Page 11 of Purrfect Planning

“What is she talking about, Aspen?”

“Nothing,” she hisses.

But I see her hand creep up and settle on her stomach and my belly rolls. The nausea, the talk of Chrissy’s father.

“You are pregnant,” I growl under my breath.

She squeaks and reaches down to grab the cat, cuddling it close and blocking me from seeing her belly. “No,” she huffs. But she won’t look me in the face.

I reach over and grasp her chin gently but firmly. “You’re pregnant and it’s mine.”

“It’s mine.”

“You know what I mean,” I groan. “I’m the father.”

“I could have been sleeping with a bunch of men. You don’t know.”

“You told me that it had been a long time since you were with anyone,” I remind her.

“Maybe I’ve been sleeping with every man in town since then.”

“You are one stubborn woman, sweetheart. But I can always ask my attorney about doing a paternity test if you insist.”

Her shoulders slump. “Fine. It’s your baby. So what? That doesn’t mean you have to be involved with anything. I can raise this baby on my own. I pretty much think it’s my best option.”

I smirk. “I’m sure you do, baby. But I intend to be involved in my baby’s life. You’ve got yourself a co-parent for at least the next eighteen years.”

“Until you get bored,” she huffs.

“I’m not taking off on you, sweetheart. No matter how much you wish I would.”

“We’ll see.”

She walks away with her kitty and I have to fight the need to follow her and take care of her.

She turns back after a few steps and glares haughtily at me. “You know now. But don’t think that you’re going to use this to get what you want, Micah Johannson. I am fully capable of doing this wedding and doing it so well that we won’t need you. But this is what they want so I’m willing to deal with you.”

“You’re going to be dealing with me for a long time, sweetheart.”

“That’s another thing. We’ll have to talk more later. But for now I don’t want anyone else to know about this baby. It’s bad luck to tell people before the second trimester anyway. And I’m barely into it.”

I nod my head like I understand but I’m still stunned. I’m going to have a baby with this woman. This woman who’s been haunting me for months now. I can’t forget about her no matter how hard I try.

And now I have to wonder…do I really want to forget about her? She’s going to be the mother of my child. That thoughtalone makes me so fucking happy that my heart swells with happiness.

What does all of this mean? And how am I going to raise a baby with a woman that makes me want to rip her damn clothes off every time I turn around?

CHAPTER 7

Aspen

The wedding planning is going great and I’m feeling stronger, healthier. All the vitamins and the nausea medicine are taking care of most of my major issues. If I can just stop touching my stomach in front of people I’ll be perfectly content with how things are going right now. Micah is staying close but he’s not pushing me.

Although he did ask if he can go to my next doctor’s appointment. I told him I’d think about it. I’m still thinking.

But my bride and groom are ecstatic with our work and I’m excited to see how it all ends up. It’s coming up on us soon.

I’m feeling a little bit tired and I keep falling asleep though. I’m guessing that is normal but it’s dragging at me and I yawn, sitting at my desk.

---