Page 67 of Protect My Heart
Mia wipes her eyes. ‘Sorry. I cry all the time now. It’s the hormones.’
I grab the tissue box from the nightstand and hand it to her.
‘Thanks.’ She takes a tissue and dabs her eyes.
‘Can I ask you something? About that night?’
‘I know what you’re going to ask, and yes, I was on the pill.But it was a new one I was trying. The doctor said to use a backup method for the first month, but I’d been on it for almost a month when we slept together. I thought I’d be okay.’
‘And you really didn’t know until a few weeks ago?’
She shakes her head. ‘At first, I thought the pill was making me sick so I went off it, but I still didn’t feel right. I thought maybe I was tired or stressed. I’ve never had regular periods so I didn’t think anything of it when I missed a few. The reason I finally saw the doctor is because I was really tired and feeling nauseous. I thought I might have the flu. But instead I found out I’m pregnant.’
‘Why did you wait to tell me?’
‘I only waited a couple weeks. And I needed those weeks to accept that it was really happening. When I finally called you and asked if I could come here, I was ready to tell you.’
I sigh. ‘And I made you wait another week. But why didn’t you tell me last weekend?’
‘I didn’t want to take attention away from Nick and Lyndsay’s wedding.’ She looks down. ‘But then I ended up doing it anyway. On their wedding day. I feel terrible about that.’
‘You shouldn’t. It’s not your fault they walked in on us.’
‘I didn’t want you to know either. I wanted you to have this time with your family before I told you.’
‘They’re your family too now. We’re having a baby.’
Her eyes lift to mine. ‘Are you really happy, or are you just saying that to make me feel better?’
‘I’m happy. There’s just a lot going on in my head right now.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like what happens when you move away. I don’t want to only see my kid once or twice a year.’
‘I know you said you’d never leave here, but now, with the baby, would you consider moving?’
‘I can’t answer that. I need more time to think.’ I pause a moment. ‘My dad just gave me some good advice. Something I think we could both use.’
‘What is it?’
‘He said not to look too far into the future. If we do, we’ll just worry about stuff we don’t need to worry about yet. Why don’t we just try to take it a day at a time for now?’
She smiles a little. ‘I’d like that.’
‘Let’s start now. My brother just got married. There’s a party going on.’ I stand up and offer her my hand. ‘Will you join me? You did kind of agree to be my date tonight.’
She takes my hand and gets up from the bed, straightening her dress. ‘Do I look okay?’
‘You look beautiful. How do you feel?’
‘Better. I just need to eat.’
‘Let’s go.’ I take her hand and we walk back to the barn.
Mom smiles when she sees me walking up to the table with Mia.
‘Have a seat,’ Dad says to us. ‘Sawyer and Brody just went to get drinks. The food will be served in a few minutes.’
