He glances up, brows furrowed. “Rasmus, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Jeremy? Or Jem?”
“For what I’m about to say, you’ll want me to call you Mr. Lavigne.”
That gets his attention. His posture straightens as his gaze sharpens on me. “What’s going on? You seem tense.”
I draw in a deep breath, running a hand through my hair. “Sir, Haisley fell outside her place. She’s on her way to the ER in Brooklyn, but I don’t know the details for sure yet.”
Jeremy rises abruptly, his tablet clattering against the desk. “What? Is she okay? How do you know this?”
This is it. There’s no turning back after this.Fuck.
Squaring my shoulders, I tell him, “Because I was the first person she called.”
“And why is that Rasmus?”
“Because I’m…the father.”
He stills. Completely. Like the words don’t quite register at first, as if he’s waiting for me to take them back.
“You’rewhat?” His voice cracks, disbelief lacing the question as it hangs in the air.
“I’m the father of her baby.”
For a long, excruciating moment, I don’t think he breathes. Then he laughs, a short and humorless sound. “Baby? My daughter isn’t pregnant.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “She is, and it’s mine.”
His gaze hardens as he processes my words, his mouthtightening into a thin line. “I don’t… I don’t understand. How the hell did this happen?”
“I didn’t plan this,” I admit, my voice rough. “But it’s happening, and I need you to accept that.”
He scrubs a hand over his jaw, his shoulders sagging slightly as he exhales. “I see.” Then, without any questions, he reaches for his coat. “Well, let’s go then.”
The weight of his words settles over me as we head for the door. For the first time since I walked into this room, I feel something close to relief. Maybe even hope.
Turns out, when you own a successful hockey team, last-minute private jets from Boston to New York are part of the budget.
Before takeoff, we got a text from Timmy, Haisley’s friend. He’d taken an Uber to the ER and was there, waiting for us to arrive.
Fidgeting in my comfy leather seat, I look out the window. The lights of different cities and towns shine bright against the clear night sky. But my focus keeps slipping back to Haisley. I wonder how she’s holding up after the fall. She must’ve been terrified and I wasn’t there. Worse, I might’ve made it harder for her when I told her dad about the baby.
I exhale slowly, trying to ease off the tension in my shoulders. But the silence sitting between me and Jeremy Lavigne weighs on me. I hate not knowing where I stand with people.
Finally, Jeremy clears his throat, cutting through the quiet. “You don’t have to look so nervous. I’m not angry.”
“No?” I ask with a nervous glance his way.
He shakes his head, his expression unreadable. “I’m shocked. Excited. Worried. But angry? No.”
I nod as the tightness in my chest loosens. At least he’s not furious. But the relief I feel is cautious. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I don’t know how to feel most of the days,” I admit, the words coming out quieter than I intended. “One second I’m fine, the next I’m terrified and wondering how I’m going to be responsible for a whole person.”
“That sounds about right. I remember those first weeks when we were expecting her.” His voice drifts a little, lost in old memories. “It was the same for me. My head kept spinning until they placed her in my arms. Then it all made sense.”
His comment earns a small smile from me. “So, it gets easier once the baby arrives?”
“It does. And it doesn’t. You just learn to make peace with it all,” he shares.
