Chapter Three
Nate took a sip of his beer and watched Carly as she talked with Misha. The other woman was only just showing a small, rounded bump, but Carly seemed to be completely infatuated with the idea.
She’d already asked Misha if she could touch the small bump, and the other woman didn’t seem to mind. Reese looked relaxed. He didn’t look skittish nor like he couldn’t handle this shit, which was a good thing. Nate knew he had control of his own shit by now.
He couldn’t stop staring at Carly’s completely infatuated reaction. He clearly saw how happy she was to be near the pregnant woman, and it was sweet to witness. He couldn’t help but think about Carly and imagine her swollen with a child. He had no doubt she’d make an amazing mother.
So far, Misha seemed to be a lovely woman. She appeared to only have eyes for Reese, and he was more than happy with her.
Nate couldn’t stand it when other women started to look at each of them, as if it was a competition. Then he got pissed off. No, not just pissed off, but infuriated.
Sarah let out a sigh and sat down on the chaise lounge beside him. She looked like she was begging for attention.
“What do you want and how much is it going to cost me?” he asked.
She giggled. “Nothing and nothing. I’m just watching Carly. Ever since her last date didn’t show, she’s been acting kind of weird, but seeing her now, I know what she’s missing, and it completely explains what she was talking about the other night.”
Nate didn’t like to fall into Sarah’s bait, but some days it was impossible not to. She certainly knew how to spin a tale.
“What?” Nate asked, and turned his full glare on his best friend.
Sarah was already smiling at him. “What, what?” she asked.
“What was Carly saying the other night?” He should have known moving Sarah in with Carly was a bad idea. At the time, it had seemed like a damn good one. Now he was starting to wonder about his ideas, because Sarah was fast becoming a giant pain in the ass—one he needed to control—otherwise, she’d become a menace. When it came to him and Carly, she’d always been a meddler.
He didn’t want to deal with this. All he wanted was for Sarah to keep an eye on Carly. That was not too much to ask, considering Sarah cared for her as well.
Sarah’s smile seemed to go even wider, which told him she was up to something and he needed to be careful.
“Well, now that you asked, you know how Carly’s dates have been mysteriously awful for, like, forever?”
He glared at her.
“I know, right, it’s like a total shock that she seems to be gravitating toward the assholes and the no-shows. Anyway, she started talking just the other night about how a woman doesn’t need a man anymore. Something about modern medicine and how everything can be, well, she was kind of hinting at…” She stopped and looked toward Carly. “You know, I don’t think I should be telling you any of this. Carly told me in secret, and, well, I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good friendship.”
“Just tell me.”
He would deal with any potential fallout, but he needed to know what Carly wanted so he could find a way for her to get it. That is what he wanted.
Sarah smiled. “She’s thinking of either adopting a child or choosing a sperm donor, that kind of thing.”
“What?” Nate nearly spat out the mouthful of beer he’d just gulped down.
He turned toward Carly. There was no way in hell he was going to let another man’s sperm inside her body. It was completely preposterous, and it wasn’t going to happen. Not on his watch.
“Yeah, she was telling me it would be perfect. No more bad dates. No more no-shows, and she would finally get the chance to be what she’s always wanted—a mother.” Sarah sighed. “You know how much Carly wants to be a mother. She wants that more than she wants to be an author. I think Reese being the first one to be pregnant made her realize that time is ticking. She does keep mentioning it a lot.”
“Stop,” Nate said.
Sarah pressed her lips together, but there was still an underlying smile, as if she was concocting some kind of plan. She didn’t say another word. Nate took a deep breath and looked toward Carly. Another man’s sperm inside her, he couldn’t allow that.
“Tell me now, Sarah, are you lying?” he asked.
“No, believe it or not, sometimes I push, sometimes I lie, but this was all Carly, and this happened last night. She was so excited about it. She told me she could cut out all that time attempting to find a suitable partner. Actually, she did call it a mate, but that sounded a little Wolfie to me. I think she’s writing a wolf story at the moment.” She gave a shrug. “What do I know? Other than this is absolutely the truth.” Sarah got to her feet and winked at him. “You’re so very welcome.”
With that, Nate was left alone, and now he wasn’t happy. He knew Carly wanted to be a mother. She’d make an amazing one, but none of the guys he’d kept from her were even remotely good enough. They were all assholes, and he knew for a fact they would hurt his Carly. There was no way he would allow that to happen.
Carly would get what she wanted, but it was going to be by his sperm only.
****
Carly absolutely loved Misha. She was such a lovely woman, so kind and happy. Clearly, completely besotted with Reese. Not once did she glance over at Nate, Dalton, or even Mitch.
Over the years, each of the guys had brought a girl to them, and none of them had passed the test. Misha didn’t want anyone but Reese, and that meant she passed their test. The guys didn’t even bother to test the women. There was no planned teasing or flirting. They all acted natural.
Reese looked happy as well. The food was a treat. Everyone but Nate looked happy, and she didn’t know what had upset him.
Picking up the empty potato salad dish, she offered a smile to the group and disappeared into the kitchen, which was where she found Nate looking out the window.
“There you are,” Carly said. She put the empty dish into the sink, and was tempted to leave it, but she hated mess. Turning on the tap, she began to clean it.
“I wondered where you had gone to.” With the dish clean, she left it on the draining board until later.
She didn’t want to be rude. Stepping up to the fridge, she grabbed the next bowl of potato salad. Everyone was always so hungry, even if it was the seven of them—eight if she counted Misha as eating for two people. She had hoped for more people to arrive, but she also didn’t mind that it was only the seven of them. She kept reminding herself of the little baby bump.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Nate turned toward her and she saw the frown of his brows. She’d seen Nate glare or frown many times, but this was different. Something told her he seemed troubled today, unlike the other days.
“What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong? I promise I will clean everything up. Was the steak not good? The chicken?”
“You want to have a child,” Nate said.
“What?” She hadn’t expected him to mention children.
“A child. You want to have a baby.”
She offered him a confused smile. “This is not news, Nate. You know I have always wanted to have children.” She put a hand to her stomach. Unlike Sarah, she hadn’t opted for a bikini, but a one-piece suit. She also went for some shorts for her own personal comfort, so she wasn’t showing off too much leg.
“You’re planning on going to a sperm donor,” Nate said.
“You’ve been talking to Sarah.” She sighed. She should have known Sarah wouldn’t keep her random declaration of wanting a child and how to get one, to herself.
“Yes, I’ve been talking to Sarah. Is it true?”
She took a deep breath. “I only thought about it last night,” Carly said. “Yes, it is a real possibility.”
“Why?”
Carly couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re being serious with this question right now?”
He did that one-raised-brow thing. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she had attempted to only raise one brow in the mirror, and it was next to impossible to do. She didn’t know how Nate could do it without practice. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was some kind of hereditary thing. They would never know as they had never gone back to their biological parents.
They’d stayed in the system until the end. Carly had been the last one to leave, and as she did, with the small black bag of clothes, and the few items, Nate, Sarah, and the guys had been waiting for her. She’d never looked back.
“This is serious, Carly.”
She blew out a breath. “Fine, and this is a serious answer. I suck at dating. I suck at meeting men, and the only way to have a baby is to, you know, be with a man, the right man, but he’s not appearing anytime soon. I’m probably the only freaking twenty-nine-year-old virgin on the planet, and I want to have kids. So, I’m cutting out the middle man, and I’m going to do it the modern way, with a guy’s sperm, and not the dating route.” She had no choice but to force a smile to her lips, as the ground refused to open up and swallow her whole, which is exactly what she would love it to do.
She couldn’t believe she had just told Nate she was a virgin. How lame she must look now.
There was no way she was dropping her head into her hands either. There was nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing at all. She was a virgin. There hadn’t been a good enough man in her life to lose it to. Not even at some crappy teenage party. There were parties she went to, but all of them were with the gang, and being around them never sucked.
“That’s not happening,” Nate said.
Now this did bring her back to reality, and she felt a little pissed off.
“What?” Carly said.
“You’re not going to get some random guy’s sperm.”
“And you think you can tell me what I’m going to do? I’m twenty-nine years old, Nate. I’m not some child you need to keep protecting. I know my own mind, and I know my own body, and if I want to have a child, I will have a child, and if that means having to use some stranger’s sperm, so be it.”
She took a deep breath and then realized he was coming toward her, and he wasn’t slowing down.
Taking a step back, then another step back, the bowl of potato salad would be no match for an advancing Nate. The fridge stopped her retreat. She attempted to square her shoulders and offered him a glare.
Nate smirked. That was all he did. One small smirk.
“You want a child so badly, fine, I’ll give you one, but you’re not going to have any stranger’s sperm being the father of your child. I’ll be the father of your child, and I’ll take care of your virginity problem. We’ll do it the good old-fashioned way.”