Released: MC Secret Baby Romance (New Adult Contemporary Biker Romance) (90 page)

She wrapped herself up with her towel again, shaking her head and berating herself for overthinking things. This wasn’t a big issue, and she wasn’t suffering from a serious ailment. She’ll be fine, she repeated to herself.

A knock on her bathroom door snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Hailee, are you done yet? I need to use your bathroom like, really badly,” Hailee heard Meaghan say from outside, and she rolled her eyes at her best friend.

“Yes, I’m done. I’m coming,” Hailee replied, opening the door and getting out as Meaghan hurried inside, holding what seemed to be a box of tampons with her.

Time seemed to go in slow motion as Hailee looked at the box of tampons. She hadn’t noticed it until now, but she hadn’t gotten her period yet. Hers was pretty regular, and her cycle usually came before Meaghan’s did, becoming the latter’s reminder that her period was coming up next. She walked to her calendar and peeled back the pages where she marked her period days and she gulped as she realized that the last time she got hers was before they went to the club, before she met Carter, and before they…

“Hailee, what’s wrong with you?” Meaghan asked, having come out of the bathroom and seeing Hailee standing stiffly in front of her calendar, clutching at the towel to cover her body tightly. Hailee turned to look at her best friend, her eyes flashing with fear, and her face turning pale.

“Meaghan. Help me,” she gasped, before her legs gave and she collapsed on the floor, Meaghan barely catching her.

Chapter Eight

Carter punched the sandbag over and over, letting his frustration out on it as he recounted another blunder made by his guys in their delivery. His instructions were pretty clear: get the package, deliver it to the client, and get the hell out. Then, why the fuck did they drop the damn thing? he thought.

“Seriously, Maxwell, get a grip. The client wasn’t even mad. Well, not much,” his friend, Jay, said grunting, as he held the punching bag steady while Carter buried his gloves into it again.

“He threw the payment at my face, Jay. My face,” Carter stressed, his teeth clenched. He pulled his gloves off and pinned it under one arm as he swiped at the hair falling on his forehead.

“Yeah, but still–” Jay tried again.

“And then he kicked the fucking package back to us, screaming he’s going to tell everyone not to use us for deliveries anymore! The item was broken beyond repair!” Carter yelled, cutting Jay off and making him whence.

“Well, that’s what happens when you drop a microwave while riding 60 mph,” Jay said wryly.

“I told you to fire that son of a bitch. This is the third time he’s fucked up!” Carter hissed. Jay shook his head.

“You do know that ‘son of a bitch’ is standing over there, pissing himself while watching you go apeshit, right?” Jay said. Carter just glared at the person Jay was referring to until the little guy squeaked and skittered away.

Jay turned his head back and frowned as Carter continued to throw his tantrum. He’s been Mr. Mercurial since that night in the club more than a month ago. When he opened Carter’s door with the intention of waking him up with a horn, he saw Carter looking around the room, his eyes wide. Carter filled with hope when he turned to look at the door, only to be disappointed to find that it was Jay and not the girl he’d been with that night.

“You’re not still hung up over that girl who disappeared on you, are you?” Jay asked in disbelief. His eyebrows went up when Carter didn’t say anything for a moment before he sighed.

“I don’t know. How do you get hung up over someone you never really tried forgetting?” Carter asked, his expression pained. He didn’t know what was wrong with him either. As far as one-night-stands go, this was the most convenient for him because he didn’t have to convince the girl to leave in the morning. But, the feelings of being left alone… Well, now he knew why the women he did that to hated his guts.

And for the life of him, Carter really liked Hailee, and it wasn’t just about the sex, as mind-blowing as it was. It was how she was so different from any girl he’d ever met. It was a pity this time that he was never going to see her again, because that’s how one-night-stands usually go. One taste of pleasure and it all becomes a fleeting memory.

“Well, maybe you’ll see her again.”

“Oh yeah, the only way that’ll happen is if she comes banging on my door to tell me she’s gonna have my baby,” Carter said, and the two friends laughed at the absurdity of his statement.

If only they knew…

Chapter Nine

“You’re pregnant,” Meaghan said, staring at the pregnancy test they bought for Hailee earlier like she couldn’t quite comprehend what she was looking at.

“No shit.” Hailee snapped at her before taking huge bite of her fried Oreos, making Meaghan wrinkle her nose in disgust.

“You do know that’s unhealthy, right?”

“I saw it on America’s Next Top Model and it looked tasty! If those women can eat it without getting fat, then I sure can, too! And, even if it doesn’t, I’m going to push out a human being in a few months, so I can eat whatever the hell I want!” Hailee said, finishing her snack before reaching toward the plate and grabbing two more, one in each hand, as she alternated biting between them. Meaghan sighed, saddened by her best friend’s apparent misery.

“Have you told your mom?” Meaghan asked.

Hailee froze before dropping her cookie. “No,” she grumbled. “I can’t exactly find a proper way of telling my mother I got knocked up by a complete stranger just weeks before I graduate from college, right?” and Meaghan bit her lip at this response.

“Well, you can’t hide it forever,” Meaghan pointed out. “And what about what’s-his-name? Are you going to tell him?”

That was a little harder for Hailee to decide. She didn’t know where to find the guy other than the club where they met, and ‘Carter’ wasn’t exactly a unique name, but that was all she knew about him.

Besides, it’s highly unlikely that men like him would take responsibility for getting a girl from a one-night-stand pregnant. So, what was the point?

***

Meaghan knew that she might be breaking all sorts of rules in the best friend’s code, but this was a unique situation that mitigated her choice to meet up with this person today. Unlike her very pregnant best friend, she at least had the state of mind to grab the number of the guy she slept with that night, and he just so happened to be a friend of Carter’s. She texted him if he was up for a cup of coffee, and he immediately replied, saying there was something he wanted to ask her about as well.

She sat in one of the tables by the glass and smiled as she spotted him. Jay saw her through the glass, and he waved before he entered the café. He walked up to her and gave her a sweet kiss on her mouth before he sat down, his action making Meaghan lose her breath a bit. He waited for her to settle down before getting down to business.

“So, I was hoping–” Jay started.

“I need you to get Carter to see Hailee again,” Meaghan said, beating him to the punch and making Jay’s eyes widen in surprise.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping to ask you about,” Jay admitted, and she grinned at him.

“I knew I slept with you for a reason,” she teased, and he chuckled before taking on a more serious expression.

“What brought this on anyway? I mean, the reason I’m all for this is because my buddy cannot get over your best girl, and it’s been ruining everybody’s mojo,” Jay said. Meaghan grimaced before biting her lip with guilt.

“It’s not really something I could tell you – at least, not without asking Hailee’s permission first,” she said apologetically, and he frowned. “But, I can tell you that it is extremely important and life-changing for all those involved!”

Chapter Ten

Hailee woke up bleary-eyed from the living room couch, unable to sleep with the incessant knocking on the door. She pulled herself up and scratched her belly absent-mindedly as she conditioned herself to wake up completely.

The knocking turned to full-on banging, and it instantly annoyed her. She got up, not bothering to fix herself up before opening the door wide. She was ready to yell at the person who interrupted her nap, but she froze when she realized who it was.

Carter took his shades off as he looked at Hailee. His mouth fell open as he took in her messed up hair, wrinkled pajamas, and her small – but round – belly poking out from her sleepwear. Hailee realized what he was looking at and placed both of her hands over her belly protectively, which served as even more of a confirmation of Carter’s assumption.

They stood facing each other in total silence; both of them thinking of a lot of things they want to say to each other, but not knowing how to say them. Hailee bit her lip, switching her weight from one foot to the other before moving to the side, silently asking Carter to come in. He stared at her for a long moment before walking past her and into her apartment, standing at the center of the living room and turning back to Hailee.

“How long?” Carter asked, and Hailee didn’t need to ask him to clarify his question.

“Almost twelve weeks,” Hailee answered softly.

Carter mentally counted backward and blew a sigh of relief, as the date hit the time they met. He was so shocked when he saw her, but he almost felt his brain explode when he noticed she was pregnant. He had been worried she had slept with someone else and was currently carrying someone else’s baby. He would’ve been devastated.

He held his breath as he realized what he just thought about Hailee being pregnant. He was actually relieved it was his baby! Sure, he was scared and even absolutely petrified even at the thought of becoming a father and the responsibilities that came with it. But he wasn’t like other men who would feign ignorance and not claim responsibility.

“How are you feeling?” Carter asked, turning his attention back to her as she watched his reactions worriedly. Hailee shrugged.

“Bloated and really hungry,” she replied, and Carter quickly looked around, looking for food.

“Do you need me to get you anything or…?” he asked, but she shook her head. He nodded and put his hands on her shoulder and hip, helping her sit on the couch, much to her annoyance.

“Carter, I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time believing you’re just okay with this right after you found out that I’m pregnant with your baby,” Hailee said, and Carter tilted his head.

“What do you mean? I wasn’t even expecting that it was you that I was delivering the package to,” he replied. “And, how else am I going to react, Hailee?” he asked.

“Well, certainly not as accepting as this,” she admitted. Carter scratched the back of his head, looking away from her as he pondered over her statement.

“I’ll be honest that if it were any other girl, I’d probably be running for the hills or laughing in their face for lying to me,” Carter started, his eyes sweeping down to her belly and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “But, you’re different, Hailee, and I’m not just saying that to get into your pants again,” he explained hastily, and she laughed.

“You’re the best kind of bad thing that’s ever happened to me,” Hailee said.

Carter smiled at her before taking her hands in his, holding them and caressing them softly before continuing.

“I am scared, Hailee. I’m scared as hell that I might not be the one you need, the person who deserves to be with you, or be the father of our baby, but I’m not about to abandon you, or him either.” Hailee’s eyebrows rose up at her hairline.

“But, don’t you feel like I’m pinning you down? Holding you back from your dreams or whatever you want in life?” she asked. Carter shook his head and slowly inched his hand to her belly, looking at Hailee’s eyes for permission. She gave him the barest of nods before his warm hands touched the skin around her stomach, and Carter was in awe.

“You’re definitely not holding me back, Hailee. To be honest,” he looked at her again, this time his lips moving closer to hers slowly until they felt each other’s breaths on their cheeks, “I think you’ve just set its course.”

Hailee closed her eyes and a solitary tear began to form as he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

Epilogue

They kissed each other for what seemed to be the longest time, their tongues dancing together passionately until Carter became distracted by the vibrations coming from his pocket. He cursed as he saw that it was another client of theirs, asking for the whereabouts of her package. He turned his phone off before looking at Hailee again, groaning a bit at the slightly dazed look in her eyes that he was sure he created. His groan snapped her out of it and she blushed, making Carter’s hand itch in feeling the warmth of her cheeks from her embarrassment.

“I think you should go back to your work,” Hailee said softly. Carter looked like he was about to argue, so she added, “I’m not sending you away. I just don’t want you to get into trouble.”

Carter shook his head. “The thing she wants me to deliver is back in the office, and I can tell my other guys to do it instead. I want to be clear on everything first, Hailee.” He placed both of his hands on her face, making her look up at him straight in his eyes. “Even if you weren’t pregnant, I’d probably still have tried to find you again, Hailee. I swear to God, I couldn’t stop thinking about you – your face, your voice, and everything. She blushed even more and he brushed his thumbs to her cheeks, smiling softly at her. “It’s been haunting me until I finally gave in. I want to be with you so bad, Hailee, and having a baby with you isn’t about to make me lose interest. Honestly, it pretty much multiplied once the idea of my baby growing in your belly finally sunk in,” he smirked, and Hailee slapped him lightly on his face.