Last Minute Fiancé

Chapter 13

Luca

My pulse raced when Addison opened the door. I was ready to be murdered. That was pretty much what was about to happen. She was going to murder me, and it would be entirely justified.

“I messed up. I fucked up so bad. I’m so sorry.”

Addison looked up at me with wide eyes and shook her head.

My stomach dropped and I let out a shaky breath. I deserved whatever was coming. Because I had been so stupid. All of our not-so-careful plans were now tossed up into the air, and nothing else mattered.

The moment that I had seen Mrs. Wells at my door, I had jumped up and tried to fix the situation, but the older woman had just held up her hand, clucked her tongue in that odd way that always annoyed the hell out of me, then left me alone, while Colt and I had tried to stop her. I had tried to reach Addison over and over again, but she hadn’t responded. I just got a text back an hour later saying that I should come over.

Colt had taken my last appointment, and I drove like a bat out of hell to her house.

I had ruined everything.

I hadn’t even realized that I could. That I had the power to take something so precious, so meaningful, and throw it out the window.

“I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry. I didn’t even know that she knew where I worked, or that she’d be in the back office. Colt and I were just talking about what happened, because we talk about our lives. Did he fire you? He better not have fired you. I’ll fight. I’ll do whatever it takes. You do not deserve to lose your job because I’m an idiot.”

“It’s fine. It’s really fine.”

I shook my head again. “It is not fine. I’m so sorry.”

“Come inside. I’m making decaf coffee with really fun creamers.”

“Baby.”

She took my hand and pulled me inside, closing the door behind her.

“I quit my job. You didn’t get me fired.”

I froze in place, watching as she tried to tug my hand and pull me after her. She was so cute, trying to tug me away, but she couldn’t do it because she was so tiny.

And yet, she had so much strength and perseverance.

And I had clearly lost my damn mind if I had just heard that correctly.

“Wait, what happened now?” I asked, confusion evident in my tone.

“Come and have some decaf coffee with me. I guess I could make you real coffee. You’d probably like that more. I can’t really have caffeine right now. At least, not the amounts that I used to have with my old job. Because it’s my old job now.”

“Your voice is going really high-pitched. Tell me, how can I fix this?”

That’s when I realized she was wearing yoga pants and a crop top with a shawl over it, and her baby bump poked out.

Because she was showing.

Showing our child.

The entire world crashed around me and I wanted to reach out, to press my hand against her belly just to feel it, and I realized that maybe now was not the appropriate time for that.

Addison poured me a cup of coffee, added whipped cream and caramel sauce, and handed it over.

“Cheers. It’s decaf but has tons of sugar. It’ll be okay. I promise. Everything will be okay.”

“You say that, and yet you’re pretty much shouting those words. What happened, Addison? Other than the fact that I ruined everything.”

She took a sip of her drink, and I did the same, wiping whipped cream from my nose.

“You didn’t ruin everything. You sort of just helped me get pushed in the right direction, because part of me has been thinking that I’ve been making a mistake for a little too long now.”

“I’m confused.”

“Honestly, so am I.”

She took a deep breath, and then began to pace the kitchen, her hand going to the swell of her stomach.

I was not going to think about how attractive that was.

There was seriously something wrong with me, but then again, I always thought Addison was attractive. And that was just one of the many problems with us.

“I realized that I’ve been trying for a promotion at a job that I don’t even know if I like anymore. I mean, I should have liked the job. It’s what I’ve been working towards since college.”

“Why don’t you take a seat?”

She scowled at me. “I don’t need to sit. I’m just pacing. Going belly first because apparently I’m showing now and that is starting to really settle in so let me panic first over this and then we’ll deal with the next step, okay?”

I nodded in silence before standing up and getting her a glass of water. She smiled, took a sip, and then set the glass down.

She was going to balk at me taking care of her, but I’d find a way. Even if I had to be sneaky about it.

“I was a freshman in college and I knew I wanted to go into finance. I loved numbers and I loved trying to make things work. And everything just led to this moment where I knew what company I wanted to work with because they were the best, and I wanted to be the best. I was a gifted student. Of course, you know that, you graduated early and went to vet school before I was even out of college. I’m two years older than you. I’m basically a cougar.”

I shook my head. “Baby, you’re not a cougar. You’re only two years older than me. That doesn’t really make you an older woman.”

“Excuse me, but math says so. I’m preying on you.”

“Addison.”

She threw her hands in the air. “I know I sound ridiculous now but I’m losing my fucking mind. I worked so hard for that promotion, I made you lie for me, and in the end it didn’t matter.”

“Because I ruined it.”

She shook her head. “But you didn’t. I was never going to get that job, you know. It was always going to be Travis because it’s a boys’ club. And they would’ve found a way to make it so HR wouldn’t notice, because it’s not like our HR even paid attention to anything anyway. But there would have always been reasons for me to never get ahead. I would always have worked twice as hard, and never had any time for a life. Because the one time I actually had a moment of life, we did this.” She pointed to her belly. “And I don’t regret that, because I’m somehow really excited for this and scared to death, even though I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I realized as my boss was reprimanding me and making sure I knew I was going to pay for lying, even though I was never going to get the promotion in the first place, that I couldn’t do it anymore. I hadn’t wanted to be there for a while and it took me too long to realize that.”

“Then why were you trying so hard for the promotion?” I asked, knowing it was probably the wrong question.

“Because I want to be the best. Just like you are. Just like all of our friends. We are all overachievers. I wanted to prove that I could do it, even though I didn’t like doing it anymore. I quit my job. So now I don’t get unemployment or severance or anything. But it’s okay, I have a plan.”

I leaned forward, interested. “Okay, that’s good.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Okay I lied. I don’t have a plan. But I’m pregnant and I don’t have medical insurance and I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

“We could get married,” I blurted, wondering if I had just lost my damn mind. But it did make sense. I had medical insurance, and getting married would give her medical insurance. It would probably help the whole “how are we going to raise this child together” question, though not really. I knew I was falling in love with Addison, and I had no idea how she felt about me. As it was, we had spent our entire “relationship” trying to get her this promotion so she would have time off for our child, and now that was all thrown out the window.

Nothing made sense anymore, and I had no idea what to even say in this moment, so of course blurting out we could get married was the perfect solution.

In answer, Addison threw her head back and laughed.

I didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed in my random and horribly timed indecent proposal.

“One fake thing at a time, but thank you.” She shook her head, smiling at me. “This is absolutely ridiculous. I had a five- and ten-year plan, and now I have no plan. Everything has gone off the rails and nothing makes sense.”

“You really didn’t want to work there anymore? Even without my involvement or the baby?”

Addison reached out and gripped my hand, and I frowned down at where we connected. I didn’t know when I had started to need her touch, to crave it, but that was something I was going to have to deal with at some point, I just didn’t know when.

When would it all make sense?

“I haven’t been happy in a long time. Between my hours at work, and life in general, I just haven’t. I kept working for the next thing and then I realized that I was fighting for something that I didn’t even want anymore. And yes, quitting my job was ridiculous and impulsive, and I should have stuck it out until I had a backup plan, but I didn’t, and now I’m going to have to deal with the consequences.”

“We will. I’ll help. I’ll do whatever I can.”

My lips twitched, even as I held onto her hand for dear life. “I don’t think you need my help at the vet clinic. I wouldn’t be very good at anything there.”

“You’d be okay at it,” I said softly, “But no, you’re right. I didn’t mean at my job, but in general. I’m here. Whatever you need. We’re in this together.”

“I need to go job hunting, while pregnant. That isn’t going to be easy.”

“I could tell you what you already know, that it’s illegal for them to discriminate against you for being pregnant. But we also know that it’s not going to stop them from having their biases.” My jaw tensed as I thought it, but in reality, there was nothing I could do but support her. Even if it killed me.

“It’s only been a couple hours, and I know I’m still in panic mode. I don’t know what I would have done outside of that, but I have to think this is for the best even as I freak out. Soon I’ll actually start to want to throw up again, and that will have nothing to do with being pregnant. But I will find a job. I’ve always kept my resume current, because that was just something I always did. So, here we are. Try not to panic.”

I stood up and leaned forward, cupping her face in my hands.

She froze like a deer in headlights and looked up at me. “Luca?”

“You hated that job. I’m happy you’re gone. This might not be the best timing, but maybe it is perfect. You finding something new that works for you that you can thrive in should happen before the baby gets here. But no matter what, I’m going to be here, okay? I promise.”

“I know. Is it weird that I trust you no matter what? That my best friends are going to be there even though I pretty much threw everything out the window today?”

“I’ve got you. Always.”

I wanted to lean down and brush my lips against hers and hold her close so she knew everything would be okay.

But the doorbell rang and I let my hands drop, willing myself to breathe normally. I wanted to hold her and protect her and take care of everything. Only that wasn’t my job. If I was more of a growly asshole I would just make it happen, but that wasn’t me.

I was the laid-back guy. The guy who hid what he was feeling because it was better just to go with the flow. It was what I was good at.

And that guy was in love with Addison. That guy was monumentally screwed.

“I don’t know who that is, but my group chat has been wild since I told them I quit my job without any explanation.”

I raised a brow. “You told the girls you quit your job in a text?”

“They were working because, you know, it was the middle of the day. I didn’t want to bother them.” Her eyes widened. “And you left your job in the middle of the day.”

“And it’s okay, I’m the boss, I can do that. I had someone cover for me and I’ll handle all the paperwork later. It’s in my car.”

Someone rang the doorbell again and Addison moved past me to open it.

This had truly thrown a wrench in all of our plans, not that we had actually had any, so maybe starting from the bare bottom would help. Of course, I knew that once Addison finished her shock-panicking, things were going to get hairy.

She opened the door to find Paisley standing there with a box of cookies in her hand.

“Oh good, you’re both here. That actually makes things easier. Congratulations, Daddy.”

I opened my mouth to say something as Addison burst out laughing, tugging Paisley inside. “The absurdity of the situation is ridiculous. Did you bring me cookies? Oh, I like cookies.”

Addison took the box from Paisley without saying anything else and moved to the kitchen island before proceeding to open the box and look inside.

Paisley met my gaze and I saw the worry there.

I shrugged, at a loss for what to do. Because this wasn’t the Addison that I knew. The Addison I knew was self-assured and strong, this one seemed as if she were so lost that there was no way of getting out of it. We’d find a way, but I wasn’t sure how.

“Paisley,” I started, but she interrupted me with a smile. She really was beautiful, and I saw what my brother had seen in her, but I still didn’t know her. She could be so closed off at times that it was hard for me to get a read on her.

“It’s okay,” she mouthed, before walking over to Addison. “So, now that you’re done working for that asshole and his stupid company, you can work for me.”

I grinned, because Paisley was a brilliant, brilliant woman.

Addison looked at her, then at me. “I’m sorry, what? Luca, did you tell her that she should hire me? Because you don’t need to fix things for me. I don’t like it when people try to do that.”

I held up both hands. “I had nothing to do with this, though I do think it’s a good idea.”

“You haven’t even heard the idea,” Paisley said, before she grinned. “But it’s a good idea. Work for me. Devney already does.”

“You can’t just hire me because I’m your friend.”

“Actually, I can do exactly that. I’m the boss. You need a job, and I need someone with your talent for my multimillion-dollar company. I mean, I was going to try to poach you before, and then you went full speed ahead with this promotion thing, and now the pregnancy? It felt a little wrong to try and poach you. But now I don’t even have to. You can come to me willingly. Look I’m the spider and you’re the precious little fly in my web.” Paisley frowned. “Not that, well, I shouldn’t really call you a fly. I’m not going to keep you for later then eat you. At least parts of you. I really don’t know how a spider eats a fly. I should look that up.”

Addison set down her cookie, looking a little green. “And on that note, I’m done with the cookies.”

“I think I’m done with anything remotely connected to food,” I said, equally as queasy.

“I went off on a tangent, but for real. You’re brilliant. And I was going to offer you a job. But I was going to be casual and cool and find a way to secretly make it happen so you wanted to work for me. You could work for anyone in this town, or in any state for that matter.”

Panic settled in, before Paisley looked at me. “Not that she’s going to move. I mean, you’re going to have a baby together. And your practice is here, you just moved here—and I’m going off into another tangent again. Anyway, you should work with us. I haven’t told Devney I’m asking, but she and I have been talking about how amazing it would be to have you working with us. Because we would be able to take on the world. Between my departments, her in PR, and you coming in on finance? It’s perfect. I’ve needed someone with your talents for a while now, and I haven’t found them. Harrington-Wells III’s loss is my gain.”

“But I quit, he didn’t fire me,” Addison said as she wiped away tears. I cursed under my breath and handed her the box of tissues.

She mouthed the words “thank you” before taking one and blowing her nose.

“He was going to make sure you never got what you deserved anyway. You deserve everything. And you should also know that now that I’m working with Kelly, I’m trying to also lure Nathan over. But you guys would be in two separate positions so it won’t be a competition thing. I want the best, and you are the best. You can work from home, you can arrange things however you need to. And with Devney also pregnant, I already said that I’d be working on expanding the childcare section, so there you go. We’ll find a way to make it work. Because I believe that no matter how you choose to live your personal life, my company shouldn’t be taking the life out of you. Work for me. Get medical insurance, get that paycheck, and get a job that you could actually do with joy. Make me happy. Because it is all about me.”

I needed Addison to say yes. Because just the thought of her moving to work for a better company in another city? That hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d been so worried about making sure that Addison didn’t panic that I didn’t think about the fact that she could leave. She could go at any time, and we still didn’t even have a plan. I hadn’t even told her how I felt. I had barely let myself think about what I felt.

Because I was in love with her. At least, that’s what I thought this feeling was. I hadn’t really had it like this before. It had been different with Ashleigh. Everything had been different with Ashleigh. But Addison wasn’t Ashleigh.

I knew that, and so did she.

And now I was going in circles.

“Paisley, I can’t be a pity hire.”

“If you call yourself that one more time, I’m going to hit you. And I don’t want to hit a pregnant woman, but I will.”

“I’m just…I don’t know what to do.”

“Work for me. Let me help with that part. You’ve got a lot on your plate.” Paisley looked between us, and finally Addison smiled.

“Okay. Okay.”

She moved forward, presumably to hug Paisley, but before she took more than a step, she looked at me, her eyes wide with what looked like fear.

“I don’t—” but she didn’t get the rest of the sentence out before her knees gave out, and I ran towards her with my arms outstretched.

She fell into my arms, unconscious, and my world shattered.

* * *

“I should be back there with her. Why aren’t I?” I growled, pacing the waiting room.

“Because you’re not on her emergency contact list. Only her parents are, her parents who are out of town right now. But it’s okay, she’s going to let you back there, and everything is going to be okay.”

I looked over at Paisley and raised my brow at her voice going that high-pitched.

“I see you’re panicking with me right now?”

“All the damn panic. But it’s okay. Everyone will get here soon and we’re going to fill this waiting room, and then we’re just going to find out that I gave her too much sugar with all those cookies and it’s all my fault.”

I held out my arms and Paisley reluctantly came into them, hugging me tightly for one moment before letting go.

“Thank you. I needed that. Please don’t tell your brother.”

My lips lifted into a smile despite the fact I had no desire to. “Don’t worry, I won’t. Did you call Jacob?” I asked, speaking of her boyfriend.

She nodded. “Yes, he’s at work. He wants an update though.”

“So would I.”

“Luca Cassidy?” a big man in scrubs asked and I rushed over, my pulse racing. “Is she okay?”

“Addison would like to see you now. She’s waiting with the doctor, so if you could follow me?”

I looked over my shoulder. “Let the others know?”

“Keep me updated,” Paisley said, holding out her phone. I nodded and followed the large nurse to a room in the back.

Seeing Addison pass out like that had scared me to death.

She woke up not long afterwards, but I hadn’t listened to her protests that she was fine. I drove like a bat out of hell to the emergency room, and since it was attached to the same hospital where her doctor saw patients, I counted that as fate.

But I hadn’t been able to go back with her because I wasn’t family.

I wasn’t even technically her boyfriend.

She still wore my ring on her finger, fake as it was, but I was nothing to her.

Just the father of her unborn child.

“Here she is,” the man said, and I nodded in thanks before stepping into the room and gripping Addison’s outstretched hand.

She wore a hospital gown and her hair was piled on the top of her head. She looked fine, though she had an IV in her arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“Everything’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

Her doctor cleared his throat and looked at me. “Luca Cassidy?”

“Yes. I’m…I’m her…I’m the baby’s father.”

I held back a wince at that, though there wasn’t any other way to say it. I didn’t have words.

I didn’t have a title.

“As I was just telling Addison here, her blood sugar was low which was why she passed out. Everything is fine right now.”

Relief slammed through me, until I registered the words right now. “But things could be wrong in the future?” I asked, frowning at Addison.

“Remember how I said I have a blood clotting issue? It’s why I couldn’t be on birth control.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“But she’s going to have to remain calm. I’m not putting her on full bed rest, but we will be taking precautions. For the next two trimesters, we’re going to treat this as a high-risk pregnancy. So, let’s go over what needs to happen.”

The doctor started saying things, and I knew he was saying words, and Addison was taking notes, but all I could focus on was holding her free hand.

I couldn’t lose her.

This couldn’t be happening again.

Only it was.

And there was nothing I could do.