Page 54 of Riley
“What time is it?”
“Almost seven.”
“Seven?” She rolled to her back and stretched, and my gaze went to her belly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep that long.”
“It’s okay, but why don’t you get up, and I’ll take you home.”
I helped her get up, and after she stood, she swooned slightly, grabbing my arm. “Sorry, stood too fast.”
“Are you okay? Do you need anything? Do you want to lie down again?”
Riley laughed and slapped her hand over my mouth. “I’m fine. I stood up too fast.”
She was right. I was overreacting, but how could I not now that I knew she was pregnant? She was only nine weeks, which meant she had another thirty-one weeks to go. Another thirty-one weeks where I was going to be worried sick about her.
I paused halfway down the stairs as I remembered that I was flying back to Georgia tomorrow night, and I would be there for another seven weeks. How the hell would I be able to watch over her from there? How far along was she going to be when I returned, sixteen weeks? What was I missing during the next seven weeks?
I forced myself down the stairs and followed Riley into the living room to say goodbye to my sisters and father. My father hugged her tightly, spoke softly to her for a moment, and then shook my hand.
“You do right by that young lady.”
“Yes, sir.”
He told me to make sure I came to see him the next day before I left, and I promised him I would.
At Riley’s, I followed her into the house and locked the door behind me. I had no intentions of leaving her side tonight. I’d sleep on the couch, I didn’t care, but I was staying with her until I had to go.
Riley kicked off her shoes and said that she was going to change into more comfortable clothes. She was upstairs for a few minutes before she returned, carrying a pair of my lounge pants and a t-shirt in her hands. “Here, I figured you were tired of the suit.”
“When did you steal these?”
She shrugged. “Probably the last time I slept over there and didn’t feel like putting my dress clothes back on from the night before.”
I hesitated outside the bathroom door. “Riley, don’t get angry with me for asking, but have you been drinking since you found out?”
She lifted her face and stared at me. “Not one drop since I found out, and maybe one or two beers before that.”
I nodded and stepped into the bathroom to change. I folded my suit and put it on one of the chairs before I came to sit on the couch beside her. In her hands was a big glass of water.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked, glancing at me nervously.
“I want to hear everything about the baby. I want to know how you feel, what you thought when you first found out. Hell, Riley, I want to know where you bought the test.”
She chuckled. “Well, I was pretty sick at first, and I couldn’t even think of eating meat or drinking coffee.”
“Oh, that would be rough for you.”
“Yes, it was. That’s how I lost about six pounds. I thought I had a stomach bug, but one night I was out and tried to eat a slice of pizza and rushed to the bathroom. The waitress said something about how she had done that same thing when she was pregnant. I knew as soon as she mentioned it. It was like everything just made sense.”
She took a deep breath and sipped her water before she continued. “So after Joe dropped me off that night—”
“Joe? You’re still seeing him?”
“I am.”
I frowned. “Riley, are you sure this baby is mine?”
She pursed her lips. “Unless he can get me pregnant by kissing me, there is no way it is his. I have never slept with him, and if you ask me that question one more time, I am going to smack you upside the head, Ethan Winston.”
