One Baby Daddy (Dating by Numbers #3)(78)

Growing serious, I say, “You need to leave. Now.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Stepping in closer, I try to hold back the anger pouring out of me, but I fail miserably. Taking him by the shirt, I speak inches from his face. “I need time alone with her to work this out, and I don’t need you hovering over us. You can either gather your things and leave with your dignity still intact or I can escort you myself, but I will guarantee you won’t like it.”

Not flinching, not even disturbed by my threats, he says, “I’ve been the one who’s taken her to her doctor’s appointments, the one who’s been making her dinner, making sure she’s getting some sort of food in her body. I’ve been the one shuttling her around when she’s been too sick or too tired to drive herself, and I’ve been the one who’s been there to scoop her up off the bathroom floor when she’s far too exhausted to make it to her room.” Pushing against my chest, dislodging my hand from his shirt, he straightens up. “I suggest you respect the fact that I’ve been taking care of your problem.” Bending down, he picks up his keys from the coffee table and leaves, slamming the door behind him.

Fuck.

My problem? Is she pregnant with . . . No. Surely she would have told me that.

Logan’s words ring through my head, breaking me down, killing my soul with the thought of Adalyn by herself, going through this all alone when I should have been here.

“Oh.” Adalyn’s stunned voice has me spinning around. “I . . . I thought you left.”

I shake my head, pulling on the back of my neck, feeling absolutely deflated. When Emma emailed me, I never expected this scenario. Adalyn was on birth control. I remember seeing it in her bathroom, and I watched her take it a few times. I thought we were safe.

Hating that I’m going to ask, but wanting to make sure, I look her in the eyes and say, “Is the baby mine?”

Lips pressed into a thin line, she nods her head. “It happened in New York City.”

“But you’re on birth control.”

Twisting her shirt, a patch of her skin making an appearance, she focuses on the ground. My eyes focus on the little bump pushing past the waistband of her pajama bottoms. “I might have missed some days accidentally.” Her head snaps up. “I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, I wasn’t trying to trap you or anything. I just—”

“Adalyn, being careful isn’t your sole responsibility. I didn’t wear a condom, so that’s on me. This is on both of us.”

We stand there in silence, the awkward realization we’re going to be parents hitting me hard. “Were you going to tell me?”

When I tear my gaze from her stomach, I catch a glimpse of a lonely tear caressing down her cheek right before she wipes it away.

“Were you, Adalyn?”

Remorse fills her face when she shakes her head no.

“Why the fuck not?”

“Why would I?” she asks meekly.

Stepping forward, anger taking over my body, I answer, “Because it’s my goddamn child, Adalyn. I have a right to know about it, and I have a right to be a part of its life.”

“You lead a different life than I do. Do you really think you can be there for this baby . . . for me?”

Is she serious?

“Plenty of hockey players have kids. Fuck, Calder has been a single dad from the beginning. He makes it work. You can’t blame this on my profession. How could you not tell me? What the fuck, Adalyn?”

“You live across the damn country, Hayden,” she shouts. More tears fall from her eyes. “You’re here now for what, a few hours and then you have to take off to your next stretch of games. As much as you like to think this can work, it can’t. You want to be a part of this, I get that, but let’s face it, when it comes to logistics, I’m going to be a single mom with a flyby baby daddy. So excuse me if I didn’t believe you needed to know yet. Whether you knew or not, it wouldn’t make a shitload of difference to me right now. Or when the baby is born. I will be raising a child all by myself. And I’m fucking terrified.”

Turning away, she walks to the back of the house where her bedroom is located. The soft click of her door sounds through the silent house.

Instead of going after her right away, I take a seat on her couch, trying to gather myself. What a fucking disaster.

I’m going to be a dad. A fucking dad.

Christ.

I attempt to let that sink in as my head drops past my shoulders, my hands clasped in front of me. But she wasn't going to tell me . . .

What kind of man does she really think I am to believe I wouldn't want to know? If there was one thing she should have understood it’s that I'm not a man to ditch those I care about. And a baby? Our baby? What the hell, Adalyn? How could you be so callous? What did I do to deserve that?

And then there's the fucker who most definitely moved in once I left. Is Adalyn not the girl I thought she was?

I’m going to be a dad, sooner than I would have liked, but fuck if I’m not going to be in this child’s life. My parents gave me a beautiful childhood and opportunities to better myself; they gave me the world, and that’s exactly what I want to give my kid.

And doing it with Adalyn? Hell, I don’t think I could have chosen a better person to partner up with. The only problem is our distance.