Both men turned toward the living room to watch Danny as he sat cross-legged on the floor and grinned at the television.
“Things don’t always happen the way you plan, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t work out the way they were supposed to. If you believe Lucy didn’t scheme her way into Alice’s will, why would you think she’s trying to trap you by getting pregnant? Maybe it was an honest mistake.”
Oliver turned back to the table and studied the mug in his hands. The look on Lucy’s face in the restaurant came to his mind. With a little time and perspective, he was able to see how scared she was to tell him. How hard she struggled to hide how nervous and confused she was over the pregnancy. She’d needed him in that moment and he’d failed her by turning on her and accusing her of such horrible things.
“Here’s a better question,” his father continued. “Does it really matter? Will it make you love your child any less?”
“No.” That question was easier for Oliver to answer. If he’d figured anything out over the last few days, it was that he would love that child more than anyone on the planet had ever loved their child. The harder question was whether he was willing to love the mother just as much.
“And how did you feel about Lucy before you found out about the baby?”
“I thought that maybe I was falling in love. I guess that scared me. I’ve never felt that way about a woman before. It all happened so fast.”
“It was that way with your mother, you know? We went from our first date to married in two months. It was intense and scary and wonderful all at once, but I couldn’t stand the idea of being apart from her.”
Oliver had never heard that about his parents before. He supposed that he hadn’t asked, thinking it would be a sore spot for his father after his mother died. “Why did you decide to get married so quickly?”
Tom smiled and reached out to pat Oliver’s shoulder. “You. Like I said before, it happens.” He got up from the table and called out to Danny. “Daniel, we’re getting ready to go.” Then he turned back to Oliver and handed him a small box that had been stuffed into his coat pocket. “When you make up your mind, this might come in handy. It was your mother’s. Talk to you later, son.”
Before Oliver could really respond to everything his father had just said to him, his brother was gingerly giving him a hug and the two of them were out the door.
Alone in his apartment again, Oliver reached for the box on the table and opened the hinged lid. Inside, he found what could only be his mother’s engagement ring. It was marquise-shaped with a single baguette on each side, set in platinum. It wasn’t at all fashionable at the moment; it was more a throwback to another time. But it was simple, elegant and classic—the perfect ring for his mother, and he realized, perfect for Lucy as well. His mother had been one in a million and Lucy didn’t fit into the mold either. It was just the ring he would choose for the mother of his child and his future wife.
If she would accept it.
In that moment, he wanted her to accept it more than he ever expected. Not just because of the baby, but because he was in love with her. Despite his suspicious nature and cautious approach, Lucy had slipped past all his defenses and reached a part of him that he’d managed to keep locked away from all the women before her. He didn’t want to lock away that part of himself any longer. Like his garden, he wanted to share it with her. Share it with their child.
There was another knock at the door, startling him. Oliver got up, presuming Danny left something behind, but when he opened the door, he found a fuming Harper standing there instead. It was time to get the earful he’d avoided all week.
“You are a jerk! How could you possibly accuse Lucy of getting pregnant on purpose? That’s absolutely absurd! She had plans, you know? That’s why we were in Connecticut. She was planning on going back to college. How is she supposed to do that raising your baby on her own, huh? Especially with you holding all of Aunt Alice’s money hostage for no good reason!”
With a sigh, Oliver stepped back to let his seething sister inside. He could tell she was just getting warmed up. Once she was done yelling at him, perhaps she could help him figure out how exactly he could clean up the mess he’d made with Lucy so everyone could be happy again.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Lucy, this is Phillip Glass. How are you?”
Lucy nervously clutched the phone. She hadn’t heard from Alice’s estate attorney in quite a while. Had the judge made a ruling yet? “Good,” she answered and held her breath.