“I’m clean,” she says, mistaking the reason for my look of panic. “My husband was the last man I slept with without a condom, and after I found out he was cheating on me, I was thoroughly tested.”
“I was... I’ve never…” I stammer, unable to finish a damn thought. Fuck! I had sex without a condom.
I stop in place and look at her. “I always use protection.”
“I’m sure you do,” she says dryly.
“I’m serious.” I step over to her. “I’m always careful. I can’t believe…”
“It was both our responsibility,” she says. “Like I said, I made reckless choices Friday night, and I needed time to sort through my head. I wasn’t avoiding you… I just…” She shrugs. “I’ve scheduled an appointment with my gynecologist.”
“Are you pregnant?” I blurt out, my eyes dropping back down to her stomach, which is stupid since it’s only been a few days. Even if she is pregnant, she wouldn’t be showing yet. Hell, I don’t even think they can tell this early.
“Probably not,” she says, and if I’m not mistaken, she almost sounds sad. “But I’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks. Either I’ll get my period or the doctor will run a test.”
My skin goes clammy, my insides turning ice-cold. There’s a chance she could be pregnant. We only had unprotected sex once, so she’s probably not, but there’s still a possibility. It only takes one time.
“Look,” she says softly. “I know you’re freaking out, but the chances of me being pregnant are slim.” She averts her gaze over my shoulder, and I notice her eyes are now glassy. “Neil and I tried to conceive for well over a year and couldn’t. Then he got my ex-best friend pregnant, so I’m almost positive I was the problem.”
She blinks several times before she releases a harsh breath. “So, don’t worry. You couldn’t have fucked up with a better person than me,” she chokes out, forcing a watery smile. “I’m broken.”
Oh shit. I’m over here freaking out that she might be pregnant, and she’s sad that it’s most likely not a possibility because she can’t get pregnant.
“No.” I close the gap between us. “Come here.” I pull her up into my arms for a hug, and she lets me. Her face lands against my chest, and I can feel her body shaking with silent sobs. “Shh, it’s okay,” I murmur. “You’re not broken.”
She sniffles then backs up, wiping her tears away. “I am, but it is what it is.” She shrugs. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” she says with a humorless laugh. “I’d give anything to be pregnant because it would mean I’m able to be, and you’re praying to God that I’m not.” She releases a shaky sigh. “If by some chance I am pregnant, I won’t ask you for anything, I promise. I knew from the get-go how you felt—”
“Stop,” I say, cutting her off. “Do I want to have any more kids? No, I don’t. But I was there in that office on Friday night, and I know how it all went down. If you are pregnant, I’ll one-hundred-percent be there for you and this baby.” And I mean that with every ounce of my being. “I’m not the same boy I was fifteen years ago. I’m not going to run. I am just as responsible, if not more so, for what happened, and I’ll be there every step of the way.”
Savannah sighs in relief. “I was scared you’d think I tricked you.”
“I don’t think that at all.” Had it been any other woman, I might’ve jumped to that conclusion, but from the beginning, something about Savannah made me feel at ease. She’s not the kind of woman who would trap me into impregnating her.
“Thank you.” She laughs softly. “This just got real deep for a Monday afternoon.”
She’s telling me… I came over here to call her out on avoiding me, only to find out I could be a dad again.
“I better get back to work. Please tell Brody I’m not avoiding him, and I’ll see him soon.”
“You can tell him yourself when you come over for dinner tonight,” I find myself saying.
Her eyes widen, clearly shocked by my suggestion.
“Savy.” Reaching out, I brush a wayward strand of hair from out of her eyes. “We’re friends, and I don’t want what happened Friday night to change that. I meant what I said about it being stringless. If we find out you’re pregnant, we’ll go from there, but nothing needs to change between us until then. Besides,” I say with a laugh, remembering my conversation from this morning with my son. “Brody knew you were blowing us off, and he’s blaming me. Practically threatened me to fix it.”
Savannah’s face lights up. “He’s a good kid.”
“He is. And it would mean a lot to him if you’d come over for dinner tonight so he can see everything is okay.”
“All right. I’ll see you guys tonight.”
When she forces a too bright smile, telling me she’s still worried, I lean over and kiss her forehead. “It will all be okay,” I promise her. And for some crazy reason, even though I should be freaking the hell out, I actually believe that.
Chapter Thirteen
Savannah
“Where are you going?” Brianne asks from the doorway, eyeing me as I put the finishing touches on my face. I considered going straight to Ben’s after work but instead made a detour home first so I could change into something more comfortable, which turned into me rinsing the day off, fixing my hair, and then reapplying my makeup.
I glance in the mirror and note she’s dressed in a gorgeous slinky dress, and her hair is done in beach waves. I saw her earlier today, and she wasn’t wearing that at work.
“I could ask you the same.”
A huge grin spreads across her face. “Marcus asked me to dinner.”
“So does that mean I can expect you out all night again?” I ask with a laugh. Since Friday night, when Marcus gave in and admitted to Brianne that he wants her—and told her brother as much—she’s been gone more than she’s been home.
“If it goes well, I hope so,” she replies with a saucy wink. “And where are you going?” she asks again.
“Just over to Ben and Brody’s for dinner.” I turn around in time to see her brows kiss her forehead.
“What happened to no strings?” Sunday morning when she got home after her weekend sexcapade with Marcus, I told her what happened between Ben and me in the back office—leaving out the part about not using protection. Not everybody needs to know about my lack of brain cells.
“I’m going over as a friend. Brody invited me.”
Brianne side-eyes me but doesn’t comment. “All right, well, one night with Ben was good, but we need to get you back out—”
“Nope,” I say, cutting her off. “That one night was good enough to last me a while.” Total lie. That night only has me wanting more—specifically more of Ben—but I’m not going there. “I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl,” I admit, not lying. “For right now, I just need to focus on work and me, and if or when the right guy comes around, then he does.”