Page 17 of His to Love
“Luci and I have talked extensively about how it would be best to deliver your news to your mother in a way that won’t stress her out. We don’t want to give her any more heart problems than she already has.” He drummed his fingers on top of the bar.
“Have you come up with anything yet?” I finished off the muffin before draining the remnants of milk from the glass. “Man, I scarfed that down, didn’t I? I guess I was a lot hungrier than I realized.”
“You should get used to that idea—you’ll really have to up your caloric intake. I’ve been doing some reading on it. We want you to have a healthy pregnancy—for you and the baby.” He stopped drumming his fingers then took my hands in his, pulling me around to face him. “Alexa, your brother and I have come up with an idea that we think is best for everyone.”
I was eager to hear what it was. “So, tell me already. I’m dying to know what the plan is. It’s killing me not to tell Mom. Though it didn’t happen in the best of circumstances, I do consider this great news. I know this baby won’t have a father, but it will be loved.”
“Itwillbe loved.” He licked his lips. “And it will have a father, Alexa.”
I wanted nothing to do with Alejandro. “Look, I don’t want my brother or you making Alejandro marry me, or forcing him to be a father to this baby. He’s not a good person, Patton, and I don’t want to share this baby with him. Biological father or not, he’s not someone I want in my child’s life.”
“I agree,” he said, confusing me. “He won’t be the one who will be this baby’s father. It will beme, Alexa.”
I wasn’t following at all. “I don’t understand. Are you saying that you and my brother think my mother won’t be stressed out by this, so long as she thinks you’re the one who got me pregnant? I can assure you that she will be just as upset about me having sex out of wedlock with you as with anyone else. So, that’s not a good plan.” I’d been so hopeful, too.
“That’s not the entire plan.” He gave my hands a gentle squeeze. “You and I are going to get married right away.”
“No!” To say I was stunned was an understatement. All I knew in that moment was that I couldn’t let him do that much for me. “Patton, no!”
“Listen to me, Alexa.” He seemed to have prepared himself for my reaction. “It will be a legal marriage, but it won’t be a real one. It’s going to be a marriage of convenience, like people used to have all the time. After the baby is born and things have settled down, we’ll get a divorce. But I will always take care of you and the baby, at least financially. And I’ll always be this baby’s father. This way, you won’t upset your mother, and you also won’t be trapped in a marriage with a man you don’t love. One day, you will get to marry a man you fall in love with.”
“I’m already about a month along. She’ll know we lied when the baby comes in eight months, instead of nine.” I wasn’t sure about this plan at all. It seemed too crazy. “And what about you, Patton? This fake marriage might stop you from finding a woman you love. What if you miss out on Mrs. Right because you’ve tied yourself down to me—even if it’s not for that long?”
“I’m not worried about that. I am worried about your mother though. We’ll only have to stay married for about a year. That’s not too much time out of my life—or my love-life—to sacrifice for a woman like your mother, Alexa. Your family was always there for me after my parents died. I can spare a year for your mother.”
Though I was overwhelmed by Patton and Luci’s plan and had a lot of questions, there was one thought that stuck in my head:I would be a fool not to marry this man.
