At least temporarily.
…
Daniel managed to scrounge up a snack for them—a bag of Goldfish from behind the absurd number of cream of mushroom cans he’d rage-purchased earlier—but he wasn’t about to let Hope out of his bed any time soon. The sex had been… Fuck, he didn’t have words for how good it had been. All he knew was that the second they left this room, they were going to have to figure some shit out, and he flat out wasn’t ready. This was a much-needed reprieve, and he was going to hold onto it for as long as he could.
On the other hand, there were things they needed to figure out sooner rather than later.
In all the chaos since Hope showed up again that first time, Daniel hadn’t seen much of either his friends or family. Truth be told, that wasn’t as abnormal as it once might have been, but he couldn’t hide her away indefinitely. A weekend, yes. Any longer and word would get out—had already gotten out that she was back in town if the half a dozen missed calls from his mother were any indication.
He needed to let people know about the baby, but telling each person individually and having to deal with the variety of reactions that would no doubt range from shocked to pissed to joyful was exhausting to even think about. It would be easier to get them all together and deliver the news at once—like ripping off a Band-Aid.
First, though, he needed to get Hope on board. He’d already fucked things up enough without springing this on her, too. But if he could do both with one fell swoop…
He stretched, half rolling over to run a hand down her side. Fuck, she’s so beautiful, it kills me. “I was thinking.”
“Always a dangerous prospect.” She opened one eye. “Go on.”
“We have to tell my family eventually—and Adam and Quinn.”
Hope sighed and rolled onto her stomach to bury her face in the pillow. “Can’t we just tell them in approximately eight months when the baby is here? It’s not like they’re going to see me much in the meantime to ask why I suddenly look like a human-shaped elephant.”
Eight months. It seemed like an eternity and not nearly long enough to get used to the idea of being a dad. And she was still planning on leaving in the morning. He forced himself to focus. “You know that’s not an option.”
“I don’t see why not.”
Daniel considered how to respond, trying to keep from steamrolling her like she kept accusing him of doing. “What do you say to getting together for a dinner and announcing it there? Let everyone know at once so there aren’t any hurt feelings that we told one person before another.”
“I suppose that would require me to make yet another trip to Devil’s Falls?”
Not if she didn’t leave in the first place. He ran a hand down her spine, splaying his fingers across the small of her back. “Or maybe you could take some vacation days and we could do it this week. Get it all out of the way at once.” The longer she was here, the better chance he had of convincing her to stay for good.
She lifted her head. “You won’t let it go, will you?”
“This is sheer self-defense.” He kept touching her, trying to soothe away the tension that had bled into her muscles. “If you’re there and so is the rest of my family, there’s the added bonus that with everyone together, we’re less likely to get new asses ripped by my parents.”
Hope made a face. “Speaking of parents, I suppose we should extend an invitation to mine, too, if we’re going forward with this insanity.”
He bit back a denial. She was agreeing to his plan, which meant he couldn’t do a damn thing to jeopardize it. He hadn’t seen the Moores since John’s funeral, but he couldn’t get the condemnation on Mrs. Moore’s face out of his head. It was one of the contributing factors that pushed him to leave Hope alone for good, though he’d never tell her that. The decision had been his, and he didn’t like the idea of causing problems with her and her parents.
That didn’t mean he was all that eager to see them again.
But he’d fake it. For Hope. He cleared his throat. “That sounds great.”
“Liar.” She laughed softly. “But if we’re going down together, it might as well be in flames.”
Daniel kept stroking her back. “We can do this, darling. I promise.” It struck him that he’d made promises to her before, a lifetime ago, and he’d failed at following through on a single one of them. Promises that he loved her, that they’d have a future together, that he’d be by her side through thick and thin.
I fucked up before. I won’t do it again.
“Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep.” She blinked at him from beneath a tangle of blond hair, as pretty as a picture, made all the more attractive because it was because of him that her lips looked so kissably plumped and his whiskers that left light marks on her pale skin. He felt out of control and damn near animalistic with the need to mark her, to prove to anyone who came too close that she was his and his alone. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have a right to claim her.
He’d given up being an honorable man a long time ago.
“We’ll talk about it later…but later isn’t here yet.” She rolled into him, hooking his neck and pulling him down to her. “Now, kiss me and let’s stop worrying for a little while.”
Chapter Eleven
“It’s been a minute, stranger.”
Daniel kept his cell to his ear as he closed the door to the truck, doing his damnedest to ignore the censure in his friend’s tone. “I’ve been busy.”
When Hope had woken up, she’d developed a totally bizarre craving for Greek yogurt, so he was hustling to pick some up before she starved to death since that was the one thing they hadn’t purchased yesterday. Pregnancy sure makes her dramatic. Not that he’d ever tell her that to her face. Things were finally starting to actually move forward between them, and he wasn’t about to do anything to fuck that up.
Not on purpose.
He’d already more than proven he could—and would—fuck up on accident.
Hence, making this call while he was alone.
“Busy.” Adam didn’t sound all that impressed, and he shouldn’t be. As far as excuses went, it was a shit
ty one. “By busy, I take that you mean you’ve been shacking up with Hope Moore for the weekend.”
This goddamn town was out of control. They’d left the house together exactly one time, and that was all it took for gossip to spread like wildfire to everyone who’d listen—which was the entire population. He checked the sidewalk in front of the store, but thankfully he didn’t see any of the older folk lurking, waiting to ambush him for news. If he hurried, he could get in and get out without running into someone he knew. “Word gets around.”
“Yeah, well, you can’t take her to Main Street and expect it not to—though I’m kind of thinking you damn well knew that.” Adam didn’t bother to give him a chance to respond. “What the fuck are you doing? I know things got carried away back at your birthday party, but I was under the impression she went back to Dallas.”
“She did.”
A beat of silence, then another. “Right, well, you don’t have to confide in me about shit. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be giddy as fuck over you shutting me out—again.”
Damn it, Adam had a point. He was the one who’d opened up a little over a year ago when he finally decided to stay in town for good. Daniel headed into the store, keeping his gaze focused on the ground and his hat tucked low. The truth was, there was a reason he’d called Adam instead of just issuing a blanket invite.
He needed someone to talk to.
It was hard to force the words out, hard to make it real by telling someone other than himself and Hope. He scanned the store, but there was only Jessica popping gum at the register, her attention trained her phone. Still, it couldn’t hurt to move deeper into the place. “She’s pregnant.”
Adam didn’t say anything while Daniel grabbed a basket to throw the yogurt into, and by the time he’d turned down an aisle at random, he still hadn’t said anything. “I’m taking that to mean you don’t approve.”