Page 52 of The Virgin's Baby
Were all women brilliant actresses? Or was it just her?
Before my brain could shut it down, my heart went and asked, “What are your views on cheating?”
Stopping in front of the elevator, Aspen looked at me with wide eyes. “I’m against it. Why do you ask?”
I had no idea why I’d asked her that. We weren’t even in a relationship. “Just wondering.” The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside. Alone in the small area, my heart went and said something else, “My mother cheated on my father, but he never knew about it. No one did. Only me.”
Shock filled her face. “Ransom! Have you always kept that to yourself, or have you told anyone else about this?”
“You’re the first person I’ve ever told.” I shook my head to clear it. “And to be honest, I don’t know why I’ve just told you.”
Aspen quickly folded me into her arms, pulling me close. “Ransom, you poor man.”
At first, I didn’t know what to do. But then she began to sway, and I moved my arms to wrap around her. “It feels good letting someone else know that secret. I’ve kept it since I was a boy.”
“Oh, Lord, Ransom.” She hugged me tighter. “I’m so sorry for you.”
“Why?” I asked her as I had no idea why she would feel sorry for me about such a thing.
She let me go and stepped back as the elevator stopped. “That’s very traumatic. That’s why I feel sorry for you.”
I shrugged as the doors opened then took her hand, leading her out. “Traumatic? Nah.” I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. “And don’t feel sorry for me, Aspen.”
She went silent as we walked out to the car. I knew the wheels were spinning inside of her head, but I didn’t know what about.
Why would she feel sorry for me? Why would she get so quiet? Was this thing a lot worse than I ever let myself believe it was?
I opened the passenger side door of my car for her. “Say something,” I told her as she looked at me with forlorn eyes, filled with sympathy.
Shaking her head, she said, “I won’t say anything until I know what the right thing to say is.”
“Have it your way.” As I closed the door, I began to wonder if I was a shallow person.
Truth be told, I’d never taken time to analyze myself. I liked to stay busy, living life. I didn’t want to do a hell of a lot of thinking. But I wasn’t just me anymore. I was about to have a brood of kids.
And those kids would look up to me. And they might look at me the same way as Aspen if she ever told them that their daddy had been damaged as a boy because he’d witnessed his mother doing things she shouldn’t have been doing.
I got into the car and then turned to look at Aspen. “Do you think I’ve been wrong to keep that bottled up all these years?” Again, I had no idea why I was asking her this. She made me feel vulnerable yet safe. It was so damn odd to me the way she made me feel.
With a nod, she gave me the answer I knew she would.
I didn’t say another word, just drove to the closest Chinese restaurant so she could feed those hungry babies that grew inside of her.
My babies.
Aspen carried my babies, and I’d yet to even kiss her sweet lips. That was feeling more and more like a crime to me.
Me being me, I didn’t talk much as we ate. I didn’t know what to say. I’d let out that colossal bomb, and now I was worried that any topic I raised would have Aspen turn it around to my mother cheating.
So I didn’t say much at all.
The ride home was quiet too. But as we walked inside, I decided to do something to lighten the atmosphere. “I would really like to name one of the boys after my grandfather. What do you think about that idea, Aspen?”
“I love it.” She smiled brightly. “Can I be there when you tell him about that?”
“Better yet, I want you to tell him about that.” I took her hand, taking her to my grandfather’s suite.
He’d been working on his physical therapy like a madman. Walking on the treadmill, he smiled at us as we came into the living area of his suite. “Hey, you two. How’d the ultrasound thing go?”
