Straight Up Love (Boys of Jackson Harbor 2)

“I want to know when.”

He throws up his free hand and releases an exasperated sigh. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers. “It was the weekend you and I got engaged. Actually, it was one of the reasons I was able to get past him kissing you. I figured he couldn’t be too serious about you if he was going to turn around and be all over Molly like that. Either that, or he’s a bigger asshole than I ever realized.”

The weekend we got engaged. My stomach folds again. And again.

“I should have told you earlier, but Molly asked me not to.”

I narrow my eyes. “Why would you care?”

He grimaces. “She threatened to tell you that I came on to her first.” He waves a hand. “Back before you and I dated, but I knew it would upset you, so I agreed to keep her secret.”

Once, that would have destroyed me. Harrison was the one piece of evidence I had that Molly wasn’t better than me in every way, and it would have killed me to know his story about wanting me and not her was a lie. Today, I don’t care about that, but the other part . . . Jake. That can’t be true, can it?

“I figured you’d find out eventually anyway.” Harrison scans my face. “Ava, are you okay?”

“You’re sure?” I grip my coffee cup so hard that it tilts, spilling hot brew all over my hand and wrist. “Shit.”

Harrison reaches across the table for napkins and helps me clean it up.

“It could have been Levi or Carter,” I say, mopping soggy napkins into a pile before meeting Harrison’s eyes. “Or, heck, it sounds like she and Brayden hooked up when he went to New York last week. Maybe he was the one you saw with her.”

“It was definitely Jake. I can tell the difference between my wife’s best friend and his brothers.”

“That was almost five years ago.” And Molly has a child who’s four years old. A child she’s kept a secret from everyone in Jackson Harbor. My throat is thick and tears prick the back of my eyes. “Why are you saying this? Do you want me to be unhappy?”

“I didn’t think it mattered. I wasn’t trying to cause trouble.” Harrison’s expression has changed to one of pity, and I hate it.

“You know it matters, Harrison.” It matters more than anything. It would matter even if it was one night without consequences. But throw in the fact that Jake never told me, and Molly’s secret child?

Is Noah Jake’s baby?

Harrison lowers his voice when he adds, “I’m not lying. And I’m sorry he wasn’t honest with you. I thought you two told each other everything.”

I can hardly breathe through the awful weight on my chest, but I lift my chin and force myself to shrug and wave away the matter like it’s nothing. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I feel like shit. Is there anything I can do?”

I shake my head. “Go to work. Have a good day. Everything’s fine.”

Harrison’s brow furrows, but he nods. “Have a good day, then.” He heads out and holds the door for Ellie when she comes back in.

She’s smiling as she takes her spot across from me. “Back to what we were saying. I know you’re anxious to start a family, but enjoy each other for a while first. Date, flirt, screw in public places. The family will come later.”

The weight of what Harrison said is too much, too heavy, and I’m starting to feel numb, but I blink at her when she says this. “We didn’t use condoms.” And I’m such an idiot.

Ellie’s eyes go wide. “Why not?”

Jake might be a father to Molly’s child, and I had a weekend of unprotected sex with him.

“Ava, are you okay?”

“I haven’t used any sort of birth control since before I was married.” But that doesn’t change that it was a conscious decision. I had sex with Jake without protection because we love each other, and in that moment, a pregnancy seemed like a wonderful possibility, not a risk. I slide out of the booth and stand. “I need to go, Ellie.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s not that.” I press my hand to my stomach. “I need to talk to Jake.”

Jake