into the chair opposite. He shook his head. Blinked a few times. “Wh-whose is it?”
“Yours.” She gathered her purse and started to rise. “I’ve told you, now I can leave.”
“Hang on!” He grabbed her arm, pulling her down. “Are you positive it’s mine? We used—” He glanced around and leaned closer, lowering his voice. “We used condoms both times.”
A trio of guys with their girlfriends filed in, calling out hello, forcing him to find a smile and a cheery wave. Across the room a table of college students signaled for another round of beer.
“You’re right, this is a bad time,” Emma said. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“No.” Darcy dragged a hand through his hair. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you positive it’s mine?”
“I haven’t been with anyone else since our divorce.”
Was he dreaming? Had to be. Because this was his worst nightmare ever. He spotted Kirsty and called to her. “Get Brad off his break to tend the bar, will you? Table four needs another round and I’d like a double Scotch.”
Kirsty’s blue eyes widened under her dyed black bangs at this unusual request. He never drank and never sat down when the bar was this crowded.
“It’s an emergency,” he said. “Emma, would you like a soda water, or something?”
“Nothing, thanks.” She still had her purse on her lap, poised to leave.
“Thanks, Kirsty, that’s all.” When she’d left he turned to Emma, his fingers drumming the table. “Walk me through this.”
“There’s no big mystery,” she said impatiently. “We had sex. I conceived. Basic biology.”
A simmering rage bubbled beneath his surface calm. “You did this on purpose. You couldn’t get your way while we were married. So you decided to go ahead and have a baby anyway. You played me for a fool.”
“We used condoms, you dope. How can you think I did this on purpose?”
“I don’t know, a little nick with a fingernail—”
She held up her nails, filed almost to the quick. How could he have forgotten? Germs lived beneath fingernails.
“Teeth?” he suggested. “You could have done practically anything while you were down there. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I wouldn’t have had a clue.”
Emma’s color deepened. “Well, I didn’t.”
Kirsty set his Scotch on the table, her curious gaze lingering on Emma. She’d started at the pub three months ago and didn’t know Emma was his ex-wife.
“Thank you, Kirsty.” He tried but couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice. An edge directed at Emma.
He started to take a drink, but one whiff of the alcohol and he didn’t want Scotch, after all. He set the glass carefully on a coaster. “What do you expect me to do about this?”
“Nothing. Telling you is merely a courtesy because fathers have a right to know. I’m not asking for anything. I don’t want your money or your time. I don’t want your interference or token parental effort. I’m going to raise this baby on my own.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “Is that clear?”
“Crystal.” She had it all worked out how she would manage the baby without him. Typical. She’d done that with Holly, too. Made him feel as if he was clumsy and useless. And he had to admit she was right, witness the time he’d let Holly roll off the changing table. That one incident had been a game-changer, a turning point in their little family. From then on he and Emma both accepted that he wasn’t good with babies. He knew how to play with them but he didn’t know how to care for them. That’s how he saw it and he was pretty sure she did, too, because after that she didn’t let him help.
But whether he was a good dad or not, a baby was on the way. No matter what Emma said about not wanting his money, he couldn’t shirk his responsibilities. He wasn’t made that way. “I’ll set up an account for the child.”
Money was the easy part. Worse would be the whole emotional angle he would have to deal with. Another baby. Another fragile, vulnerable, mortal human being he was biologically programmed to love more than his own life. He couldn’t do it again. He just couldn’t. The pub noise became a roaring in his ears. The walls began to close in on him.
“Darcy? Are you okay?” Emma’s voice seemed to come from very far away.
Suddenly he felt light-headed. He had to get away before he passed out. Gripping the table with both hands he pulled himself to his feet. “I’ll notify you