we’re looking to expand. It’s pretty obvious we’re gonna have to. This could be someone down on her luck just trying to make sure she leaves a kid she can’t afford in good hands.”
“Yeah, but by that logic,” Orlando had argued, “wouldn’t her little scheme be over the moment the paternity test came back negative?” Beast hadn’t been able to argue, but both of Orlando’s two best friends were suspicious about the whole thing. He knew they just meant well and were worried he’d end up scammed or worse—heartbroken. Never in a million years would he have believed it if someone had posed the situation as a hypothetical question to him that he’d be feeling this way. But the more he thought about it, the more excited he got about the possibility.
Felicia was still staring at him, as speechless as he’d known she’d be. Until he found out for sure if the kid was actually his and what that meant for their future, he had no idea what else to say to her. When he didn’t offer more about his thoughts on whether the baby was his or not, she moved on to the next question he’d known she’d be asking. “Do you have any idea who the mother might be?”
Shrugging again, he exhaled sharply. “A few girls come to mind, but to be honest at this point I don’t think it matters. Push comes to shove and it turns out he is mine, I’ll make damn sure whatever bitch could just walk away from him so easily never gets him back. I’ll be raising this kid alone.”
Her brow arched, and for the first time since Orlando started telling her all this, she no longer looked as floored as he’d felt the day he found the baby at his doorstep. Now she seemed hurt. It almost irritated him. Was she expecting an apology for something that happened long before he’d even met her? It’s why her next question took him by surprise. “By yourself? What about me?”
What about you? The words almost slipped out until he realized what she was hurt about. He’d been so caught up in this insanity that he hadn’t even given any thought as to how this could or would change things between him and Felicia. In his defense, he’d expected she’d want out. And he wouldn’t have blamed her. Nine was the only person he knew that’d been more than willing to take on the role of stepdad to his girl’s kid. But things between him and Drew were completely different. Even if he didn’t admit it then, Nine had been balls-to-the-wall whipped over Drew almost as soon as they first connected. As long as Orlando had known Felicia now, he just wasn’t there yet. If the tables were turned here, he knew he’d likely take a step back, so he just assumed she would too. Clearing his throat and stumbling with his words, he finally got something out. “I, uh . . . well, I just meant his mom will be out of the picture if I have anything to do with it.” He reached across the kitchen island for her hand and kissed it. A part of him was warmed by the fact that she hadn’t made a beeline to the door when she heard he was very likely a single dad now. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about this, but I don’t want you feeling like you have to pretend to be okay with it.”
“Pretend to be okay with having a boyfriend who, after just a couple of days of finding out he might be a dad, is so ready to own up to it?” She smiled big. “I didn’t think I could possibly be more attracted to you.”
Boyfriend? Instantly, Orlando was torn. While he appreciated Felicia’s willingness to step up and stand by him through this, if he thought he had too much going on before to be able to commit to anything, his life was about to get even crazier.
Orlando smiled, feeling like a coward about not addressing her boyfriend comment, but he did want to make one thing clear. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen yet, Felicia. All I know is I have even more going on now. Or will have more once I find out for sure if he’s mine. I just wanted to be honest with you about this and let you know what’s going on.”
Felicia’s smile waned a bit when she understood this was his