Chapter Eighteen

With each day that went by, Alec’s restlessness grew. Not only because he had a baby on the way but because he couldn’t do much about it. Ruby had let him back into her life, and that was good, but he still hadn’t been able to convince her that getting married was the best thing for them. According to Ruby, she still believed Alec wouldn’t consider marriage, much less having kids, if it hadn’t been for this surprise being forced on him.

She wanted to be with him. She accepted and even rejoiced that they loved one another. But because of the way things went down with Colleen, with Alec telling her he couldn’t marry her and pulling out of their engagement, Ruby seemed to think that she and the baby were a similar situation. It didn’t matter how many times he told her that it wasn’t—that he was actually excited about the possibilities with Ruby, that she should move in with him immediately—she would shake her head and say he was just being a good guy.

Since when had being a good guy been a bad thing?

Those excuses drove him insane, so much that he had to get away for the evening. He called up Kyle and Heath, agreeing to meet them down at the bar for a while. Ruby was home working, and there was no practice tonight.

“Jesus, you look like shit,” Kyle said, as Alec and Heath sat across from him at Duffy’s, their local hangout. “What happened?”

Alec had asked that his two buddies meet him for drinks, citing he had some things he needed to tell them. They’d agreed without asking for details, but they had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went. They were, however, about to find out.

“All right, you guys know that Ruby and I have been seeing each other,” Alec began with a heavy sigh.

“Is that what you kids are calling it these days?” Heath laughed, grabbing a napkin.

Alec gave him a dour look.

“Shit, buddy,” Kyle said, ordering a round of beers for the three of them. “Alec’s serious. So, what’s up? What’s going on? You guys having problems already?”

“No, that’s just it.”

“Is Colleen giving you shit about Ruby?” Kyle asked.

“Actually, she is, but I mostly ignore her. The problem is, things have been great. Really great. It took Ruby a while to accept my feelings for her, which are strong. I mean, you guys know how great she is.”

Heath nodded. “She’s pretty fucking awesome. And Camille loves her for you. She talks about it all the time.”

“Yeah, so I even took her to meet my mom, which you know I never did with Colleen. I just felt…I don’t know…like she was the one.”

“I fail to see the problem, buddy.” Kyle sipped from his beer, passing the other two down the bartop.

Alec knew what he was about to say wasn’t going to sit well with his buddies. He’d already told them a mere three months ago that Colleen was pregnant, even though that ended up being a lie. Would they make fun of him for saying it again, only with another woman this time? “The problem is…Ruby’s pregnant.”

Two pairs of eyes stared back at him. Quiet. Assessing. Then, they looked at each other. Then, Heath burst into laughter. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Great,” Alec said, “thanks a lot.”

“No, I’m just…” Heath gripped his shoulder. “I’m shocked, but I’m happy for you. Right, Kyle? We’re happy?”

“Super happy, bro. Like, thrilled to death. I’m not kidding.” Kyle raised his glass, and the three of them toasted. “To Alec, the most fertile one of us three. I suppose you’re getting engaged soon?”

“Guys,” Alec said, shaking his head. “That’s just it. We’re not. Ruby doesn’t want to get married. She’s convinced I proposed because I’m just doing the right thing like I did with Colleen,” he finished before taking a long drink of his beer. “She thinks I don’t want kids for a while, because of something I said in the Sports Armour meeting. I don’t know how to convince her that I’ve always been crazy about her and I’m proposing because I want her. Even since before Colleen.”

Heath whistled. “Damn. I thought Camille and I had a complicated relationship.”

“Uh, who has a complicated relationship here? Me.” Kyle raised his eyebrows. “I’m the one dating a princess, you know.”

“Yes, and you’ll be her Prince Charming shortly, buddy,” Heath teased.

“Of that I have no doubt,” Kyle said. “So, what are you going to do?” he asked Alec.

“I don’t know.” Alec pressed his forehead to the bartop. “Honestly, I see things her way. I love her. I believe I would have asked her to marry me sooner than later, and that discovering she was pregnant speeded things along. But I love her. I really love her. I don’t see marrying her as a duty or burden, but a natural progression in our relationship. It would have happened eventually, I know that. Why can’t she see it, too?”

“There may not be anything you can do,” Kyle said. “She has to see it for herself, and the only way to do that is to give it time.”

Maybe Kyle was right—maybe it would just take time. All he could do was keep showing Ruby how much he loved her and hopefully, everything would fall into place.

“Another thing...” Kyle drawled. “Have you tried groveling?”

Heath nodded. “Sounds like you need to grovel, big time.”

“But I didn’t do anything wrong.” Well, maybe it was his super sperm’s fault, but hell, it wasn’t like he’d orchestrated getting her pregnant.

“Doesn’t matter,” Heath said. “You’re a charming guy, Alec,” Heath said.

“And that’s bad?”

“In this case, kind of. You go on press conferences to convince people of shit all the time. Ruby knows this. Ruby’s the one who encouraged you to do it whenever you were in trouble. Plus, the big one—Colleen told you she was pregnant and you didn’t hesitate to propose to her. Hell, even when you found out she was lying, you refused to tell anyone. You’re all about doing the right thing, even when it means acting your ass off. Yes, this time it’s for real, but you can see why she’d have her doubts.”

“She’s worth fighting for, right?” Kyle asked.

“Fuck yeah, man.” Alec looked up at them. “Never would’ve gone through this for anyone else.”

“Then, you don’t think twice about it. Just prove yourself over and over. Grovel. Eventually, she’ll see the truth, just like Arabella did with me.”

Alec winced at the reminder. Due to Kyle’s asshat father, Arabella had once thought Kyle had sold her out to the media. Thankfully, things had worked out for his friends in the end. Was it possible he and Ruby would have the same shot at happiness in the end?

“To Ruby seeing the truth.” Heath raised his glass, then Kyle and Alec followed.

“No, to the women who make us grovel,” Kyle said.

They clinked glasses.

“To the women who make us grovel,” Alec and Heath said at the same time.