The Pregnancy Proposition

Not really, but she supposed he would tell her, anyway. “What?”

“It really frustrated me at first because several of them didn’t notice you at all. They would see me

talking to you but couldn’t tell me a thing about you. It seemed as though you were almost a ghost, invisible to everyone around you but me. I couldn’t understand why so many of them didn’t take notice of you. You certainly commanded my attention from the first moment we met.”

“I ran into you. I’m sure those other people would remember me if I did that.”

“That’s the best way to get me to notice you, of course. But I couldn’t help but wonder if you were deliberately wanting to be invisible and I was the only one you couldn’t hide from.”

“I don’t deliberately try to hide,” Paige began, but stopped herself. That was a lie and she knew it. “Okay, maybe I do. I’ve heard so many cruel and hateful comments over the years that maybe I’ve just wished myself out of existence and forgotten all about it. I’ve become accustomed to people not seeing me now. And really, I’d prefer that people didn’t see me if all they have to offer are rude critiques. I’d rather be invisible than bullied.”

Mano was quiet for a moment, turning back to the dark ocean as he seemed to be considering his words. “Paige, do you think that telling me all this is going to change my mind about wanting you to stay? It sounds to me like you’re trying to convince me to let you go.”

She sighed. In a way the exact opposite was true. She wanted to stay, to give in to the feelings she was holding back and throw away her whole life to remain here with him. But Paige had already made one major relationship mistake this year. She couldn’t afford another. What would she have if she gave in to this and he changed his mind? Mano’s whole adult life had been spent avoiding real intimacy. Did she really believe she was the woman who could change him for good? No. She didn’t.

“I’m just beating you to the punch, darling.”

Mano shook his head, his lips turned down in a disapproving frown. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Maybe, but I know how the fairy tales end for girls like me.” She sighed. “Do you want to know what happened with the baby’s father?”

Mano stiffened in his seat, but then he nodded. “Please.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you. He left me for my prettier sister,” Paige said, spitting out the most painful part up front so the rest would be easier to tell.

“Ever since junior high when boys started looking at girls with thoughts of things other than cooties, Piper was the one they wanted. Through high school, college and beyond, the men have always preferred Piper, and for good reason. We’re only a year apart in age and people always had a hard time believing we were sisters because we looked so different. She’s the opposite of me in every way, with all the best parts of our parents. I’ve always felt like I got the leftovers.”

“Describe her to me,” Mano demanded. “I want to know what it is about her that you think is so special compared to you.”

“Well, for a start, her hair has natural golden highlights and a slight wave that makes it flow beautifully down her back. Mine is dull and stick straight, refusing to hold a curl for more than a few minutes. She’s curvy in all the right places while I’m rail thin and built like a twelve-year-old boy. Her face is like an angel with big hazel eyes and full lips. My lips are thin and my nose and chin are too pointy. We just couldn’t be more different.”

“It sounds like it. But why would you compare yourself to your sister like that? If I compared myself to Kal, I’d make myself crazy.”

“Because,” Paige argued, “that’s what everyone does. My whole life I’ve been looked over for Piper.”

“I don’t understand it. You haven’t described any of the important things,” Mano noted. “You’ll have to forgive me, being blind and all, but my priorities are a little different. Is she smart or caring like you? Is she funny and kind? Would she spend her days caring for injured veterans or would she rather get her nails done?”

Paige was startled silent. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that question, even though the answer was quite evident to her. Piper wasn’t vapid and thoughtless, she just had different priorities. She was a hairstylist, so her focus in life was entirely visual. But she wasn’t selfish. She’d tried to give Paige multiple makeovers, but they rarely took.

“You’re in the minority, Mano. Most men can’t help themselves around her, and as I mentioned earlier, Wyatt was no different. When Wyatt left me for Piper, it was just the latest incident in the story of my life. It was like I didn’t exist to him any longer. He didn’t even have the nerve to tell me we weren’t dating anymore. He just ghosted me—stopped calling and texting—and then he showed up at a family event with my sister on his arm.”

“Wyatt is obviously an ass, but what kind of sister would do that? Is she that cruel?”

Paige shrugged. “No, it’s more a matter of ignorance. Piper is oblivious to everyone but herself. She always has been. I think to her it was natural for a man to prefer her over me, so I shouldn’t be so hurt about it.”

“Hurt about it?” Mano nearly shouted. “She steals the father of your child, but you’re not allowed to be hurt about it?”

“Neither of them know I’m pregnant. I haven’t told anyone but you.”

“So that’s why the baby’s father won’t be in its life? He’ll be too busy being its uncle instead?”

That sounded terrible. A part of her hoped they would break up before that became a reality. “Something like that. Even if they stopped seeing one another, it’s not like I’d take him back. I know better. I’ve had better, thanks to you. But I know what we have isn’t something that can last. Tomorrow I’m getting on a plane to go home. I’ll go back to reality and will finally have to deal with everything I’ve pushed aside while I was here.

“While I’m decorating a nursery and reorganizing my whole life, you’ll be here, running your hotel. It may take a few weeks, or even a few months, but you’ll forget about me. You’ll spend another week with another woman, and life will go on. Maybe someday I’ll cross your mind and you’ll wonder how I am and if the baby turned out to be a boy or a girl. But that’s all the future the two of us have together, Mano. It was just a fling. A wonderful one, but a fling.”

Ten

“I’m going to get in the shower,” Mano said.