Tall, Dark and Charming (Tall, Dark and Sexy 1)

“Or maybe I’ll just have to cook for you more often,” he said, meaning it.

“I’ll be fine, Aiden,” she assured him with a smile.

He ate a slice of bacon and couldn’t help but worry about her, which was a foreign thing for him when it came to a woman. But he now had a vested interest in the baby she was carrying, and he wanted to do whatever it took to make her day-to-day life easier, too. Which made him wonder about her family and if she’d be able to rely on them during her pregnancy, and even whether she’d have some kind of support system after the baby was born.

So, he asked. “I know you just found out about the baby, but have you told your family that you’re pregnant yet?”

She’d been happily enjoying her breakfast, but as soon as he mentioned her family, it put a quick damper on her cheerful expression. Her eyes immediately cast down toward her plate in a blatant attempt at avoiding his gaze. “Umm, no, not yet. I’m an only child, and I really don’t have a lot of family to speak of.”

That revelation flooded him with concern—because it was clearly a topic that made Daisy uncomfortable—and sadness for her, because he had his mother and his two brothers in his life, no matter what. He remembered her mentioning her mother during their night together in San Francisco and focused on that.

“What about your parents?” he asked.

As if he’d just caused her to lose her appetite, she set her fork down on her plate and pushed it away. Her lips pressed together as she finally met his gaze again, and he hated that vulnerable look now etching her expression.

“Parent,” she clarified. “Just my mother. I don’t know my father and have never met him or any of his family. He walked out when I was a baby because, according to my mother, who got pregnant with me by accident, having a kid wasn’t something he’d bargained for or wanted.”

Ahhh, fuck. Aiden’s stomach twisted into a giant knot, and now a lot of her behavior and remarks from last night made sense—how she didn’t expect anything from him, or that he shouldn’t feel responsible or obligated in any way to the baby she was carrying. And most telling, her comment of You didn’t ask for this . . .

Now he understood where it was coming from. Clearly, all she had as experience were her mother’s unplanned pregnancy with her and a prick of a father who hadn’t had the balls to step up and be a man and take responsibility for his own child.

“And you haven’t told your mother yet?” he asked, more gently this time since he now reali

zed how sensitive the subject was.

She shook her head. “No, because I already know what she’s going to say, though realistically, I realize at some point I will have to tell her she’s going to be a grandmother.”

He frowned. “You don’t think she’ll be happy, or at least supportive when the initial shock wears off?”

“The answer would be no, to both,” she replied as she absently ran her fingers along the condensation gathering on her glass of orange juice. “Because she’ll see this unplanned pregnancy as this huge, horrible mistake I’ve made that will ruin my career and the rest of my life.” Her voice ached with pain.

Holy. Shit. Anger welled up in him, because he couldn’t imagine anyone being that callous toward their daughter, let alone the grandchild she was carrying. Aiden had no doubts that his mother and both of his brothers would need a bit of time to process the news that he was going to be a dad, but they’d never call a baby, his baby, a mistake.

He badly wanted to understand Daisy’s mother’s thought process and was fairly certain there was more to the story that he didn’t know yet. So, he asked. “Why would your mother think that?”

She met his gaze again, clearly uncomfortable sharing this difficult part of her past with him, but she exhaled a breath and spoke. “My mother, Diane, was nineteen when she met my father, right after she’d been accepted into the Los Angeles Dance Academy, which had always been her dream. According to my mother, my father was quite a smooth-talking charmer. He said and did all the right things, and she fell hard for him, except when she got pregnant with me, he didn’t stick around. So, she was forced to give up her scholarship and dream of dancing to get a job and raise me, and I grew up hearing about it, which always made me feel like a burden and that she resented that I was born. I was also lectured about not trusting men because they’d take advantage of me and make promises they wouldn’t keep . . . and, well, that’s pretty much what happened with Troy. I got a nice, big, fat I told you so from my mother when I had to tell her about that.”

She paused for a moment, and Aiden felt his jaw clench in irritation at how insensitive her mother had been to Daisy. But he didn’t say anything, just gave her the time and space to gather her thoughts before she continued.

“So, that whole Troy situation was like a huge strike against me and something she held over my head, and here comes the second strike for being so stupid as to get pregnant.” She lifted her chin tenaciously and settled a protective hand over her belly. “Not that I care at this point what she thinks, because I will never let this baby ever feel like they weren’t wanted, despite how they were conceived. And I also know that you’d never walk away from this child, either.”

“Never,” he assured her, and was tempted to add that, for him, she was part of the deal, too, but knew she wasn’t ready to hear that yet. There was no sense telling her how his feelings for her had shifted beyond friendship and have her put up those defensive walls he was slowly trying to tear down, thanks to her dickhead ex who’d blindsided and deceived her and had basically fucked with her emotions.

She sighed, the sound heavy and disheartened. “I just know it’s going to be a difficult conversation to have with my mother and I dread it.”

He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, making a spontaneous decision. “If it would help, I’d be more than happy to go with you when you tell your mother so you’re not alone.” So she’d have his support and he could make sure her mother knew he was going to take care of Daisy and their baby, despite any doubts she might have about him or the situation.

“She lives in LA, right?” he asked, brushing his thumb along the backs of her fingers. “It’s just a few hours’ drive from here and we could be there by early afternoon.”

She smiled at him, but it did nothing to erase the unease he saw in her gaze. “Thank you for the offer, but I’d rather not tell her in person. Trust me, it’s going to be awkward and humiliating, and at least with a phone call or FaceTime I can hang up once she’s done berating me for getting myself in this situation.”

“Then let’s call her this morning,” he suggested. “And I’m not taking no for an answer.” Because he wasn’t letting her do this alone.

“Okay,” she said, resigned. “I suppose there’s no time like the present to get it over with, because it’s certainly not something I’m going to be able to hide for much longer.”

He chuckled. “No, you’re not. I’ll clear the breakfast dishes while you get your phone.”

They both stood up, and while he cleared the dirty plates and took them to the sink to rinse, she retrieved her iPhone and they sat back down at the table. She set up FaceTime and propped the phone against the salt and pepper shakers so she didn’t have to hold on to it while she talked, then with a deep, fortifying breath, she called her mother.