Be with Me (Return to Haven 2)

Jade reached out and smacked Livie on the arm. “Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“I just mean, who the hell could the father be?”

Now both sets of eyes turned back to her. This was one thing she really wasn’t going to expose just yet. The questions would be nonstop and she’d already asked Tanner to not say anything right now. They needed to decide together how to let their friends know.

Tears pricked her eyes. Melanie bit her quivering lip in a vain attempt to get control of herself. She really hated secrets. She’d lived with them during her marriage, she’d grown up with them. Nothing good came from keeping the truth hidden. And a baby was precious, a sign of a new beginning. Why should she feel so bad about this?

“Oh, damn it.”

Jade came around the island and wrapped her arms around Melanie. She turned into her friend’s embrace, needing the girl-bonding ritual.

“You deserve to cry,” Jade muttered.

“I’m not crying,” Melanie insisted as she sniffed.

Livie’s hand settled on her back. “You’re more than entitled to a breakdown.”

Maybe so, but what did getting upset solve? She eased back from Jade’s hold and swiped at the moisture on her face.

“I’m okay. I’ll be fine.”

“You will be fine,” Livie agreed. “But it’s also okay to not be fine for a few minutes. I’d be worried if you weren’t afraid.”

Melanie let out a long sigh. “I know you all want answers about the father, and you deserve them, but I’m not ready to get into that just yet. I will, just give me some time.”

Jade and Livie exchanged a look before they both finally nodded. No doubt they wanted all the answers now, and she would too if she were in their shoes.

Melanie didn’t know why it was important to keep Tanner a secret right now. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t find out eventually. But she wasn’t ready to deal with everything all at once. Besides, she’d asked him to keep things to himself for now. There was no way she couldn’t tell her friends, though. She needed their support. But the answer to their burning question would have to wait.

Telling her friends that she and Tanner had slept together would change the dynamics of absolutely everything. Livie and Jax were marrying soon, Melanie planned on staying in Haven as well, and Jade was still up in the air. But their group had been formed, and since coming here, three guys had become part of their lives.

“We’ll do whatever you want,” Livie assured her. “How are you feeling?”

Melanie reached around for her bottle of water. “Tired, mostly. I thought maybe I just needed more sleep, but then I missed my period and I knew.”

Jade grabbed her wineglass and took a sip. She clutched the stemless glass to her chest and smiled. “Well, we’re here and we’ll do anything we can. But you’ve got to rest. Oh, can I take over your blog for a week? I started dating this new guy and let me tell you—”

Melanie laughed. “No. I love my followers and you’d scare them.”

“Maybe not,” Jade said with a defiant shake of her head and a smirk. “They may love what I have to say about motivation and bettering themselves. I can leave my new dating scene out of the picture for now. I’ve got a hell of a backstory.”

Melanie thought for a minute. Jade did have a remarkable story about overcoming obstacles and becoming a strong, independent woman. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. I could do featured posts on the three of us. That was a huge hit when I started the site. Everyone loved our meet story, so revisiting where we are now would be fun. I could mention the airport and the undertaking we’re all doing. Free press down the road won’t hurt.”

“When you say where we are now, I assume you mean without the pregnancy announcement?” Livie asked, reaching for a piece of jalapeño Havarti.

“Yeah. I’m definitely holding out on that for a while.”

Just the idea that she’d be in charge of another life was almost too much to handle. But she’d turned her own life around and she was well on her way to achieving her goal. Her blog was huge, her social media accounts boomed, and she was helping her friends turn an old airport into something grand. All in all, her life was great. Better than ever, actually.

While the shock still hadn’t worn off about the baby, Melanie wasn’t sorry. How could she be? She’d always wanted a family. This might not be the way she’d envisioned her life at this point, but she would provide for this baby and be the best mother she knew how to be.

“So, do you want to talk about it, or do you want to hear about the guy who asked me out in aisle twelve and offered to take me home for frozen pizza?”

Melanie laughed. “Jade, I swear. Men flock to you.”

“Not the right ones, unfortunately. But I’ve gone out with Brad a couple times and he seems really nice.”

At least that was something. Jade never attracted the right type of man. Another thing they all had in common. Well, all they’d had in common before Livie had fallen in love with Jax. Before that union of souls, the wrong men somehow wedged themselves into the lives of Melanie, Jade, and Livie. Melanie had been the only one dumb enough to fall for false charms and marriage, though.