Baby Daddies - Tara Brown Page 0,25

trying to butt in, though I know we are.” Matt seems to always be the voice of reason. “But we have some experience in this department. It was months before I found out Sami was pregnant. She hid it from me while we were broken up. It killed me when I found out.”

The confession makes him an instant fish out of water.

“I missed so many important moments. And Sami’s not wrong. Lori’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. He needs to hear this from you before you leave. And if you choose not to tell him, I can’t keep this secret from him. So he’s gonna find out one way or another. Don’t you want it to be from you?”

It’s not a threat and I don’t take it as such, but I understand that the secret would ruin their friendship, something he’s not willing to risk.

“And not to make it all about us but you’ll ruin Nat and Brady’s wedding if you leave. Lori’s a key member of the wedding party and while Brady’s feelings aren’t likely to sway you, Nat’s the kindest person I’ve ever met. Don’t do this to her.” Matt scowls.

“Maybe you get the baby part, but you don’t understand the rest. I’m poor. Legit poor. I can’t afford to have a baby in this city with no job. It’s not just that I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want him to think—”

“He won’t.” Matt somehow knows what I mean. “Not one of us who’s met you would ever think that about you, Jenny. If anything, everyone will think he trapped you.” He chuckles but the humor is stuck at his lips, his stare remains fierce.

His words hit the spot. Not only am I being a coward, but they think I am indifferent to Lori. That brings a new pain to my chest. If they think that, Lori must too. My act last night worked and he thinks I don’t care that he gave me his heart. A sound escapes my lips with a heave as I fight the tears. It takes a second to be able to speak.

“How did you find out?” I ask, expecting them to tell me this was a game of telephone started by Sukii who has disagreed with my choices from the moment I called her.

But the betrayal is much greater.

“Your brother.” Sami smiles with that smugness, one of the many traits I don’t like about her.

“What?” She might as well have said my mother called from heaven.

“Your brother, Josh, called me this morning. We have some friends in common—they gave him my number.” Matt nods. “He said he’s been trying to reach you, but you aren’t answering his calls. He’s certain you’re making a mistake, and he had planned to come and stop you but he couldn’t, something about an emergency recording session. He said you’re stubborn, and I wasn’t allowed to let you get on the plane. He’s already canceled your flights.”

“I’ll kill him,” I whisper.

“Yeah, he said you would say that. But he thinks one day you’ll thank him for interfering. He said to tell you that Lori is your ‘lobster,’ but you’re too stubborn to admit you have one.”

The words hit hard. Savagely.

I recoil from them as a tear bursts through the dam and streams my cheek.

“What does that mean?” Sami asks.

“It’s from Friends.” I sniffle and wipe my face. “We watched it all the time with my mom.” The image of me and Josh and Mom in her hospital bed brings more tears to my eyes. They’re flooding my face. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I remember being pregnant.” Sami shudders.

“Just give him a chance. Don’t assume he won’t be there for you or want to have the kid. Trust me on this one thing.” Matt’s certainty gives me a measure of hope.

“Okay.” I concede, succumbing to him and my brother and the cold hard truth that leaving without telling Lori is a level of cruelty I can’t genuinely condone. “I’ll stay but I’ll tell him after the wedding, okay? So if you can keep the secret a bit longer—”

“Of course,” Matt agrees. “I think that’s for the best.” He subtly nods at Sami. “The wedding’s kind of a big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal,” Sami concurs absently.

“Okay.”

Matt takes my bag and offers me his arm.

By the time we get to their limo, I’m emotional and panicking, trying to come up with what to tell Lori. I have half an hour to figure out a reason why