18. Chapter 18
I’m beginning to understand why women fall for quarterbacks.
Terri
I roll over and reach for Nolan but the bed is cold. Did he leave? What the pirate? How dare he—
My stomach gurgles and I fly out of bed to the attached bathroom. I barely make it in time to empty my stomach.
“Shhh…I’ve got you.”
Nolan pulls my hair back and rubs circles into my lower back until I’m done heaving. I lay my forehead on the toilet seat.
“You done?”
“I think so.”
He hands me a glass of water. I rinse my mouth before handing it back. He helps me to stand and leads me into the bedroom.
“I thought the anti-nausea medication was helping.”
“It is. Trust me, it is. It was much worse before.”
He brushes the hair from my forehead. “I’m sorry. Do you think you can eat?”
My nose wrinkles. “Maybe.”
“I can bring it in here.”
“I’ll come into the kitchen.”
He places a hand on my lower back and ushers me to the kitchen. I frown when I notice the blankets on the couch.
“Did you sleep out here?”
His cheeks darken. “We hadn’t discussed sleeping in the same bed. I didn’t want to step over any of your boundaries.”
I blink up at him. He was worried about my boundaries? “Thank you.”
He kisses my nose. “Whatever you need.” He holds out a chair for me. “Now, what do you want for breakfast? I was planning on making eggs and bacon.”
I groan. “No eggs.”
“I thought not. Can you manage pancakes or do you want some dry toast?”
“Dry toast and a coffee, please.”
He frowns. “Caffeine’s bad for the baby.”
“Which is why there’s only decaf in the house.”
He grunts. “No wonder I’m sleepy after drinking a cup.”
“I’ll buy some normal coffee.”
He grins. “For the next time I sleep over.”
Butterflies explode in my stomach. I want Nolan to stay over. I want to sleep in his arms. But he’s not here for me. He’s here for the baby. Except the way he kissed me didn’t say ‘convenient mother of my child’. He kissed me as if I’m precious. As if I matter.
It’s too early for these thoughts. I wave away his comment. “For the next time you stop by.”
He whistles as he makes me some dry toast and a coffee. I frown when he sits down across from me with the same breakfast.
“You have to eat more than dry toast.”
“I’m not eating eggs and bacon when you can’t stand the smell of eggs.”
“You could make bacon or pancakes or at least put some peanut butter on your toast. I’ve recently discovered athletes are addicted to peanut butter.”
“We’ll eat a nice brunch later. Once you’re feeling better.”
“Later? I can’t. It’s Sunday. I visit my dad on Sundays.”
“Wonderful. I can’t wait to meet him.”
I scowl. “I didn’t invite you.”
“There’s no reason to delay. I’m going to meet him eventually. I am the father of your baby.”
I groan. “You can’t tell him I’m pregnant. He doesn’t know yet.”
He raises a brow. “Really? After you visited the hospital yesterday? He won’t find out?”
I drop my forehead to the table. “He’s going to know. And I didn’t tell him.”
Nolan reaches across the table to squeeze my hand. “He knows you’re an adult. He knows you have sex. Everything will be fine.”
I lift my head to glare at him. “Easy for you to say. You won’t have to suffer his disappointment in you.”
He sighs. “I know a bit about disappointing a parent.”
My brow wrinkles. “You do? You’re the perfect son. You have this great career. You make tons of money. The Seals are favored to reach the Super Bowl this season. How have you ever disappointed your parents?”
His blue eyes cloud with pain as he drums his fingers on the table. I want to tell him it’s okay. He doesn’t have to tell me about his past. But he’s the one pressuring me to allow him to meet my dad. He’s the one who wouldn’t let me go to the hospital alone.
I’m not backing down. He can tell me if he’s uncomfortable revealing the story. I’m not giving him an out.
“Do you know who my dad is?” he asks after several long moments.
I blink. “Your dad? Why would I know your dad?”
“Please don’t let him hear you say that. He’ll lose his mind.”
“Okay. I’ll pretend I know who he is when I meet him.”
“If you meet him.”
“Are you serious?” I shout. “You insist on meeting my dad, but your dad is off limits? What the pirate?”
He holds up his hands. “Don’t get upset, sprite. Think of the baby.”
My nostrils flare. “Think of your balls and whether you want to keep them.”
He grimaces. “Sorry, let me explain. My dad isn’t a good guy. He was a crap dad. I don’t know if I want to expose our little mermaid to him.”
I gulp and force myself to ask the hard question. “Did your dad abuse you?”
“Nothing that bad. Dad was a football player. He was never around when I was a kid. Even when his team played at home, he wasn’t there. He had an apartment near the stadium and he stayed there during the season.”
I rear back. “What the hell? Did you live in another city?”
“Nope. We lived in the same city, but Dad was afraid he’d lose focus if he spent time with us during the season.”
“That’s messed up. But you saw him off-season?”
“Hardly. He was always off doing whatever the hell he was doing. Mostly working out eight hours a day. He never helped Mom with the house or us kids. The only thing he did was give her money and knock her up.”
I squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Your poor mother. It must have been difficult for her.”
“It was.” He meets my gaze. “You need to know I’m not my father. I won’t always be around for our little mermaid because of my job. But I won’t abandon you. I won’t force you to raise our baby all by yourself. I’ll be here in the off-season and as often as I can during the season. I’ll be here.”
“I believe you’ll do the best you can.”
But I don’t know if the best he can is good enough. I want my child to have everything I didn’t have. A mother who isn’t checked out. And a father who’s present. Is it so much to ask?
“Good. Now my mother, on the other hand, is going to be ecstatic to have a grandchild.”
“Is it her first?”
“Yep. Ruth is too young for children, and my brothers are too busy being idiots to settle down.”
“Our little mermaid is going to have a ton of aunts and uncles.”
“Is that okay?”
“It’s more than okay. It’s awesome. I didn’t have any family but Mom growing up. Sometimes I wonder…” I swallow the lump in my throat and shrug. “Maybe things would have been different if Mom had family around to support her.”
“Do you know anything about her family?”
“Nothing. Mom wouldn’t talk about them. Trust me. I asked. And asked. Until she yelled at me to never ask again.”
“Do you want to know more? We could probably find out. Do one of those DNA tests or hire a private investigator.”
“I have a family. Dad and my siblings. I’m good.”
“Okay. But if you ever change your mind, let me know. I’ll make it happen.”
“You don’t have to do everything for me. I am an adult who can handle her own life.”
“I know. But I want to help. I don’t want you to carry all your burdens alone. I know how heavy that got for my mom.”
Because she was alone. I point at him. “You just said you wouldn’t be your father.”
I hope to hell he didn’t lie because if he did, he can walk right out of this house and never come back again.
His gaze meets mine. His blue eyes are full of honesty and sincerity. “And I meant it.”
“Good.” I choose to believe him. For now. He’s leaving in a month anyway. While he’s gone, I’ll discover the truth based on how he acts.
I push away from the table and stand. “I need to shower and get dressed.” I study him. He’s still wearing his t-shirt and shorts from the beach yesterday. “Do you have any other clothes?”
“Brock brought me a bag of stuff last night.”
“He did? I didn’t hear him.”
“You were out of it. I tried waking you to ensure you didn’t have a concussion. You told me to take my pirate ship back to where it came from. I was not entering the mermaid domain.”
I cringe. “Whatever. There’s a shower in the hall bathroom. We leave in an hour.”
I hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life by inviting Nolan to meet Dad. I place a hand on my still flat stomach.
Don’t worry, little mermaid. No one will blame you. You will be loved and protected.