Chapter 34

Lacey

I sat in my car for a full minute before turning the ignition. I was in shock.

Positive. That’s what the doctor said. There was no chance of a mistake. He was one hundred percent certain I was pregnant. And it was Grant’s baby. How was I sure? I’ll tell you how.

Because no matter what I tried, no matter how I dressed, no matter how much I dolled myself up and tried to make myself beautiful, I still hadn’t managed to get Rob to make love to me. He just straight up didn’t want me.

I was in big trouble. I was pregnant, and it wasn’t with the man I was engaged to.

I called Faith. She was the only person I could think of who would understand.

“Lacey, you sound frantic.”

“I am,” I said.

“What is it? What’s happened?”

“You won’t believe me if I tell you.”

“Lacey. Tell me already.”

“Okay,” I said, catching my breath. “But it’s crazy.”

“Lacey.”

“Okay, okay.” I spilled the beans. “I’m pregnant, Faith.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know.”

“Who’s the father?” she said.

I laughed. “Who do you think?”

“Rob?”

“Nope.”

“What?”

“It’s not Rob’s. I know for a fact it’s not his, because we’ve never actually had intercourse. He’s too busy screwing his secretary, I think.”

“Oh, Lacey.”

“That doesn’t matter. I don’t care about that. I’m used to it. I’ve got bigger issues.”

“A baby.”

“Grant’s baby.”

I could practically feel Faith nodding on the other end of the line. She’d seen the tension between me and Grant in the weeks since her wedding. She knew what had happened, or at the very least, had her suspicions.

“Well, are you happy about it?”

And that’s when I burst out crying. I didn’t know how to answer that. I mean, I knew the baby was a blessing, a gift from God, but these weren’t exactly the best circumstances in which to have it. If I was with Grant, I’d have been over the moon to be having his baby. But I wasn’t with Grant. I was with Rob.

“Lacey, stop crying. It’s not the end of the world.”

“I know,” I said, sobbing.

“It’s not, Lacey. You have people who love you. We’ll help you through this. Grant will help too.”

“Grant hates my guts.”

“No he doesn’t.”

“Well, he doesn’t want to have a child with me, that’s for sure.”

“How did this happen?”

“How do you think it happened?”

“I mean, didn’t you and Grant use protection.”

I took a deep breath and stopped crying. “No, we didn’t. Grant didn’t want to.”

“He didn’t want to?”

“He said, let whatever happens, happen. It would be fate.”

“Well then, he’s going to get what he asked for.”

“I don’t think he meant it quite this literally, Faith.”

“You know what the funny thing is?” Faith said.

“What?”

“Jackson and I were talking today about trying for another baby.”

“Oh,” I said, wiping my tears away. “Faith, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

“Oh, Lacey,” she said. “Where are you? I’m going to come over and look after you. We’ll make this all better.”

“No, no. You’ve got Sam and Jackson. You don’t need to be watching me like a baby. I’ll be fine. Just don’t tell anyone what I told you.”

“I won’t.”

“Especially not Jackson. He’ll have to tell Grant if he finds out, and I want to think of a way to tell him in my own time.”

“You can count on me, Lacey.”

“I know I can, Faith. I love you, you know?”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

I hung up and gathered my nerves before making my way home. When I got there my plan was to go straight to my bedroom before anyone saw me, but Grant was in the hallway.

“Lacey, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Grant.”

“You’ve been crying. Did Rob do something? I’ll kick his stupid ass.”

“Grant, calm down. Rob didn’t do anything,” I said, but then I realized I’d need an excuse for the tears that had obviously been on my face. “It’s just, I’m really sad that he’s not showing more interest in this wedding. It’s his wedding too.”

Grant smiled at me warmly. “You look like you could use a bite to eat,” he said.

I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want anything, least of all company, but before I knew it I found myself nodding. “All right,” I said.

“Good. I’m going to cook for you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“It would be my pleasure, Lacey.”

Grant sat me at the counter and opened a bottle of wine.

“Just water for me,” I said, thinking of the baby.

“My pleasure, Lacey,” he said, as he took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and opened it.

“Why are you being so nice to me lately?” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“Flower shopping. Looking at the ring. Cooking me dinner.”

He shrugged as he put water on the stove to boil. Then he started cutting an onion.

“Is pasta okay?”

“It’s perfect,” I said.

I watched as he prepared the meal. He’d never looked sexier to me than he did right then. Slowly, as I watched, it began to dawn on me that I wasn’t just watching Grant, the best friend I’d ever had. I was watching Grant, the future father of my child. The thought gave me goosebumps.

“Lacey, are you all right?”

I nodded, taking a sip of water.

“Let me just tell you something about men,” he said.

“Okay.”

“It’s not always their words that tell you what they’re thinking, or what they want. Sometimes, it’s their actions.”

I smiled. “Are you telling me that Rob’s going to get more into this wedding, even if he doesn’t want to talk about it with me?”

Grant shook his head. “No. All I’m saying is that actions speak louder than words. Especially with men. We don’t always know how to say what we feel, but if we’re smart, we know how to show it.”