“Of course it matters. You and I, we’re family now.”
He stared at her for a moment. And she wondered what was going through his mind. Was he really worried that she’d disappear into the night? Or would he be relieved that she’d be gone—that he wouldn’t have to deal with an unplanned family?
She looked into his eyes. Her heart started to beat faster. There was something special about him. When he looked at her, it was as though he could see straight through her—read her every thought—know the way he could make her body respond without even touching her.
She wanted to glance away—to keep him from knowing too much. But her pride kept her sitting there—staring at him. She swallowed hard. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you know where we end up.” And then she decided to err on the side of caution. “If that’s what you want.”
“Of course, it’s what I want. You and I, we have to learn to trust each other. How else are we going to raise a baby together?”
He had a point. But the “raise a baby together” part sent alarm bells ringing in her head. “How together are you planning for this co-parenting to be?”
This time it was Xander who looked uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. At last, he said, “That’s what we’re trying to sort out, isn’t it?”
Suddenly she felt as though she were on display—as though he was here to see if she was good enough to fit into his world. That didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t do casting calls and she didn’t shrink herself to fit into someone else’s mold. If she did, she would still be on speaking terms with her parents. The thought made the breath hitch in her throat.
Her parents, they didn’t even know they were about to become grandparents. The thought of having a baby and not being able to share it with them made her sad. But how was she ever supposed to trust them again after they’d lied to her about something so monumental?
“How have your parents taken the news about the baby?” Xander’s voice stirred her from her thoughts.
She gave him a searching look. How had he known that she was thinking of her parents? Could he really read her mind? Then realizing how ridiculous the thought was, she dismissed it as quickly as it had come to her.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because if you’re leaving here, it seems likely that you’ll move close to your family.”
Perhaps she should have given her words more consideration before she dove into the subject of her moving. The memory of the angry words passed between her and her parents came flooding back. And so did the pain of loss when they’d told her she had to choose, them or the island.
Most people would think she was strange for feeling like she’d lost two of the most important people in her life even though they were still alive. But the people who had raised her—had loved her—had taught her to reach for the stars—well, they had disappeared somewhere along the way.
The parents she had now, she didn’t know them. She didn’t know these people that would lie to her time and time again. These people who stole her chance to get to know her extended family—her grandparents and aunt—they weren’t the parents she’d loved. They were strangers to her.
And the people who had given her an ultimatum between choosing them or choosing Infinity Island—her birthright—had left her no choice. She wasn’t going to choke down whatever lies they chose to tell her. She was going to learn about her family herself—
“Lea?” There was a note of concern in Xander’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
The backs of her eyes stung as the thought of all she’d lost came roaring back to her. She blinked away the tears. The last thing she wanted was for Xander to think she was weak.
She was strong—strong enough to raise this baby as a single mother. If he had any doubts about that, she would make sure to put them to rest before he left the island, which she hoped was soon.
She swallowed down her emotions. When she spoke, she hoped her voice didn’t betray her emotional state. “My parents don’t know about the baby.”