Who's Your Daddy? (6 page)

“Better than
Jerry Springer
, I guess,” she said, still snickering. When her laughter faded, the fear and panic returned to her eyes. “Guys, I really have no idea what to do right now.”

Donovan reached for her, and when she stepped toward him, he put his arms around her. “Come here,” he whispered. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he stroked her hair as I had done in my office yesterday. “We’ll figure it out, hon. It’ll be okay.” She exhaled and sank against him.

His eyes met mine. Though he offered her reassurance in both talk and touch, he looked about as scared as I felt.

“Why don’t we go sit in the family room where it’s a bit more comfortable?” Donovan said to her. Carmen nodded, and we moved from the kitchen to the family room. I really could’ve used a deep glass of wine right then, and I was sure he could have gone for half the bottle or so, but if she couldn’t have a drink to ease her nerves, it was only fair for us to skip it too. That, and wine hadn’t exactly helped this situation to begin with, so I left it alone.

Donovan took one end of our huge couch. I took the other, and Carmen sat between us. For a moment, no one spoke. I couldn’t read their minds, but I caught myself mentally running through my conversation with Carmen, reliving it to remind myself that it had really happened. As if moving from one building to another had left the situation in the office to evaporate and go away if we ignored it long enough.

“
Problems don’t go away just because you aren’t talking about them
,” I told my clients time and again. “
They just fester and get worse the longer you ignore them
.”

Caught by my own logic. Damn it.

Donovan pulled his knee up on the couch between them and turned so he was facing her. “Have you thought about what you want to do?”

Carmen chewed her lip. “Abortion’s out of the question.”

“Are you planning to keep the baby, then?” I asked.

She was quiet for a long moment. “I…yes. I mean, I want to. I wouldn’t feel right giving it up, but with my financial situation…” She sighed and made a frustrated gesture. “I don’t know.”

“You do know you won’t be alone with this, right?” Donovan asked. “If you keep the baby, you’ll have our support.”

“Financially and otherwise,” I said.

Barely whispering, Carmen didn’t look at either of us as she said, “Thank you.”

Donovan leaned forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re part of this too, Carmen,” he said softly. “You’re not in this by yourself.”

She nodded, pressing her lips together and blinking rapidly, probably trying to maintain her composure.

“Though,” Donovan said, “much as I’d love to help you with it, you’re pretty much on your own with the physical stuff.”

Carmen laughed, and so did we. Donovan always did know just when and how to ease the tension in a room.

“If you’re worried we’ll leave you high and dry,” I said, “don’t be. You know us better than that.”

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything.” She sighed. “But let’s face it. You guys have each other. You already have a relationship. Even though I have no doubt at all that I’ll have your support, I’m still a single mom.”

We exchanged glances. Donovan chewed the inside of his cheek. She had a point, and I wasn’t sure just what either of us could say.

“Well,” I said finally. “We’ll help where we can.”

He put a hand on her knee. “We can’t magically make everything about the situation easy, but if there’s anything we can do, just ask.”

“Thank you.” She put her hand over his and all three of us watched in silence as her thumb drew slow arcs back and forth over his. “I’ll probably need you guys to help me move at some point,” she said. “I don’t know where yet, but I can’t stay in that apartment with my sister. It’s crowded enough with just the two of us. A baby would be too much.”

Donovan and I exchanged a look. He gave me a subtle nod. I was thankful we’d long ago mastered the art of nonverbal communication.

I looked at Carmen. “We might be able to move you in here if that’s an option for you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said. “This is your place. And you’d have to explain that to Ryan.”

Donovan grimaced. “Oh, shit. I hadn’t even
thought
of that part yet.”

Carmen gave him an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry, Don, I’m—”

“No, don’t apologize.” He put his other hand on top of hers. “You have nothing to apologize for. We were just as much a part of this as you. It isn’t like this is something you did to us.”

“To be fair,” I deadpanned, “one of us technically did it to her.”

Carmen snorted with laughter, and Donovan chuckled.

“And as for everything with Ryan,” I said, “that’s not something we have to sort out tonight. We do have time to figure a lot of things out.”

“Thank God for that,” Carmen muttered. She looked at me, then Donovan. “Is this going to cause problems with you guys? I mean, one of you—”

“No,” he and I both said.

“It’s not like one of us cheated on the other,” I said.

“What about a paternity test?” she asked. “I suppose we should get one. That way if there’s any genetic things we should be aware of…”

“She’s right,” Donovan said. “When do they usually do paternity tests, anyway? Before or after the baby’s born?”

Carmen fidgeted, laying a hand across her lower abdomen. “Depending on how they do it, I think I’d rather wait until after.”

“I’m fine with that.” I looked at Donovan. “You?”

He nodded. “Of course. Honestly I don’t see how it would be relevant until the baby’s here anyway, so if you’re not comfortable with it, Carmen, then it can wait.”

He was right, and I couldn’t argue. At the same time, some part of me itched to
know
. An unanswered question, a piece of uncertainty, hanging over our heads for months? The very thought almost made me break out in hives. I’d respect her wishes completely, but there was a knot in my gut now that wouldn’t loosen until those test results came back.

“So, the test can wait,” Donovan said. “But regardless of who the biological father is, we’ll still do everything we can. Both of us.” He looked at me, eyebrows raised as if to ask if he’d been presumptuous.

“Of course,” I said. “Don and I are together, so it doesn’t really matter whose name is on the test result.” It didn’t technically matter. I knew that. But damn, I wanted to know.

“Yeah, you guys are together,” she said with a sudden note of bitterness in her voice. “Whereas I guess I can say good-bye to any plans for dating anyone any time soon.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “It figures. I was actually kind of looking forward to getting back in the saddle. You know, even just getting laid once in a goddamned while. First time out, and…” She gestured at her still-flat stomach.

Donovan and I exchanged glances. His eyebrows lifted in another unspoken question. I raised one shoulder in a parody of a shrug. His eyes darted toward her, then met mine again. Another “are you sure?” lift of the eyebrows. I nodded.

He cleared his throat and looked at her. “Well, we’re all in this together, but you’re going to be bearing the brunt of it physically for the next several months.” He paused. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it would be right if you were out in the cold.”

She furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

He glanced at me again, probably seeking reassurance before he went on, and I gave him a subtle nod. Turning his attention back to her, he said, “We’ve already established we’re all…compatible. What’s done is done, we’re all in this together, so…” He shrugged. “Who says we shouldn’t be in it together completely?”

Her eyes widened. “Are you suggesting…”

I moved closer to her and slid a hand over her shoulder. “If you’re comfortable with it, yes.”

She looked at me. At him. At me again. She swallowed. “You guys are serious.”

I nodded. “We were actually going to suggest a rematch anyway, before all of this came up.”

“Really?”

“Are you kidding?” Donovan trailed his fingers down her arm. “We enjoyed it, and if I’m not mistaken, you did too.”

She laughed, her cheeks coloring a little. “I’m not going to deny that. I enjoyed it.” Her smile faded. “But, you guys have a relationship. A night of screwing around is one thing, but…this…I’d be…intruding.”

“You’re not intruding,” he said. “We’re inviting you in.”

“It’s just sex,” I said. “We already know we’re all compatible, we all enjoyed it, and you won’t be climbing the walls with sexual frustration between now and when the baby’s old enough for you to get out and start dating again.”

“That,” Donovan said, “and it’s not like we’re going to knock you up or anything.”

All three of us burst out laughing, which lessened the tension a little more.

“So, how does this work, then?” she asked. “We’re just friends with benefits until the baby gets here?”

“Or as long as we want to,” Donovan said.

“We can stop if anyone wants to,” I said. “We can keep going if everyone’s comfortable. Presumably, you’re going to want to start dating again at some point, but until then? You get us.”

“And hey,” Donovan said, “at least you know you can leave the baby with us when you do go out.”

“Hmm.” She tried and failed not to grin. “So I get two guys in bed instead of one, and I’m pretty much guaranteed a couple of responsible adults to watch the baby when I decide I want to go out?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d use the phrase ‘responsible adults’,” Donovan said.

“Not with you involved, anyway,” I said.

“Fuck you.” To her, he said, “But otherwise, yeah.”

“I think I like this arrangement.” She shot us each a playful grin, and behind the mischievousness, there was undeniable relief. Her shoulders had relaxed a little, and her back wasn’t so ramrod straight.

Donovan and I exchanged another look and a subtle nod.

Then he turned to her. Leaning closer, he slid his hand up the inside of her leg. “Well, then I guess that begs the question. For tonight, we could spend some more time discuss—”

She cut him off with a kiss. His hand lifted off her leg and hovered in the air for a moment, as if he was unsure what to do, where to touch her,
if
he should touch her.

She wasn’t nearly as uncertain. She kissed him passionately, cradling his neck in both hands, and when he finally rested his hand on her waist, she damn near melted against him.

My mouth watered. I knew what his kiss tasted like, I knew what hers tasted like, and even if I didn’t, just seeing them like this was fucking hot. Still kissing her, he opened his eyes and met mine, and all the air left my lungs. I knew that look. God in heaven, did I know that look. Half a decade as my lover, and Donovan could still weaken my knees with a look.

He closed his eyes again and moved his hand from her side to her face. His jaw moved. So did hers. Brow furrowing, he pulled in a sharp breath through his nose and held her closer, kissing her deeply, desperately. She may have made the first move, but he surrendered to no one, and he was in control now.

Carmen didn’t seem to mind. She held on to him and whimpered softly into his kiss.

When they separated, their eyes met, and I watched a shiver climb up her spine as he looked at her with that same undeniable hunger. I trailed my fingertips along the same path that shiver had gone, and she arched her back against him as my fingers drifted over her bra strap.

I leaned in and kissed the side of her neck, and she shivered again.

“How much time do we have?” I asked Donovan in between trailing gentle kisses up the side of her neck.

He glanced at his watch. “Ryan’s out ’til ten or ten thirty. Looks like we have about three hours.”

“Well then,” Carmen said. “Maybe we should make use of that time.”

“Maybe we should.” I slid a hand up into her hair and drew her back toward me. She turned around to face me, and the hunger in her eyes was as intense as Donovan’s.

We had so much more to think about and talk about than sex right now, but at this point, there was too much tension that needed to be relieved.

As soon as our lips met, though, all my stress and worries went into suspended animation, and I simply needed her.

Chapter Five

Donovan

Watching Isaac kiss Carmen turned me on almost as much as kissing either of them myself. Ever since he’d started hinting about some bi-curiosity, seeing him with a woman had been a fantasy of mine. Seeing him with her? Even more so. I’d secretly wanted her anyway, so to see the two of them together was unreal.

Isaac tangled his fingers in her dark hair and pulled her closer. She moaned softly into his kiss, and his other hand followed a shiver up her spine. My heart fluttered. It wasn’t just the voyeur in me that loved watching them turn each other on. It was a relief. Something
right
. As right as anything could be in a situation such as this, anyway.

Last time was drunk and desperate. I didn’t take the time to stop and enjoy her. Or enjoy watching them. It had been one of my only regrets about that night, letting my ages-old fantasy slip past without memorizing every last second. We’d gotten out of our clothes and into her as fast as possible, taking turns fucking her until neither of us could move. None of us had given a damn about foreplay. I hadn’t even gone down on her, which I’d regretted. Oh, but I’d make up for that tonight.