Chapter 29
The loud ring of the video call had Megan squeezing her eyes shut. It was the third call to her parents in the last five minutes. The first time she’d tried to call, her mother had accidentally hung up on her. The second time she’d called, there was audio but no video. Hopefully, the third time was the charm, because her parents’ ineptitude with modern technology was enough to make her insane.
“Megan?” came her mother’s insistent voice seconds before her face popped up on the screen.
“Hey, Mom. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, dear. Finally. Your father was fiddling around with some buttons, but it looks like we have a proper connection now.”
“Is Dad there with you?”
“Yes, he just went to grab a beer. He said I drive him to drink.”
Megan couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
Connor McKenna appeared on the side of the screen and waved at her. “Hey there, Meggie. How are you?”
“Good, Dad. Thanks for getting on the video chat with me. I have some news.”
Katherine’s eyes lit up, and she clasped her hands in front of her chest. Megan knew where her mother’s thoughts were going, so she held up her hand and said, “But Mom, before you get all excited, it’s not exactly what you think.”
Dropping her hands into her lap, her mother schooled her features. “Okay, dear. We’re all ears.”
“I’ve actually had this news for a while, and I’m sorry I haven’t told you sooner.” Megan took a deep breath. “Niall and I got a divorce.”
Her parents sat there staring at the screen, and for once, her mother didn’t have a response.
“The divorce was finalized last year, and I’m sorry I’ve kept this from you.”
She was reaching for more reassuring things to say when her father finally cleared his throat. “Are you okay, Meggie?” he asked.
Hating the worry etched on his face, she said, “I’m actually really good. After it happened, I was let go from my teaching position at Gillson. I found a new job teaching second grade at a public school on the Near West Side. I share an apartment in Greektown with a roommate. Her name is Calli, and she’s really great. I even bought myself a car.” She smiled, trying to reassure them that she was okay.
Finally, her mother found her voice. “What happened with Niall? We had no idea that you two were even having problems.”
Megan was about to just tell her parents that things hadn’t worked out between her and Niall, but she stopped. She didn’t want to tell half-truths anymore.
“I’d say things started to go downhill a couple years ago. He was working more, and we were having trouble getting pregnant. And then I found out he was cheating on me.”
Her mother gasped. Her father frowned.
“It was a hard pill to swallow for a while. But I promise, all that is behind me, and I’m good.”
And she meant it too. Just talking about her inability to get pregnant before and the fact that Niall had cheated on her were no longer painful to think about.
“Megan,” her mother said, clearly distraught. “Why on earth didn’t you tell us? You had to go through all of this alone.”
Katherine’s face started to pinch, and Megan hated that she was making her mother cry.
“I didn’t tell you initially because I thought you’d be disappointed in me.”
Megan held her breath, waiting for their response. They shook their heads simultaneously. “No, no, dear,” her father said at the same time her mother replied, “Never.”
“I know I was wrong. I should have told you. And I’m so sorry I didn’t.”
Megan felt her eyes start to get warm and moist. She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d hurt her parents by being dishonest or if it was from the relief of finally telling them the truth. She wished she would have just told her family months ago.
“Do you need anything?” her father asked. “Money? Things for your apartment? Can we help in any way?”
Megan smiled, feeling like it was the first time she’d smiled all week. “No. I’m good. But thank you.”
“Well, don’t you hesitate to ask us,” her mother ordered. “And from now on, no more leaving us in the dark.”
Taking another deep breath, Megan readied for the next bomb she was about to drop on her parents. “I promise. And with that said, I have one more thing to tell you.”
Connor looked at Katherine, who tilted her head in confusion.
“Shortly after my divorce was finalized, I met someone. His name is James Foley, and he owns an auto garage nearby. I actually met him at his shop because my new car needed some repairs.” She said this with a smile because “some repairs” was another half-truth when it came to her Honda. “I’m not just telling you about him because he makes me really happy. I’m telling you about James because, as it turns out, I’m pregnant.”
Her mother’s hands flew to her mouth, and she squawked. Her father frowned and blinked. Megan laughed, trying not to blush and failing miserably.
“Pregnant?” her mother asked, her voice breathless.
“Yeah,” Megan replied, smiling from ear to ear. “We’re due at the end of October.”
Katherine’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “I think I already know the answer to this, but I have to ask it anyway because I’m your mother. Are you happy?”
“Deliriously,” she said, meaning it with her entire soul.
“And is this James happy about the baby?” her father asked.
Megan nodded. “He is.”
“And how are you feeling? When did you find out? When can we meet James?” her mother gushed.
“Soon. I hope.”
Although the smile stayed on her face, Megan steeled herself for the next thing on her to-do list. And it wasn’t a video call. It was a house call.
“This James,” her father began. “Do you love him?”
Megan knew her dad’s hesitation wasn’t misplaced. But it was her job to reassure him.
“I do, Dad. I really, really do.”
###
“Can I please go upstairs and play video games now?”
James looked over at the uneaten peas and carrots on his son’s plate and gave him a pointed look. “What did I tell you the last time you asked?”
Cade’s shoulders slumped, and he scrunched up his nose. “That I couldn’t leave the table until I finished my vegetables.”
“Well, I guess you have your answer then.”
Scooting his chair back, James rose from the table and took his empty plate and bowl to the sink. Now that school was officially out for the summer, he’d be arguing with Cade about finishing his vegetables instead of finishing his homework.
Abel appeared at the bottom of the stairs wearing a tan blazer. It was Saturday night, and his dad had a date. Pulling at the bottoms of his sleeves, Abel asked the room, “How do I look?”
Cade spun away from his vegetables. “Looking good, Grandpa!” Then he glanced over at James and asked, “Dad, did you know you’re the only one in the house without a girlfriend?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You have a girlfriend?”
“Yeah, her name is Ashley.”
“And when did you get a girlfriend?” Abel asked as he slipped his wallet into his pocket and grabbed his truck keys.
“Like a year ago, Grandpa.”
Cade said it as if it was common knowledge, even though this was the first time either Abel or James had heard of a girlfriend named Ashley. Cade turned around and tried to chase a few peas around his plate with his fork. At this rate, he’d be there for at least another hour.
As Cade rambled on to Abel all about his girlfriend, James washed his dishes. He hadn’t spoken to Megan since he’d stormed out of her apartment last week. James didn’t think of himself as the type of person who brooded or pouted over things, but damn it, he couldn’t help but still be hurt.
He’d texted Megan the morning after their fight to contact him if there was an emergency with the baby. Bottom line was she was still pregnant with his child, and regardless of whether he was upset, she needed to know he wasn’t cutting her out of his life. If she needed him, he’d be there.
With every passing day, he tried to come to terms with his feelings. He even tried to make excuses for her, but none of them made any sense. If the situation had been reversed and he hadn’t told Abel or his family about Megan, she would have been terribly hurt. So he had every right to feel the way he did.
“I’m done. Can I go upstairs now?” Cade said, nudging James on the elbow as he placed his dish in the sink.
James looked back at the table. There weren’t any signs of peas and carrots on the floor or hidden under any placemats, so he told his son that he was excused.
As he finished drying the last plate, he heard the doorbell ring.
“Dad! Door!” Cade yelled from upstairs as if James hadn’t heard the bell.
After throwing his towel on the kitchen counter, James went down the stairs to the front door. The mailman was usually the only person who ever rang the bell, but it was too late for deliveries. Maybe his dad had forgotten something and locked himself out.
Opening the door, he froze when he saw Megan standing on the front step.
She gave him a hesitant smile. “Hi.”
She wore a pair of skinny jeans and a loose fitting pink T-shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and an army-green jacket hung over her arm.
A part of James was relieved to see her. Like he’d been dying of thirst for her and just a glimpse was enough to wet his throat and bring some relief. But he hadn’t anticipated the way his heart twisted at the sight of her or the way he couldn’t forget how she’d hurt him. It felt like the pain was still fresh, even though their fight happened a week ago.
With his feelings still raw, he debated whether to let her in. But his good upbringing won out in the end. Shuffling aside, he replied, “Come in.”
Megan stepped through the door and waited for him to close it. “Sorry I’m just showing up like this at your house.”
“No worries. Go on up.”
He indicated for her to go up to the main floor, and he followed her. He wasn’t trying to check out her ass, but her shirt rode up just enough for him to see a thick elastic band at the top of her jeans for her growing belly.
“I hope this isn’t a bad time, but I wanted to talk to you.” Megan waited just inside the dining room.
“Sure. Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the living room.
Megan was silent as she waited for him to join her. After sitting, he leaned back into the corner of the couch, trying to keep some needed distance between them. Just being in the same room with her squeezed his heart with every beat.
“I came here to apologize. You were right about one thing you said last week and that was that I should have told my parents about my divorce and about you. I should have told them a long time ago. I was a coward. And you were right to be upset that I waited so long.”
Her eyes were leveled on him, and they pleaded for understanding. Damn straight he had a right to be upset. At least they were on the same page now. He sensed she wasn’t done, so he just nodded.
“I’ve wanted to rush over here all week long. But I stayed away because I needed to make sure I explained things correctly. And in order to do that, I had to understand them myself.”
He waited for her to continue.
“I’ve unfairly blamed my parents for a lot of things in my life. They are wonderful people, and I’m so lucky to have a mom and dad who love me unconditionally. I’d thought they had put pressure on me all my life to be perfect, but that’s not true. The pressure came from me.” She shifted in her seat and looked down at her coat draped across her lap. “When I achieve something, my family is delighted, and I love making them proud. So as my achievements mounted, I started feeling more and more pressure to succeed. There were expectations, and I was going to meet or exceed those expectations at all costs. It became this silent anxiety for me. Get good grades. Get a good job. Make something out of myself.”
Megan raised her eyes to his and shrugged. “I’d done pretty well until I wasn’t able to have children and I got a divorce. In my mind, they were the biggest failures possible. And I wasn’t ready to share them with my family. But then I realized that the only person who considered them a failure was me.”
He’d tried to tell her that months ago.
“So I’m sorry that I hurt you by not being honest with my family. You and this baby are so important to me, and I don’t want you to think for one second that you aren’t.”
Her sincerity was obvious in her expression.
“But I also want you to know that you were wrong about everything else you said.” Raising her chin, she leveled her eyes on him with intensity. The pleading look she’d had seconds earlier was gone.
“Like what?” he asked, needing to know exactly what he was so wrong about.
“I’m not ashamed of you. I’ve never been ashamed of you. My reasons for not telling my family about you had nothing to do with feeling ashamed of you in any way.”
“Then why didn’t you say that last week? You never said that once, and I left there thinking that you were embarrassed to be with me.”
His tone lacked the bite it would have had a week ago. Instead he just sounded tired. He desperately wanted her to say the right thing, because he wasn’t sure he could take any more heartache.
“I said all the wrong things,” she admitted. “If I could go back and redo that argument, I would have just come right out with it. I guess I was taken aback because it had never crossed my mind that you would ever think I could be ashamed of you.”
James looked at the space between them on the couch. “Honestly, I’m not sure I would have been very receptive to the truth even if you had told me. I was angry and upset. I’ve been wrestling with this idea that I can’t give you the things you want because I don’t have a seven-figure salary.”
She leaned over and placed her hand on top of his. “I don’t need things. I need you. I love you, James.”
He turned his hand over and closed his fingers around hers. He raised his gaze to hers, hoping to God he saw truth there. Her big blue eyes, the color of a clear day, were trained on him, and he could see into her soul. And he saw love.
“How long have you felt this way?” he asked her.
“Since that night at the Langham. Actually the morning after, to be specific.” She smiled. “I knew you were special. I knew the way you made me feel wasn’t just lust. My heart started beating for you that morning, and even though months went by until we figured out we wanted to be together, I had already fallen for you.”
He squeezed her hand. Her fingers were long and delicate. And the all-important finger on her left hand was bare, which brought up another question.
“If you loved me, why did you tell me that you didn’t want to get married?”
“Because I didn’t want to push you. I didn’t want you to feel trapped into marrying me just because we’re having a baby,” she replied, her voice begging him to understand. “You’ve mentioned that you aren’t sure you ever want to get married again. I can respect that, and I said what I did to give you an out.”
Fuck. This woman. This amazing, selfless woman. He’d been so, so wrong.
“Do you want to get married?” he asked.
“I would marry you today if you asked me. But I’d also happily live with you unmarried for the rest of my life.”
Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he shook his head. “I figured it’d be important to you to be married by the time the baby arrives. So we’d all have the same last name.”
She brushed her fingers over the side of his face, and the contact sent shivers through his entire body. “What’s important to me is that you know how much I love you. That I’d love you with or without the same last name.”
He turned his cheek into her palm and closed his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he wasn’t alone. He’d always felt like everyone depended on him to take care of them. Cade was of course his responsibility. But Holly had worn him down and had squeezed out every last ounce of desperate effort he had.
Megan made him feel like he could let go of that breath he’d been holding on to ever since he’d gotten divorced. Ever since he’d started feeling like it was him and Cade versus the world. Megan was going to be on their team, and James knew she’d help carry them if he needed her to.
He opened his eyes and looked directly into hers. “I love you too.”
“You do?” A slow, happy smile curved her lips. He nodded.
She leaned forward and lightly pressed her mouth to his. They were soft and warm and perfect, and he deepened the kiss, pulling her toward him. God, this woman.
After a minute he broke the kiss. “What are you going to do about your parents?”
“I had a video chat with them about an hour ago. They’re really excited to meet you and Cade.”
Warmth spread throughout his chest. Before he could fuse his mouth together with hers, he heard loud stomps coming down the stairs. James pulled back just in time to see Cade enter the living room and stop.
“Ms. McKenna?”
The look of complete confusion was etched on the little boy’s face as he looked between James and Megan. Smiling, James took Cade’s hand and tugged him close to his side.
“Remember how earlier tonight you mentioned I was the only one in the house without a girlfriend?” Cade slowly nodded. “Well, you were wrong. Because Ms. McKenna and I are dating.”
The little boy’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You are?”
Megan smiled. “Yes, we are. I hope that’s okay with you?”
Cade looked back at his father and then to Megan. “Sure,” he said, shrugging his shoulders like he didn’t care.
Megan smiled and bit her lower lip, and before James could allow that simple sexy action of hers to cause anything to happen to him below the belt, his son leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Way to go, Dad.”
He pinned Cade to his side and tickled him relentlessly in the stomach, causing his son to buckle against him and howl with laughter. After a minute, Megan cleared her throat. Both James and Cade stopped, and their attention went to her smiling face.
“I came over to invite you to a wedding next weekend,” Megan said. “It’s in Boston, and I’d very much like if you both would come with me.”
Cade’s eyes widened with excitement. “Awesome! I’ve never been to Boston or Fenway Park!” He whipped his head to his father. “Can we go, Dad? Please?”
James smiled at his son before looking back at Megan. She was biting her lip again, and her eyes were almost as pleading as Cade’s. “Of course we can go. But bud, we’re going to have to get you a suit.”
Cade’s excitement vanished. “Really?” he whined, his top lip curled in disgust.
“I’m sure a shirt and tie would be just fine,” Megan intervened.
His son let out an audible, exaggerated sigh and scurried up the stairs yammering about packing for the trip next week. James looked at Megan, his eyes roaming her face.
His chest felt lighter. His shoulders not so tense. James hoped that if they had a little girl, she’d look just like Megan. Although with as beautiful as Megan was, that might not be the best thing to wish for.
“So are we okay?” she asked, reaching for his hand again.
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Yeah, sweetheart. We’re good.”
And he knew that for the first time in a long time, he really was good. Sure, he’d been through a lot of shit in life to get to this point. Hell, so had Megan. But life was funny like that.
James pulled Megan onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Her scent of warm vanilla infused his senses and had him nestling into her neck. He placed a featherlight kiss on her skin and loved the responding shiver that went through her body.
This life—this crazy upside-down journey—might not have been what he wanted originally. But going through the heartache of Holly had left him with Cade and brought him to this moment.
James had never thought he’d be able to love another woman again, let alone have another child, but he was so glad that fate had other things in mind. If someone would have told him years ago that this was where he’d end up, he would’ve said they were crazy.
James smiled against Megan’s neck. “This is exactly where I need to be.”