Only One Mistake (Only One 6)

“That would be him,” I confirm, looking at her. “In the flesh.”

“Jesus Christ, Abbi.” She uses my nickname. “How did you let that get away?” She shakes her head, holding up her hand. “How can you let that get away?”

“What the hell was I supposed to do?” I ask her, laughing.

“I don’t know, go door-to-door,” she says, laughing. “Did you google his name?”

“Do you know how many Michaels there are?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes.

“It’s the fourth most common name for men,” I say. “Trust me, I checked.”

“You should have put up pictures of him. Like have you seen my dog, but instead have you seen the man who finally made me orgasm during oral,” she jokes, and I glare at her. “What did he say about the baby?” she asks, and I just shake my head.

“He was in shock and started asking how it happened,” I say, and she laughs. “You couldn’t walk properly for two days.” She holds up her hand with two fingers.

“Can we talk about something else, please?” I say, putting my head in my hands. She comes over to me and puts her arm around my shoulder.

“You freaking out?” she asks softly, and I nod my head.

“I had finally gotten used to the fact I was doing this by myself,” I disclose. “And this happens.”

“You know what they say, right?” I look at her. “When you think everything is going good…”

“Duck for cover,” I fill in and lean my head to hers. My phone rings, and I look down at my phone, and I see that it’s the same number Michael called me from. “Hello?”

I can hear that he’s in the car. “Hey, it’s me.” I smile as I hear his voice. “Just wanted you to know that I’m with you in this,” he says. I get up from the stool, not sure I want Julia to hear this conversation.

“What do you mean?” I ask softly as I walk into the bedroom and sit down on the bed.

“I mean that you won’t ever have to do anything alone,” he clarifies, and the lone tear falls out of my eye. “We’re a team.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I say, giving him an out.

“There is nothing else I would rather do than stand with you,” he says, and my heart speeds up in my chest. “Will you call me when your sister leaves?”

“Yeah,” I agree, looking into the kitchen and seeing her open the fridge. “It may be a while.”

“I’m sorry, Jillian,” he says, and I can feel the pain in his voice.

“Michael,” I say his name to stop him from talking. “There is time to talk about all of this.”

I expect him to just hang up or say goodbye. Instead, he shocks me with, “You bet your ass there is.”

Chapter 15

Michael

“You bet your ass there is.” I want to say more, but I also don’t want her having this conversation with her sister looming. Goddamn, when she walked in the room, I did a double take for one second, and it took two seconds more for me to spot the differences. Jillian’s hair was a touch lighter than Julia's. Her eyes were almost brighter than Julia’s, and she was more beautiful than Julia. “Call me later.”

“Okay,” she agrees, and I look down. It took everything for me to leave, but I knew Julia wasn’t going to let up on me. I also know from my aunts that if one is pissed at you, it’s a matter of time before the other one is pissed at you. The bond with twins is something no one can explain, and having grown up around it and seen it, I know that I have to tread carefully, especially with Julia. So I bowed out, but I will be having a conversation with Julia as well.

“Today, right?” I joke with her, and she huffs out. I wonder if she changed her outfit or if she’s still in the black and white dress she wore earlier.

“Goodbye, Michael.” She hangs up the phone. I take a deep breath when I make the next phone call.

My palms sweat as I hold the steering wheel. A part of me hopes he doesn’t answer, yet the other part of me wants nothing more than to hear his voice. It takes five rings before he answers, and I don’t even realize it because I’m going over a speech in my head. A speech that is forgotten the minute I hear his voice. “Hey,” he answers. “Sorry, I left my phone downstairs.”

The minute I hear his voice, the tears well in my eyes. He’s been the best father you could ever wish for. He’s sat back and watched me fuck up and never once told me what to do. Never once did he try to steer me his way. He waited until I asked him what I should do. He waited for me to find my own way, and I’m the man I am because of him. “It’s okay,” I say softly. “Um…” I hesitate. “I need you to come down here.” I come right out and say it.