, DeSoto and Beau standing by the door. “We’re not doing that.”
“I understand your concern,” Beau says, putting his hands up in placating gesture, because that’s Beau.
If he can get you to calm down, he can prove his point.
Or so he thinks. “I get it, all right? It’s not ideal that DeSoto has to act like your partner at the doctor, but you know DeSoto… a bit. What’s the harm?”
She stares at DeSoto, and he shrugs because he too knows that this is a stupid idea.
“We can’t have Zander walking into an OBGYN office with a random woman. Everybody’s gonna know instantly what’s going on.” Beau glances at me for backup, but I don’t have it in me to fight her on this.
“Well, can’t he put on a baseball cap or wear sunglasses?”
God, she’s so sweet and innocent. I want to throw a giant bubble over her to keep her that way and stop her from ever becoming jaded like me.
“Sadly, no,” I say, trying to appease the situation.
Beau tosses his hands in the air in exasperation. “A baseball cap and sunglasses won’t hide the fact that Zander Shaw is Zander Shaw. I mean, Romy, you were a big fan at one point. Do you think a hat and sunglasses would have fooled you?”
She scoffs. “At one point I was his biggest fan.”
I grunt and tilt my head at Beau with a thank you for the reminder that she doesn’t think much of me anymore.
“I’ll just go by myself then.” She crosses her arms, looking like a defiant pre-teen.
DeSoto’s lips tip up a little and damn, mine do too. It’s always entertaining when someone comes back at Beau.
God, she looks gorgeous today. She’s wearing a cute little skirt and shirt with cowboy boots.
It makes me wish she was mine so I could pick her up and feel those legs wrapped around my waist. But she’s not.
I have to keep reminding myself that I’m the one who ensured that was the case. And for good reason.
“That’s not an option,” I say, my voice a little gruff.
Her eyes shoot to mine, and whoa, she’s got a glare I didn’t think she had in her.
“Well then, what do you want to do? I have to see a doctor. I have to start taking vitamins. I put it off until I told you, and now that you know—I want to confirm that everything is okay. After I confirm that I am indeed pregnant, I’m going to go to my parents’ house for a family dinner and tell them all that you knocked me up. ”
“What?” I didn’t even think about her telling her family. I guess because I don’t have a family to tell, I never even thought about hers.
“I have to tell my parents. My mom already knows, and my sister too.”
“So, two of your family members already know.” Beau massages the bridge of his nose.
“Look who can do math.” Romy points at him then smirks at me.
DeSoto laughs but coughs to cover it up when Beau glares at him over his shoulder. I bite my lip to stop from smiling. Now I really want to take her to bed.
“They aren’t going to tell anybody I’m pregnant with Zander Shaw’s baby.” Her gaze drifts to mine. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I shouldn’t reference you like a celebrity with your first and last name, but it’s kind of a habit. I should’ve just said Zander, I’m sorry.”
I’m floored because I’ve never told her how I hate that people use my first and last name when they refer to me. She obviously got the gist of it just by being around me.
“Then I’ll tell the rest of my family,” she says nonchalantly.
DeSoto’s eyebrows raise.
“What?” Beau shakes his head as if he heard her wrong. “Who?”
Romy narrows her eyes at him. “They all need to know. I’m not going to keep a secret from them.”
“You can’t.” Beau must be desperate because he has his hands up in prayer pose now, trying to get her to understand how easily this type of news can spread. “We can’t let—wait, how many people are in this family?” He turns to DeSoto. “How many people live on this ranch?”
“Why are you asking him?” Romy nods at DeSoto. “It’s my family.”
Beau blows out a breath and puts his hands on his hips, facing her again. “Fine, how many people are we talking about?”
She stares at the ceiling, and her lips move a little, as if she’s counting in her head. “Twenty-four.”
“Twenty-four?” Beau’s mouth hangs open for a beat. “Twenty-four people cannot know that you are pregnant with his baby. That’s a hard no, Romy. Not gonna happen.” His gaze strays to me again, and I shrug, which makes his lips thin further.
“Well, it’s gonna have to happen,” Romy argues. “It’s going to get around anyway. Believe me, my family does not keep secrets from each other. We’re all very close. And I will not let them find out from someone else.”
Beau’s head rocks back. “I see how close you guys are. But the more people who know, the greater the chance of this getting out before we’re ready for it to.
If that happens, we can’t spin the narrative.
” Romy opens her mouth to say something, but he soldiers on.
“We need to keep this under wraps, Romy. It’s for your protection as well the baby’s.
You cannot be laying this out to everybody on the ranch. ”
She juts out her hip, and I already know this won’t go over well. “I’m telling my family. Everybody will keep it a secret. You don’t have to worry.”
“Did you hear that? I don’t have to worry.
” Beau throws his hands up and rolls his eyes.
“That’s what everybody says. I’m not saying anyone in your family is going to sell the information to the press, but with big news like this, sometimes people inadvertently let things slip.
And if they do it with the wrong person…
” He shakes his head, hands on his hips.
“You always think someone will keep your secret until the first sleazebag comes around with a million-dollar check and says, ‘Get me a picture of the baby, and you’re a millionaire.’ Then everybody’s ethics and values go down the drain. ”
“They’re not going to tell anybody. If anything, they’ll protect us.” She begs me with her eyes.
I want to say, “Okay, I got you, baby. Yeah, we can trust your family.” But the problem is, Beau is right.
She loves her family, and I’m sure they’re great, but people can turn on you.
Maybe she hasn’t learned that harsh lesson yet, and I don’t want her to ever have to learn that lesson, but it will happen sooner or later.
Especially now that she’s attached to me.
Still, I understand, and I don’t want to stress her out during her pregnancy.
“Okay, how about this?” I interrupt. “We tell the immediate family. Your mom already knows. She shouldn’t be keeping it from your dad.”
“Yes, couples don’t keep secrets,” she adds, spearing Beau with a look.
“Couples keep secrets all the time,” Beau argues. “Why do you think the divorce rate is so high?”
“Romy’s parents might not keep secrets.” I give him a meaningful look.
“They don’t,” Romy confirms.
“And if Lottie knows, I’m assuming the sheriff knows—”
“Why would the sheriff know?” Beau interrupts.
“Because he’s her husband. Where have you been?” Romy shoots back.
I kind of like this side of her too much.
“So, what, couples just tell each other everything?” Beau glances at DeSoto as if he has any clue. The man is as single as we are.
“I’m telling you, my family has to know.” Romy narrows her eyes at him.
Beau shifts into negotiation mode. “Okay, how many people are we talking?”
“Well, you have my parents, then you have Lottie and Brooks.”
“Brooks is the sheriff?” Beau asks.
“Yes, Brooks is the sheriff. My god, have you paid attention at all?” Romy rolls her big brown eyes at him. “And then you have Bennett and Delaney, and Wren and Leia.”
“Who are Wren and Leia?” Beau asks, irritation coating every word.
“They’re my nieces.”
His jaw tightens. “How old are your nieces?”
“Um, they’re seven.” Romy glances away from him.
“Seven-year-olds definitely don’t need to be in the loop. Do you think they’re gonna keep a secret? They’ll be like, ‘My Auntie Romy is pregnant with a country singer’s baby.’ Actually all they have to say is, ‘My Auntie Romy is pregnant,’ and people are just gonna assume it’s Zander’s.”
I try not to laugh at the girly voice Beau used to imitate the little girls.
“Why would people assume it’s Zander’s?” she asks.
“Yeah, why would they?” I look over at Beau, forehead wrinkled.
“Oh my god.” Beau massages his temples for a beat.
“This is ridiculous. Okay, we’re not telling any seven-year-olds that you’re pregnant.
That’s a done deal. I’ll give you the immediate family members—Lottie, the sheriff, your brother and Delaney, your dad.
But we’re not telling the girls, and we’re not telling anybody else at this point.
” He looks between Romy and me, waiting for our agreement.
“Well, when am I going to tell them? Eventually I’ll be showing.
” She grabs a pillow off the couch and shoves it under her shirt.
She bends her back and places both hands over her fake swollen belly.
Something rises up inside me, some kind of feeling of possession at seeing her stomach like that.
“I’m going to look like this. They aren’t stupid. ”
Beau lets out an exasperated huff. “Fucking hell. Okay, we’ll handle that when we get there. We’re not there yet, right? You’re still really thin.” His hand runs through the air down the length of her body. “I don’t know how long—I mean, when do you start showing? Eight months?”
“Eight months?” Romy says. “My god. I should take you to the OBGYN so you can educate yourself. And just so you know, I was a little thinner than this before.”
“Well, you look great,” I say to her because I can tell she feels somewhat self-conscious about her changing body. “You look fucking fantastic.”
She blushes, and I get a high over being the one to give that to her.
“Stop flirting,” Beau says, his hands clenching into fists.