“Me too,” he confesses as he circles an arm around my shoulder. “I loved her too. I miss her every day.”
I know that he does.
All three of my brothers wept at my mother’s funeral service. They’d come to love her as much as I did. When she died, our lives were upended but we held fast to each other.
Our love for her and for each other kept us afloat.
“I’m here, Chloe. Tell me what’s happening.”
I inhale a sharp breath as I look at his kind and compassionate face. “I’m pregnant.”
Chapter 34
Chloe
“Pregnant?” Rocco’s gaze drops to my stomach before it skims over my face. “Chloe, are you sure? You and Chris tried for so long. How is this possible?”
Christopher Newell and I tried for years to start a family. He’s older than I am by two decades and very successful. I met him when I interned at his law firm before college. He divorced his second wife, pursued me and I finally gave in.
Our wedding was everything I thought I wanted. It was the perfect life on the outside, but behind the doors of our apartment on Park Avenue, it was an ongoing battle to have a child. Christopher wanted an heir and I couldn’t deliver, so I became his third ex-wife.
“My doctor said that miracles happen.” I manage a small smile. “I’ve always had irregular periods and the fertility doctors that I saw with Chris told me that the chemo had damaged my eggs. No one thought this was possible, Rocco, yet it’s happening.”
He tugs me into his chest. “It is a miracle. You’re having a baby. What did dad say? He must be over the moon.”
I push back so I can look up and into his face. “I haven’t told anyone. You’re the only one who knows.”
“Did you tell Evan?” he questions. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions but I’ve seen the way the guy looks at you. I’m assuming he’s the dad.”
“He is…” I trail off not sure of how to tell him that Evan isn’t quite as sure as I am and he already has one child to take care of.
“What’s the problem? I don’t know him at all, but I don’t see you getting involved with a deadbeat. Is he not going to step up to the plate and own this?”
I watch as his jaw ticks. Rocco is a master at covering his emotions but when he’s angry, there’s little he can do to veil that.
“We’re going to do a paternity test.” I pat his knee. “That’s part of this process.”
“Why do it if you’re both sure he’s the father?”
It’s a valid question that I don’t have an answer to so I resort to asking him a question of my own. “If you had a one-night stand and the woman got pregnant, you’d want a paternity test, wouldn’t you?”
“Hell, yes,” he says empathetically. “We’re not talking about a one-night stand, Chloe. We are talking about two people in a relationship.”
I’m not surprised that he has blinders on when it comes to my personal life. “Evan and I started as a one-night stand. We both believe that’s when the baby was conceived.”
“I understand, “ he finally says after staring at me for a beat. “The details don’t matter. What matters is that you’re going to be a mom and you’ve got your family to lean on.”
“Thank you.” I kiss his cheek. “There’s something else that I want to talk about.”
His eyes widen. “I can’t imagine it’s going to be more mind-blowing than what you just told me, but I’m all ears.”
“I found out that Evan has a son.” I hear the tremor in my voice. It’s the first time I’ve said it aloud, even though I’ve been replaying Dr. Bergstein’s words in my mind all day. “He didn’t tell me. I heard about it from someone else.”
He leans his back against the sofa. “How well do you know this guy, Chloe? A kid seems like a pretty big deal to me. You’d think he’d want to share the good news before you two got too serious.”
This is the part of the conversation that I’ve been dreading. “Do you know how I told you it was casual? Well, it’s really casual. We only exchanged numbers after we found out I’m pregnant.”
“It’s not casual anymore. You two are going to share a child. If you heard he already has one, you need to talk to him about that. It’s going to impact your baby’s life since they’ll have an instant sibling.”