For a long while, we were silent. Hailey stood over the tea kettle, watching as the water began to steam, and I sat at her little round kitchen table, my hands folded in front of me.

I studied every detail of them, every line along my knuckles, every vein beneath the skin. Anything to keep my mind from Jackson and the way he’d looked at me when he’d sped away.

Anything to keep me from what felt like a never-ending rush of humiliation and shame.

The high-pitched scream of the kettle sounded, and I closed my eyes, listening to the burble of water as Hailey poured water into mugs.

“Green or Earl Grey?” she asked in a muted tone.

“You have decaf? The caffeine isn’t good for the baby.”

“Oh, right. Still getting used to…well, yeah. Give me a second.” She rummaged in her drawers and then snapped one shut before I heard the soft thud of her feet on the linoleum floor and then the gentle scrape of the wooden chair as it slid backward.

“Open your eyes. Nothing to hide from here,” Hailey said, and I looked up to find her placing a mug in front of me.

Turning, she grabbed some sugar and milk from the island in the middle of her dated, cherry kitchen and thunked them onto the middle of the matching table.

“Okay,” she sighed. “Now, let’s have some tea and talk about what might make you feel better. Maybe we could talk baby names? I like Tallulah, personally.”

I shook my head, wrapping my chilled hands around the scalding cup in front of me.

“I’m not sure anything is going to make me feel better. I mean, how could he just leave like that?” Gripping the string of my tea bag, I plunked it up and down and then stared down into the darkening water.

“Like, he wants to prove that he’s going to be here for this baby, but the second he finds out I’m pregnant, he’s back on the road again?” I let out a humorless laugh. “Frankly, it’s exactly what I expected from him. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Silence reigned between us, broken only by the soft clatter of Hailey’s spoon as she stirred her tea.

I counted the seconds. One, two, three, and then I glanced at her, determined to make her meet my gaze. When she didn’t, I spoke again.

“Well?” I prompted.

“Well.” She sighed. “Look, I don’t want to upset you any more. We can talk about this when you’ve had a little time.”

“I don’t need time. I want to know what you think,” I said.

Hailey frowned and then sipped her drink. With another sigh, she started again. “Well, I can kind of see where he’s coming from, honestly. I mean, what was he supposed to do? Throw his arms open and ask your due date? The guy got blindsided.”

“That’s no excuse,” I said.

“I think it might be.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “You’ve had a couple of days to deal with this news and process how it’s going to affect your life. Jackson didn’t have that. He just found out that not only were you pregnant, but you lied to him about it repeatedly to keep him from finding out.”

“Because he doesn’t want children!” I argued. “I did this for him. If you could’ve heard how he spoke about having a baby…”

“That was ancient history, Piper. His opinion could have changed in the last decade. And besides, would that be your assumption if you were in his shoes right now?” Hailey asked patiently. “Or would you think the person didn’t tell you because you were lacking somehow? Because, for whatever reason, they didn’t think you’d be a good influence in their child’s life?”

I frowned, that noxious sickly feeling returning to my stomach. “I hadn’t thought about it that way. If he’d just asked, or let me speak, I would have explained why I didn’t tell him.”

“He was in shock, I imagine. He didn’t know this was the kind of conversation he’d be having today, I guarantee that,” Hailey said. Then she reached toward me, took my hand, and stroked the back of my fingers.

“Look, Piper, you made a choice. You thought it was the right thing to do, but the thing is, you made that choice without his consent or knowledge. Like it or not, that’s going to be a tough thing for a guy like Jackson to swallow.”

I gripped my sister’s hand and squeezed. “Did you hear the part…the part where he said he loved me?” I choked out the words.

She nodded. “I did.”

“I love him too, you know. I wouldn’t have worried about ruining his life if I didn’t love him. I wouldn’t have…” Hot tears scratched at the back of my throat, and I swallowed hard.

“I know,” Hailey said. “I know.”

“So what do I do now? I can’t get him back. I can’t force him to stay with me because I’m having this baby. Not after everything I’ve done.”

Hailey frowned. “No, but you can give him what he thinks he wants right now.”

“Which is?” I prompted.

Hailey took another sip of her tea, her brow furrowing as she thought. “Well, what do you think you would want if you were in his shoes?”

“I guess…reassurance more than anything. But it’s not like I can call him and leave a message or something.”

“Then don’t. Go back to the city and do something about this.”

My mind whirled. “He won’t want to see me.”

“Then don’t let him. Leave him a letter or something. Just, you know, let him know that what happened doesn’t have anything to do with him. Not really.”

I nodded. “I can do that.”

“I know you can.”

“And what if he still hates me when he’s done reading it?”

“Then the two of you will work it out. Because right now? This isn’t about either of you. This is about little Tallulah.”

“I hate that name.” I grinned.

“I knew you would.” Hailey patted my hand. “Now go get to work, tiger.”