Page 40 of The Best Friend Problem
Seemed logical to him. And it gave him a pass on explaining to his parents how he’d knocked up his best friend but wouldn’t be assuming the role of daddy, something he knew would disappoint them both greatly. His parents loved their sons, but they would expect Finn to care for his baby as a full-time parent would. How was he going to tell them Pru didn’t want that, and he didn’t want that? It was a very unique and weird situation that required a plan of action. Good thing he had the queen of planning on his side.
“I’ll pick you up around five?” he asked.
“Sounds good.”
“Later.”
“Bye.” He started to hang up when her voice made him pause. “And give Bruiser two treats for me.”
He hung up with a huge grin on his face. He glanced down to his pup.
“Well, Bru Baby, Pru said you need treats.”
At the word “treats,” two floppy ears perked up. Bruiser abandoned her beloved chew toy and ran to the kitchen, nails scraping on the hardwood floor as she careened into the cabinets.
“Ouch. Slow down, girl.”
Bruiser never slowed down. When she wanted something, she raced for it, full steam. Kind of like another beautiful female he knew. They both made him smile.
…
Pru clutched the tiny wrapped package in her hands, sliding into the passenger seat of Finn’s car.
“Where’s Bruiser?” His mother loved the little furball as much as Finn did. He usually took her along whenever he went to his parents’ house.
“Jordan’s home from fall break.”
Ah, that explained it. Finn’s younger brother was allergic to pet dander. It was why they never had any pets growing up, even though she knew Mrs. Jamison loved animals. At least she got to live her pup-loving dreams through Finn like Pru did.
“So how is he doing at Pepperdine?”
They chatted about Finn’s little brother and his first year away from home. So far, he was the first Jamison to go to college out of state. They were a tight-knit family, oddly so, like one of those from the 1950s TV shows Aunt Rose used to watch on the late-night rerun channel.
They pulled up to Finn’s childhood home, a pretty blue two-story with one large pine tree out front and two huge bushes that bloomed with the sweetest smelling lilacs in early May. Finn turned off the car, hopping out to come around to her side and open her door. It wasn’t unusual. He always opened her door for her—or anyone who rode with him—good manners instilled by his parents. But for some reason, the gesture made her feel strange. Didn’t matter that she’d done this with Finn a hundred times before. This time was different. She was going to a family dinner with a man she’d slept with. A man whose baby she was having.
“You okay?” he asked when she didn’t get out of the car.
“Yeah, of course.” She was being silly. So what if she slept with Finn and was having his kid? It wasn’t like he’d told his parents or anything. They wouldn’t know that she was arriving at this dinner with carnal knowledge of their son.
Oh God, she had to stop thinking about it. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about it?
Because he’s standing there with his handsome face and sexy tattoos and beautiful eyes and now that I’ve had him, I can’t stop replaying that night in my mind.
Stupid, sexy best friend.
And she had the result of their one night together currently growing inside her. Crap! What if his mother could tell? Flipping down the visor, she glanced in the tiny mirror. Was she glowing? She heard pregnant women glowed. Did Mrs. Jamison have that grandmother sixth sense? Would she be able to look at Pru and know she was carrying her grandchild?
“Pru.” Finn’s soothing voice cut through her fog of panic. “Everything will be fine. They won’t know anything we don’t tell them.”
She glanced over to him. His expression looked calm enough, but his eyes gave him away. The same tight panic she felt in her chest echoed in his bright blue gaze.
“You sure about that?”
He swallowed, rubbing his hands over his face before glancing at his parents’ house. “Yeah. We just act normal, focus on my mom, and everything will be fine. Later, when we’ve figured more stuff out, we’ll tell them. Everything will be fine then, too.”
Maybe if they both said it enough times, they’d start to believe it.
She got out as Finn grabbed his mother’s present from the back seat.
