Page 34 of The Best Friend Problem
“Yeah.”
The shock of the situation still had him reeling, but he absolutely loved the smile brightening her face. She was happy, more so than he’d ever seen her. How could he be upset by that?
Still, her happiness wasn’t the only thing to think about here.
“Do you, ah, do you want me involved?”
Her smile stilted, confusion filling her features. “Do you want to be involved?”
“I…don’t know.”
He’d never imagined himself as a father. He loved being an uncle. His nieces and nephews were great, but the greatest thing about them was spoiling them rotten, then handing them back to their parents.
Parents. He was going to be someone’s father.
Did he want to be a father? He kind of was one, regardless. The baby inside Pru held half of his DNA. That made him a father, but it didn’t make him a dad. Everyone had a father, a biological donor, but it took time and caring to be a dad. Help with homework, playing catch in the backyard, advice on dealing with bullies and puberty. That’s what a dad did. It’s what his had done.
Could he do that knowing it could all be taken away in the blink of an eye? One bad fire, one unsteady building, one bad rescue and he’d be leaving a child who depended on him.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow.
Oh great, and now his dad’s favorite phrase rang in his head. Not even a father yet and he was already turning into his old man.
But the more important question was, did Pru want him to be involved? She started this journey with the specific desire to go solo.
“Do you want me to be involved?”
Dark brown eyes stared at him, a million questions he couldn’t decipher running through her gaze.
“Right now?” She shook her head. “I have no idea what I want besides this baby.”
Her hands moved over her abdomen, and his gaze followed. There was a baby in there. Their baby. It was weird and scary and amazingly awesome all at the same time.
So much for sex not changing anything.
“I have an appointment in a few weeks to hear the heartbeat and have an ultrasound.”
“An ultrasound? Is everything okay?”
She smiled at his slight panic. “Yes. That’s just what they do at the first appointment. To check everything out and make sure things are where they’re supposed to be and growing properly.”
“Oh, cool.” He was going to have to hit the web and look up some baby stuff tonight. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“Do you want to go with me?”
They were stuck in a loop. Neither knowing what they wanted, both trying to think of the other. It’s why their friendship worked so well, but it made for hard times picking dinner plans.
Or baby decisions, evidently.
“Yeah. I mean, if that’s okay with you. I’d like to go and…be supportive and stuff.”
She chuckled at his use of the word stuff. Excuse him, but this was new territory and he wasn’t familiar with all the nomenclature.
“Okay. That’d be nice to have you there for all the support and stuff.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Hey! You can’t be mean to me. I’m pregnant.”
