“I’ll try not to.” She grabbed his hands, which were still on her legs, and squeezed tight. Even though she knew she should keep her mouth shut, she found herself saying, “What would I do without you?”
“You’ll never have to find out,” he said, his voice raw. And for once? She wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust him and put herself on the line. Dangerous thoughts. “I promise.”
She bit down on her lower lip, fighting back the words that wanted to come out. Words she wasn’t ready to say…and probably never would be. He’d always been her rock—and she’d always taken him for granted. It was time she stopped doing that. “Do you know what? I almost believe you. You make me want to believe you.”
To anyone else, that might sound like an insult. But Garrett knew exactly how hard it was for her to admit that weakness. And he knew it was a miracle. His eyes flashed at her, and for a second she saw behind the calm mask he’d been wearing in front of her. Leaning in, he brushed his lips across her forehead so softly that she almost thought she had imagined it.
When she leaned in closer, he pulled back. “By the time this baby comes out, I’ll make sure you trust me completely. Not just a little bit.”
He stepped back and helped her out of the car with gentle hands. He lingered over her slightly fuller stomach for a few seconds, then dropped his hold on her. She tried to remind herself that trusting him would be stupid. Sure, he’d never done anything to deserve her distrust…but eventually all relationships went to hell. Even the “perfect” ones, as she’d once thought her engagement to Pete had been. It was only a matter of time.
If she wanted this…whatever they had…to work out between them, for them to be some sort of weird, modern family, then they needed to keep a relationship out of this. Then they wouldn’t fail, and her baby would have his father in his life.
“Ready?” she asked all too cheerily, stepping out of his arms.
He nodded. “Yep. Did Mike bring Chris?”
“Yeah.”
Mike came out the door, hopped down the steps and strode down the walkway. “Are you two ever coming in, or did you plan on a picnic?”
“Maybe.” Garrett grinned. “Would it get us away from you? Because if so, I’m in.”
Mike laughed and clapped him on the back. “You can’t escape me so easily.”
“I know.”
Mike laughed again and led Garrett toward the house. They were ribbing each other, but she couldn’t make out all the words they spoke. Something about Garrett being a pansy. A twinge pinged in her chest, reminding her how close these two were. Would that change when she told everyone that she was pregnant with Garrett’s child? Would Mike hate Garrett because of her?
God, she hoped not.
Garrett looked over his shoulder at her, a smile on his mouth. His eyes were dancing and he looked so…happy. It came so easily to him. She gave him a reassuring smile and sped up. He wanted to make sure she was okay. She wasn’t at all, but she could pretend. For him. If he knew how much of a wreck she was right now, he would be hauling her back to the car for another lecture. And then she’d probably end up kissing him just to shut him up…
When she crossed the threshold, Brianna was on her, hugging her tight. “Kiersten! It’s been weeks since you visited. Where have you been?”
Kiersten hugged Brianna close, closing her eyes. “Busy. You know how it is being a single mom. Life gets in the way.”
Brianna looked over her shoulder at her new husband, Thomas. “I remember.”
Thomas stepped forward and hugged Kiersten, too. “She might remember, but she won’t ever see it again.”
“She better not,” Kiersten said, nudging him gently with her elbow in his hard abs. “Or you’ll answer to me.”
Thomas rubbed his stomach and grinned good-naturedly. “Fair enough, but you’ll have to wait in line. Zach has first dibs on me.”
“Good.” Kiersten laughed. “I can let him work you down for me before I pounce.”
“That might be a good idea.” Garrett stepped forward and offered his hand to Thomas. “Hello. I’m Garrett.”
Thomas shook it after a slight hesitation. “Holy sh—” Thomas broke off and looked over his shoulder.
“Swear jar!” Katelyn called from the dining room.
Thomas winced. “Man, the girl has superhero hearing.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a quarter, his eyes still on Garrett. “What I mean to say is…wow, is this a real live, actual boyfriend? If so, I’m shocked. You’ve never brought a guy here before.”
Brianna laughed and took the quarter from him, then handed it off to Katelyn—who ran into the kitchen to make the deposit to the swear jar. Kiersten had donated a lot of money to that darn jar. “No. It’s just Garrett. You’ve seen him across the court at Chris’s basketball games.”
Kiersten looked at Garrett in just enough time to see his smile fade. Before anyone else could notice, though, it was firmly back in place.
How long had he been introduced as “just Garrett” in her family? Way too long. It had never bothered her before, but now she realized how unfair that was. “He’s not just Garrett. He’s the Garrett. The only one who matters.”
…and that was lame. How much more pathetic could she have possibly sounded? Garrett shot her a surprised look. “Yeah, I’m friends with Mike and Kiersten. Brianna, too, though we haven’t seen each other in too long. It’s been at least a year.”
Brianna hugged him. “Make sure it’s not a year again, the Garrett.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” Garrett grinned. “You’ll be seeing me.”
Kiersten tensed. That was way too close to admitting the truth. “Anyway,” she interjected before Brianna could ask why she’d be seeing him. “Garrett, can you come in the other room with me? I want to check on Chris.”
He raised a brow. “Of course.”
Mike immediately followed. “He’s done his homework, and he’s playing Xbox with Zach upstairs. I made sure his English report was flawless before I let him go.”
“Oh. Okay.” She waved over her shoulder, hoping he would take the hint. “Thanks.”
He kept following. “When are you going to get your car looked at? If it’s making noises, it’s telling you something. Last time you ignored it, I ended up rescuing your ass outside of—”