Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Aria
Pregnant.
There was no misreading this one. The first three tests, she’d convinced herself that maybe that second pink line wasn’t as dark as it looked. But the stick in her hand was crystal clear, that single, life-changing word in stark black and white on the digital readout.
She was going to be sick. Or rather, she might have if she hadn’t already lost the meager contents of her stomach first thing that morning. And still, the nausea rolled through her, forcing her to close her eyes and grit her teeth until the worst of it passed.
What the hell was she going to do? Her mom was going to lose her entire mind when she found out. Getting knocked up before she was thirty and established in her career was, as far as Aria’s mother was concerned, the worst possible sin a woman could commit.
So talking to her was out, at least for now.
Her dad would understand. Maybe.
Until he started asking questions. Very uncomfortable questions with very uncomfortable answers she wasn’t quite ready to give.
Fuck.
Lottie. Lottie was like, parent-adjacent, and she would understand. She’d also understand if Aria said she wasn’t ready to discuss the Who, What, When, Where, and How of the situation.
Okay. First point of order, talk to Lottie. Figure out what the fuck she was going to do.
And then she could go about the messy business of disappointing both of her parents at the same time.
Easy-peasy.
Fighting back another wave of nausea, she forced herself into the shower, which helped her at least feel somewhat human again.
Dressed in a pair of comfortable leggings—a concession to her swollen, bloated stomach, one of the many symptoms she’d been trying very hard to ignore for the past month—and a baggy sweatshirt with her school’s logo emblazoned on the front, she headed for Lottie and Braden’s house.
And tried not to give into the panic brewing in her chest the whole way there.
Some benevolent god must have been watching over her, because Lottie was home alone when she arrived.
Still looking gorgeously tan and glowing from her honeymoon, even though they’d been home for two whole months, leaving Aria to wonder if she’d been sneaking off to a tanning bed somewhere even though her husband had expressly forbidden it. If Braden caught her, would he—
Nope. Still weird to think about them having that kind of relationship.
“Aria!” Happiness lit Lottie’s face as she rose from the couch where she’d been curled up with a book when Aria found her in the living room. “I didn’t know you were coming over today. I’m afraid you’ve missed your dad. But I could call him if you like, he’s just having breakfast with… a friend.”
The slight hesitation in Lottie’s voice gave her away. Braden only had one ‘friend’ they all avoided mentioning by some unspoken agreement they’d come to when Braden and Lottie had returned from their honeymoon.
Killian O’Rourke.
Of course her father would be hanging out with the father of her child the day she found out she was pregnant.
So much for that benevolent god smiling down on her. It was clearly Loki, or some other mythological trickster watching over her these days.
“That’s fine.” Pushing thoughts of annoying trickster gods out of her mind, she forced a smile for her stepmother. “I actually came to see you.”
“Me?” Surprise flickered over Lottie’s face. “Really? Because I’ve kinda felt like you’ve been avoiding me since the wedding, but I didn’t want to push if you were still uncomfortable about… things.”
Guilt twisted her stomach, adding to the nausea that still hadn’t quite abated.
She had been avoiding them, not entirely, but she certainly hadn’t been spending as much time here as they’d all expected she would when she’d moved into her apartment downtown.
But Lottie being who she was hadn’t said a word about it, instead giving Aria the time she needed to come to grips with things.
Like her father being best friends with a mob boss. A mob boss whose child she was currently carrying.
When the hell had her life become a soap opera?
“I’m sorry. I have been avoiding you, and now I feel like a total asshole because I only came to see you because I need to talk, and that makes me both a shitty friend and a shitty stepdaughter.”
To her horror, tears burned at the backs of her eyes, blurring her vision so she was forced to blink rapidly to hide them. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t quite quick enough and worry filled Lottie’s pale eyes, turning the normally brilliant blue to a stormy gray.
“Oh, honey. You aren’t either of those things. Here, have a seat and I’ll grab us a snack from the kitchen.”
Just the thought of food had her stomach rolling again, but it would give her time to get her emotions under control, so Aria nodded as she dropped down onto the plush couch. Lottie hurried out of the living room and Aria closed her eyes, dragging in a deep breath.
You can do this. It’s just Lottie.
The breathing helped, as did the internal lectures. Enough so that by the time Lottie strode back into the room carrying a tray laden with muffins and steaming mugs of tea, Aria no longer felt as though she might start sobbing at the drop of a hat.
And, surprisingly, the smell of the muffins didn’t make her stomach roll. Emboldened by that, she peeled the wrapper from the one Lottie handed to her and took a tentative bite.
Of pure blueberry heaven.
“Oh my god. Are these those muffins from your wedding day?”
“They are. Frankie brought a batch over yesterday.” Grinning now, Lottie unwrapped her own muffin and took a bite, her eyes fluttering closed as she let out a low moan of satisfaction. “Holden is a fucking genius, I swear.”
Frankie, aka Francesca Prescott, one of Lottie’s oldest and closest friends.
From what Aria understood of the situation, Frankie struggled with an eating disorder but her husband’s blueberry muffins were the one food she couldn’t turn down, so he’d invested a fair amount of time into making the perfect blueberry muffin just for her.
That, kids, is true love.
Fuck. She was going to start leaking again if she didn’t get her hormones under control.
“Okay, so.” Shifting so she was facing Aria more fully, Lottie gestured with her muffin. “What did you come over to talk about?”
Oh god, oh god, oh god. This was it. She had to actually say the words, out loud. And then it would be real and there would be no taking it back.
Except it was real, whether she said the words out loud or not, and pretending otherwise wouldn’t fix anything. So she just needed to say it.
Just say it.
But as she was gathering the courage, her gaze landed on a gold plaque perched in the middle of the mantle above the living room fireplace. “What’s that?”
“Huh?” Following her line of sight, Lottie smiled. “Oh. Our wedding gift from Killian.”
Of course. Why wouldn’t she try to distract herself from the mob baby currently making its home in her womb by focusing on the one thing in the room that was directly connected to said baby’s father?
Now that she’d noticed it, though, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from asking more. “He bought you a plaque?”
“No. The foundation sent it over. It’s from a group that’s researching the cancer my mom had.” Lottie swallowed hard, tears glistening in her eyes. “He made a donation to them in my name as our wedding present.”
Dammit. She didn’t want to know that. It was so much easier to convince herself she didn’t want him anywhere near her or her baby if he was a bad guy.
He’s still a bad guy. Doing something sweet for Lottie on her wedding day doesn’t erase the harm he’s done.
“Anyway, you didn’t come here to talk about Killian,” Lottie said, interrupting Aria’s runaway train of thought. “Tell me about your thing.”
I actually did come here to talk about Killian, now that you mention it.
Definitely not the way to start that conversation.
Ugh.
Breaking off another piece of muffin, Aria cleared her throat. “I need to tell you something, but I need you to promise that it stays between the two of us for now.”
“Of course.”
“I’m serious, Lottie. You can’t tell anyone, especially my dad.”
Again, worry twisted her friend’s expression. “Ari… you’re starting to freak me out, babe. What’s going on?”
Nothing to do but to just fucking say it. Dragging air deep into her lungs, she closed her eyes and forced the words past the sudden tightness in her throat. “I’m pregnant.”
Silence fell, so utter and complete, a pin dropping would have sounded like a bomb going off.
And then a loud squeal rent the silence in two and Lottie launched herself at Aria, wrapping her in a hug so tight Aria couldn’t drag air into her lungs. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! You’re gonna be a mommy! This is the best news!”
“What?”
When she pulled back, Lottie’s face was split into a smile so wide, Aria wondered how it didn’t actually split her face open.
“You’re gonna be such a fun momma. And I’ve kinda been having baby fever, with Silver’s little bean on the way, but Braden and I decided we don’t really want more kids so like, this is perfect!
Oh, wait.” Lottie’s nose crinkled. “I am not going to be called Grandma. I’m not even thirty.
We’ll need to think of a much more fun name for me. ”
“Lottie… slow down. You’re making my head spin.”
“Sorry.” Her smile turned sheepish. “Sorry, I got carried away. How are you feeling about this?”
“Terrified.” Letting out a shaky laugh, Aria ran a hand through her hair.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Lottie.
I’m supposed to start law school in the fall, but I can’t do that if I’m eight months pregnant or I’ve just had a baby or wherever the fuck I’ll be when school starts.
My mom is going to lose her fucking mind and Dad… ”
“Oh, honey. Come here.” Without waiting for Aria to respond, Lottie pulled her close, once more wrapping her up in a tight hug while Aria tried to fight back yet another wave of tears.
After a long, somewhat strained silence, Lottie asked, “Aria… do you want me to be stepmom Lottie or friend Lottie right now?”
“I dunno. What’s the difference?”
“Stepmom Lottie knows there are things she shouldn’t say about your parents. Friend Lottie gives no fucks and will tell you exactly what she’s thinking right now.”
“Then friend Lottie, definitely.”
“Okay, then. I know your mom has very strong opinions about how you should and shouldn’t live your life. But at some point, you have to start living your life for you. And if she or your dad have a problem with that, then fuck them.”
Pulling away, Aria giggled as she swiped at her tears. “I dare you to say that to my dad’s face.”
“I will.” Chin tilted, Lottie did her best to look brave, but Aria could see the hint of worry in her eyes. “I’m not scared of Braden Elliott.”
“Maybe not, but I’ve seen what he keeps in that cabinet in his office at the club.”
Red flooded her friend’s face. “Okay, well, maybe I’m a little afraid of those damn canes, but still. I would absolutely tell him to fuck off if I thought he needed to hear it, even if I wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for a while afterward.”
The truth of it rang in Lottie’s words and affection welled in Aria’s chest. “Thanks. That actually means a lot.”
“Of course, honey.” Lottie’s expression turned apologetic. “But I can’t keep a secret like this indefinitely. And neither can you, for that matter. You’re going to have to tell your dad the truth sooner or later.”
“Tell me the truth about what?”
Oh, fuck.