One More Chance (Chance, Part 2) (13 page)

“Nothing’s wrong, she’s just kicking me.”

“Does she do that a lot?”

“More and more lately.  Do you want to feel it?”

“Sure,” he says as I guide his hand over the spot where she kicked me to wait for her to kick again.  “Holy crap,” he says as she does kick again, “That feels so weird,” he says with a pure look of joy.

“It takes some time to get used to it, trust me.”

“Thank you,” he says as we head down the stairs.

“Damn girl, it’s about time you woke up,” Kenz says, causing everyone to look at me.

“I was tired,” I say with a smile
, as I walk over to the chair and sit down.

“You are freaking glowing,” Quinn announces.

“Glowing?” I ask with a look.

“You are the hottest pregnant girl I know,” Quinn says.

“I’m the only pregnant girl you know.”

“Well true, but you’re all freaking belly
; it looks super cute on you.  You should be pregnant all the time.”

“Umm
no, definitely not all the time,” I state all serious, causing them all to laugh.

“You do look cute pregnant,” Liam says.  I can feel the blush come up
, but try to control it as much as possible.

“I’m ready for her to get here; I’m tired of being pregnant.”

“Ugh, plus it’s hot,” Kenz complains.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I say with a look.

“At least it’s cool in here,” Brody says.

The
five of us end up hanging out most of the night before we all decide to call it a night, well everyone but me.  My nice five-hour nap has made me wide awake.

“Do you need help up the stairs?” Quinn asks.

“No, I’m going to watch a little television down here before I head up to bed.”

“Too long of a nap?” she asks.

“Apparently,” I say as I grab a bottle of water.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”  I say goodnight to everyone as they make their way to their rooms for the night.

I turn the channel deciding to watch a movie.  I go through channel after channel using the guide to find out what movies are playing.

“Why are you still awake?” Liam asks as he enters the room.

“My five hour nap kind of happened,” I say with a smile, “Why are you up?”

“Wanted some water,” he says as he heads to the kitchen.  I continue flipping through the guide.  “Want some company?”

“Sure
, unless you’re tired.”

“Nah, I’m good for now,” he
says as he sits down on opposite end of the couch. “What are you looking for?”

“A movie.”

“A comedy?”

“Anything really,” I say as I land on
Scream
.  It’s the only movie that’s about to start. “
Scream
it is,” I say as I flip it on.

“Do you have a thing for scary movies?” he asks with a laugh.

“No, it’s the only thing that’s on right now.”

He continues laughing, “Okay if you say so,” he says before taking a drink of water.

The movie starts and I grab a blanket and lay to where I’m most comfortable.  Neither of us says anything during the movie and I’m not sure how long I make it until I finally do pass out.  I wake up to being lifted.

“What are you doing?” I ask through sleepy eyes.

“Taking you to your bed.”

“You don’t have to do that, I can walk.”

“It’s fine, I’ve already got you,” he says as he takes the stairs.  I start to fall back asleep.  He places me in my bed and covers me up. “Sweet dreams Hails.”

“Thank you.
Sweet dreams Liam.”

Chapter
Eight

I wake u
p the next morning feeling wide-awake, I guess from all the sleep I got yesterday.  I head downstairs and see it’s only going on 8:00 a.m.  Trying to be a good host, I decide to make breakfast.

I’m making scrambled eggs, French toast, and bacon.  “Holy shit
, that smells delicious,” Kenzie says as she enters the kitchen.

“Grab a seat, it’s almost done.”

Everyone else comes down about ten minutes later, “I’m starving and that smells awesome,” Brody says as he takes a seat.

“I’m so
glad you’re back,” Quinn states happily.

“Thanks for breakfast,” Liam says
, as he grabs a plate full of French toast.

“You’re welcome.  Enjoy,” I say as I take a seat.  We make small conversations while we eat.  Shortly after
breakfast everyone leaves, except for Kenzie and me.

“Is it weird seeing him?” she asks.

“No, not weird.  It’s hard sometimes, but I’m happy for him.”

“You do realize you could tell him and it could make him leave her?”

“I don’t want a guy to be with me because of a baby Kenz.  I want someone to want me and to be with me because he doesn’t want to be with anyone else.”

“
He still cares, you can tell he does.”

“Yeah he cares, but it’s not the same as it once was.”

“If you say so.”

“I do
, because he wouldn’t be getting married if he did.”

“I guess so,
” she says looking defeated.

“Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.  I’m fine with that.”

“What do you want to do today?” she asks changing topics.

“Honestly, nothing,” I say laughing, “I want to be lazy today.”

“How about we go and get pedicures, that’s always fun and relaxing?”

“That
sounds like a great idea.  I’ll go grab a shower and get ready,” I say as I head up the stairs.  I get showered, throwing my hair up into a messy bun, before throwing on a summer dress and sandals. “Ready?”

“Sure am,” she says excitedly.  We make the short drive to the salon and head in.

“Oh my gosh, I needed this,” I say, as the technician works on my feet.

“That’s one way to see your feet,”
Kenz says laughing.

“Shut it,” I say with a glare.

The rest of the afternoon is pure enjoyment.  We go home and relax, well I do. Kenzie keeps running around the house like a chicken with her head cut off. “Would you stop,” I snap.

“Stop what?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I need to get out.  Do you want to go shopping?”

“No.”

“Why not?”
she pouts.

“Because I’m fat and pregnant and tired,” I say
grumpily.

“Ugh, you’re no fun,” she says as she drops down onto the chair.

“Don’t let me stop you, go shop.”

“What if something happens to you?”

“Like what?”

“You go into labor or something?”
she says with a panicked look.

“I still have
nine weeks to go Kenz.”

“But she could come early.”

“If she does I’ll call you, but I highly doubt that’s going to happen today.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I say sounding annoyed.

“Fine, I’m going to go then,” she says as
she gets up and heads out the door.

“Have fun,” I say as I pick my kindle back up to continue reading where I left off.
  About two hours after Kenzie leaves, there’s a knock at the door.  “Coming,” I yell as I waddle my way to the door.  I look out and see Spence standing there. “Hey, what’s up?” I ask as I open the door for him to come in.

“Hey Haley, wow look at you,” he says
, as he eyes my stomach.

“Yep, still pregnant.”

“You look great though,” he says with a smile.

“Thanks.  What’s going on?”

“Is Liam here?”

“No, he left this morning.”

“Oh,” he says, looking slightly worried.

“Is everything okay?”

“Do you know where he went?” he asks nervously.

“No, he said he had some errands to run.  He left the same time as Brody and Quinn.”

“He’s not answering his phone either.”

“What’s going on Spence?”
I ask nervously.

“Nina’s here,
she’s in the car.”

“So bring her in.  She doesn’t need to wait outside.”

“She’s not the biggest fan of yours.”

“Me, why?”

“Umm…the last time she saw you, you left pissed off and came back here and Liam followed you.”

“Oh shit.  Well that was a while ago, we are fine now.”

“Yeah now, but she still doesn’t like you.”

“I take it she knows Liam and I dated?”

“She also knows you two were to get married.”

“She has nothing to worry about, she’s getting married soon.  Tell her to come in, it’s hot outside.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” he says as he goes back out the door.  A few minutes later he walks back inside with a worried looking Nina.

“Hi,” I say trying to be the sweet host.

“Hi,” she says softly.

“
Would either of you like something to drink?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Nina says as she looks around.

“Nah,” Spence says as he heads towards the living room.

“Have a seat,” I instruct Nina and she does so.

“Did you try Brody, maybe he’s with him?” I suggest.

“No,” Spence says as he pulls his phone out and makes a call.  Brody must answer because Spence starts talking and by the sounds of it, he doesn’t know where Liam’s at either.  “He’s not with them and Brody doesn’t know where he went.”

“Maybe he’s getting something for your wedding,” I say to Nina.

“
It’s unlike him to not answer his phone,” she says worriedly.

“I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Try calling him again,” Spence tells Nina, “What time did he leave?”

“Liam, Brody, and Quinn all left around
eleven.”

“And he never said where he was going?” Nina asks
, looking really concerned.

“No
, he didn’t. I don’t think anyone asked him either,” I say apologetically, “But if he knew you were coming today, I’m sure he’ll show up soon.”

“He didn’t know I was coming,” she deadpans.

“He didn’t say anything about coming back here, so he’ll probably go to your place Spence,” I say, as I look at him.

“Yeah
, we should head back in case he shows up,” Spence says as he stands up.

“If he shows up here
, will you please have him call me?” Nina asks kindly.

“Absolutely.
  Congratulations on your upcoming wedding,” I say nicely.

“Thank you,” she says as she stands up and follows Spence out the door.

I grab my cell phone, deciding to call Liam myself to see if he’ll answer.

“Hey, is everything alright?” he asks worriedly.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” I retort.

“What?” he says sounding
winded.

“Your fiancé and best friend just left here.  They can’t find you.  Where are you?”

“I went for a run,” he says quickly, “Is everything okay, you aren’t in labor or anything are you?”

“No, I’m just calling to see if you’re alive and well.”

“I’m fine.  Are they still there?”

“No, they went back to Spence’s place in case you show up.  You need to call them.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that now.  Thanks,” he says before disconnecting the call.  At least he’s okay.

Deciding I want to get out for a little while, I write Kenzie a note saying I’ll be back and I grab
a water, my phone, and purse and head out the door.  I get into my car and head for the highway, needing to be anywhere but at that house.  I drive forty minutes until I make it to the small lake, my happy place in Michigan.  I park the car and head towards the water.  It’s a small lake; Liam brought me to when we started dating my sophomore year of college.  We would come here to get away and enjoy the peace and quiet.  Right now, that’s what I need.

“I don’t come to the lake as often as I’d like
, mainly because of how I learned about this place, but I am going to bring you Lily.  This will be our spot.  You’ll love it here as much as me and your daddy do,” I say as I rub my belly, feeling her little kicks.  “I can’t wait to meet you my little princess.  I’ll show you how to swim in the lake and I’ll teach you how to ride a bike.  I’ll teach you everything you need to know baby girl.”

“Hey,” Liam says shocking the hell out of me.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask looking all around.

“Obviously thinking the same thing as you,” he say
s as he takes a seat beside me.

“
Liam, there’s something I need to tell you,” I say feeling more and more nervous by the second.

“What?”

“Lily’s yours,” I whisper.

“Mine?
” he says shocked, but not as surprised as I thought he would be.

“Please don’t hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” he asks, piercing me with his sexy blue eyes.

“I’m not even sure how it happened.”

“I do,” he says surprising me.

“What?”
I ask confused.

“I’m not dumb, that’s the whole reason I came up here today.  I needed to think.  When you told me you were pregnant I didn’t think much of it, but when you said how far along you were, it made me think.”

“Huh?”

“We had sex at the end of December.”

“Wait, you knew?” I ask, surprised at his admission.

He
chuckles, “Yeah, I knew.”

“But you acted like you didn’t,
” I snap.

“We were both kind of out of
it; I wasn’t exactly sure if it happened or if I dreamt it.”

“That’s what I
thought; until I found out I was pregnant,” I admit.

“Why didn’t you tell me when you found out?”
he asks with a concerned look.

“You were
happy; I didn’t want to ruin anything for you.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Yes.”

“When?” he asks looking kind of angry.

“I was trying to figure out a right time.”

“
The right time would have been as soon as you found out you were pregnant, Hails.”

“I found out the night you told me you go
t engaged.  That wasn’t really the right time Liam.”

“Fuck,” he says as he runs his hands through
his hair.

“How do I come back and say oh hey
, congrats on your engagement and oh yeah, you’re gonna be a daddy too?”

“You should have told me,
” he says harshly.

“I know and I was going to.”

“When?” he asks frustrated.

“In the next few weeks.”

“Before or after she’s born?” he asks with an angry look.

“Before,” I say looking down to the ground again. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

“You know Nina’s going to be pissed right?”

“She already is, because I cheated on her,” he says catching me off guard.

“Shit, God I’m so sorry,” I say apologetically.

“It’s not your fault.”

“She knows?”

“Yeah, I told her yesterday that I thought the baby might be mine.  I told her what happened.”

“And she’s okay with it?” I ask shocked.

“No, she yelled a lot, but then calmed down and we’ll work it out.”

“I’m sorry
Liam.”

“We’re going to have to figure some things out when she’s born.”

My head snaps up quick, “Like what?”

“Custody and shit.”

“What?  You aren’t taking her from me,” I say panicking.

“I’m not taking her from you, but I am going to be a father to my daughter.”

“But you’re going to be traveling for football.”

“I know, but Nina can bring her to some of my home games.”

“NO,” I shout as I stand up.

“No, what?
  She’s going to be Lily’s stepmother Haley. She’s going to be around her too.”

“She’s not even here yet and you’re trying to take her from me,” I say as the tears fall.