“Do we have a name?” Giselle asks.
“Yes, we do. Reed Cameron Harper.” I look to my dad, and he gives me a warm smile.
“Oh, sweetie!” Corrine coos. “That’s perfect. Both of your parents’ middle names.” Tears well in her eyes as my dad cuts across the room to my bedside.
“If your mom were here, she would be loving on her grandson. She’d be so proud of the woman you’ve become.”
“What is there to be proud of? Getting knocked up from a one-night stand?” I joke, but even I can hear the embarrassing truth in my words.
“No, for taking responsibility. You’re going to be an amazing mom just like yours was.”
Eight
Nick
It’s been a week since I walked out of the hospital with Celeste and argued with her for hours over the Olivia and baby situation.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she says. “Everything was going perfectly fine. And now it’s all about to be destroyed because of your one-night stand. I shouldn’t be surprised.” She throws her arms up in exasperation. “You’re a man, which means keeping your dick in your pants is impossible.”
“This happened before we got together!” I shout in frustration. She’s acting like I asked for this to happen. “You knew I was sleeping around. It’s part of the reason I agreed to make good on our pact.”
After I was told I needed to settle down, figuring I had nothing to lose, I called up Celeste and agreed to go through with our pact. At least with her, I knew what I was getting myself into. A business arrangement. We dated for a couple months and then announced our engagement. Celeste let the lease on her apartment go and moved in with me once I purchased a place in Lower Manhattan near the stadium—and directly above Killian.
“I know.” She nods. “I just…I thought being with you would be safe,” she whispers.
“I’m sorry,” I say, “But it’s not as if I cheated on you.” Despite the fact that Celeste and I have never once had sex, I’ve been one hundred percent faithful to her. It’s not that we didn’t try. We did. But the foreplay was robotic, and neither of us could get into it. After getting her off, I ended up finishing in the shower using my hand. We’ve never spoken about it or tried to have sex again.
“I know that,” she says, her voice rough with emotion. “That’s not what I meant.” She swallows thickly.
“Celeste, what’s going on?” I’ve never seen her like this. Celeste doesn’t do emotion. She doesn’t get her feelings hurt. “Talk to me.”
She opens her mouth to speak then closes it. She stands taller, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders. “Nothing is going on,” she says. “I just meant that I thought you would be safe for my reputation. I guess I was wrong.”
“I can’t change what happened,” I tell her, “but this doesn’t have to change anything between us.”
“Don’t you get it?” She shakes her head. “This changes everything.” She sighs in defeat and sits down on the couch. I walk over and sit next to her. “I didn’t sign up for this, Nick.”
I know from the outside it may seem like Celeste is being a bitch, but she’s right. She didn’t sign up for this. In the beginning of our relationship, we hammered out all the details. Celeste wanted to make sure we were both on the same page. She told me she didn’t want to have kids and I agreed. I feel bad that my past is complicating what we have. Celeste doesn’t deserve any of this.
The truth is, from the beginning, being with Celeste has been easy. Because of our high-demanding careers, we’re rarely ever home, both busy living our lives. There’s no expectations. No emotions involved. She’s more like a roommate than my fiancée.
We both sit in silence for a few minutes, and then she asks, “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I don’t know what the right answer is.”
“You said you didn’t want to be a dad,” she says, “You told me you felt like you were never good enough in your parents’ eyes. And you said that Fiona not getting pregnant was for the best.”
“I know.” She’s right. I did say all that. But at the time I said all that I didn’t think there was a chance of me actually becoming a dad. Now, there’s a baby who I might share DNA with.
“And what about Olivia?” she asks.
“What about her?”
“You said it yourself the morning after you two hooked up that you thought there could be something more between you guys. Are you telling me you honestly haven’t thought about how she plays into this picture?”
I let out a low groan, regretting my decision to confide in Celeste the morning after. “She walked away that morning, leaving me with nothing more than a note. Her only role in my life would be as my son’s mother.” As I say those words, my heart strings feel like they’re being tugged. Watching her deliver the baby was probably the single most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. She was so strong through it all. And then when she held him in her arms…the love that shown through in her eyes… In all my years growing up, I don’t think I ever saw my own mother look at me the way Olivia looked at her son. Had she not left without giving me her number, who knows how things would be different right now. But it doesn’t matter because she did leave, and now I’m engaged to Celeste. It’s pointless to focus on the what-ifs.