Friends with Benefits - Nicole Blanchard Page 0,60

into his side. It was a casual movement. One I wasn’t really sure he even realized he did. “You don’t owe me anything, babe. I’ve been happy to help.”

“I don’t only mean with the twins and everything. I mean, after Chris left me, I don’t think I’d ever been so low, and I’m not the type who gives a damn what a man thinks about me.”

“Especially not a chump like him.”

“We never talked about us, like where we were going to go after the benefits ended.”

At my words, he straightened, his concerned gaze sharpening. “You want to end things?” he asked. Was I imagining things, or was there hurt in his words?

My tongue tied itself into knots. “No, I mean, if you want to, but—”

“What would make you think I want to?” His brows pushed together, and his full, kissable lips folded into a frown. I was going to miss those lips.

Things were so much easier when the focus was on sex. I should have never agreed to this. I knew when I met him, when the twins were little, that taking this too far would be a bad idea. Maybe I was more like my mom than I thought.

Selfish. Reckless. Careless.

Doomed to repeat her mistakes.

My hand pressed against my stomach. I didn’t know if it was all the crying or the hormones, but I felt sick.

“Ember?” he prompted.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurted. Or I think I did. The ringing was so loud in my ears that I couldn’t be sure.

The hand he had resting on the back of the couch dropped to his lap. His face went lax in surprise.

“You’re pregnant?” I heard over the ringing in my ears. I nodded, but it made me dizzy, so I clutched the back of the couch to ground me.

“I’m so sorry. I know this isn’t what you had planned. I thought maybe it was from stress, but I took a test, well, I took several, and they were all positive. I can’t believe I’m doing this to you when you’re about to start your senior year of ball and you’ve got so much going on. I thought about not telling you, but that didn’t seem—”

His big arms wrapped around me, squeezing so tight he cut off the rest of my apology. Maybe I was selfish because I soaked up the comfort he provided without hesitation. My tears dried, my thundering heart slowed, and by the time he pulled away, I was somehow in his lap and much more steady.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, angel. Nothing at all. You hear me?”

“I thought you’d be upset.” His measured reaction had my brows pulling together.

“I don’t know what I am, but it’s as much my responsibility as it is yours, Em.” Which is exactly what I had expected him to say.

My voice was tiny when I responded. “I’m scared. This is going to change everything. Your career…the twins.”

He pulled me close and kissed the top of my hair. “I know you are, baby. This wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but you know I’ll be here for you. Whatever you decide. And whatever it is, we’ll face it. Together.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tripp

There was one qualifying game left in the season. One last chance to prove to myself, to Coach Taylor, to my advisors, and to the world at large that this was what I was meant to do. When I wasn’t at Ember’s apartment, I was training. I ran three miles a day, lifted weights until all my muscles shook, and pitched until my arm went numb. I was ready.

It should have been the only thing on my mind, but it wasn’t. I was at the last practice before our last game, and all I could think about was Ember. The baby. Our baby. We were going to be parents.

It wasn’t exactly how I’d planned for things to go down, but I wasn’t upset. Far from it. Now that I’d had a little while to wrap my head around the idea, I liked the thought of Ember having my baby. I fucking loved it. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, I was pretty sure it was going to be damn hard. But it would be a piece of the two of us, and I couldn’t imagine a better mom for my child.

“Yo! Are you paying attention? I said a fastball, not a curveball!” Alex shouted from home plate where he was practicing with me. He jogged to where I was standing