When I look up and meet Avery’s gaze, her eyes are glistening with unshed tears.
“I’m, I’m,” she stammers, and the first tear falls before she takes a breath and starts again, “I’m sorry, Bridger. For coming here unannounced after not seeing you for five months. Forshowing up like this,” her voice cracks as she motions toward her belly.”
“How?” I croak.
“Well,” Knox pipes up from behind me, “when two people love each other or are really horny, they get naked.”
I’m not sure whether he was going to say anything else or not because the sound of someone slapping the back of his head stops him. I turn toward him to find Dallas glaring at him as he rubs the back of his head.
“Damn, Dallas,” Knox whines.
“I would have broken your hand if you didn’t have an appointment later,” she hisses at him.
When I look at Avery again, her eyes are wide as she looks between Knox and Dallas. Then her eyes dart around the room. She looks a little lost, but she’s not crying anymore. I’m going to take that as a win because the ache in my chest lessens a little bit. It’s still there, for some fucking reason, but it doesn’t feel like it’s about to take me to the ground.
I clear my throat and shake my head. “Sorry, I knowhowthis happened. I’m just,” I pause and search for the right word, “shocked.”
Avery bites her lip and steps closer to me. My eyes snap down to her belly, her hands resting there and drawing small circles like she’s soothing the baby in her belly.
The. Baby. In. Her. Belly.
What the fuck?
“I know this is shocking. Trust me,” the smile on her face is brittle, “I was shocked when I saw the test. I’m sorry I didn’tcome to you sooner because you had a right to know. I’ve had time to come to terms with this, and you haven’t. I just want you to know how much I wanted to tell you, but I was scared.”
“Okay,” I grunt.
I should have more words. There are a shit ton of them swirling through my mind. Like baby, astonished, sleepless, crying, poop, holy shit, and horrible father. While there’s no way I could have known, obviously, it feels like I should have. Like I should have felt the paternal tether to this child stretching across Denver, as if anything like that is even possible.
A throat clearing has me turning slightly to find Wyatt standing next to me. He’s not looking at me, his eyes are fixed on Avery. “Hello, Avery, was it?”
“Yes,” her voice is hesitant, “I’m Avery Page.”
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Wyatt James. I own this shop.”
“It’s lovely in here,” her voice is sincere as she glances around. “I don’t have any experience in a tattoo shop to compare it to, but I felt very comfortable walking in and feeling like this was a place that would be safe, clean, and filled with talented artists.”
Wyatt grins and melts a little. I know he loves Tenley with everything he is, but Avery has charmed him with a single sentence. It makes me irrationally jealous, and I step closer to Avery. When she looks up at me, she graces me with a wide smile.
“I’m Monroe.” The woman in question pops up next to Avery who jumps a little bit before laughing nervously.
“She’s already jumpy, Monroe. Can you not scare her further? What if she goes into early labor or something?”
Avery looks up at me and blinks a few times.
Monroe waves her hand dismissively, “Early labor does happen, but I don’t think I can startle Avery into it.”
“How far along are you, Avery?” Wyatt comes through with the important questions.
“I’m five months along,” Avery whispers.
He grimaces slightly, “I’m not trying to sound like an asshole, but are you sure the child you’re carrying is Bridger’s?”
The woman growing my child stiffens and her eyes narrow, the earlier amusement gone. Her voice is glacial, “While I understand you don’t know me and you’re close with Bridger, I can assure you that what happened with him isn’t something I normally do.”
“Wyatt,” I growl his name in warning. I keep my voice low, “The condom broke, we knew it that night. I don’t doubt who the father is.”
Wyatt’s eyebrows hit his hairline as he looks at how serious I am. He holds his hands up in surrender and looks at Avery, his eyes softening.
