Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
When I walk back inside, Landon is sitting on the couch, his face devoid of all emotion. I plop down next to him and snuggle into his chest, and when he wraps his strong, warm arms around me, I sigh in contentment at being back in his arms.
“Did you have a good time?” he asks.
“I did. Thank you again.”
“You weren’t supposed to know it was me.” He kisses the top of my head. “But you’re welcome.”
“I’m sorry about Richard.”
“It’s fine,” he says, but the way his lips are turned down in a slight frown tells me it’s anything but fine. “I was about to call you when you pulled up. I didn’t want to overstep, so I didn’t argue when he came in and said he was taking the kids. Hunter refused to go, and I could tell Ella wasn’t thrilled, but she’s too sweet to argue.” His frown deepens with his words, and my heart shatters into a million pieces.
Landon shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. And it’s not fair for me to want him to stay, only for him to be slowly driven away by Richard and our messed up situation. It was one of the reasons why I pushed Landon away all those years ago. It’s too much to ask any man—even the man I’ve loved most of my life—to be dragged into this life, to be constantly reminded of the life we should’ve had but didn’t get because of me. A life where every day is a constant battle as I struggle to find the balance between being a good mom and getting along with my ex-husband for the sake of our kids.
My thoughts go to Landon’s Instagram post. All those women commenting and begging him to marry them. He could be with anyone he wants. I know he says he wants me, but how much will he be able to handle before my mess of a life brings him down? Dims his light? He deserves so much more than my pre-made family. He deserves everything.
“Hey, you okay?” Landon asks, tilting my chin up to look at him.
“Yeah.” I nod and plaster on a fake smile. “Thank you for watching the kids this weekend.”
“Anytime, Harp. We had a good weekend. You have amazing kids.” He presses his lips to mine. “But it shouldn’t surprise me since they have an amazing mother.” There it is… that beautiful, safe bubble. Where we pretend like Richard and the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
Giving Landon a kiss, I beg him to take me to bed and make love to me. Tomorrow, I tell myself. Tomorrow, I will deal with reality. But tonight, I’ll live in our bubble.
Twenty-Nine
Harper
“I’m sorry, Harper, but we’re not going to be able to do the shot today as you requested,” Dr. Stein says. Since the kids were with their father, and he actually dropped them off at camp, I called the doctor’s office to see if they have any openings to fit me in. When the nurse mentioned there was a cancellation, I jumped on it.
When I arrived, the nurse went through the regular checklist: urine sample, weight, blood pressure. Then she had me undress so my doctor could examine me. After the examination was complete, she told me I could get dressed and the nurse would be back in to administer my birth control shot.
“Is there a problem?” I ask, confused. I’ve been on the shot for a while now and haven’t had any issues. I come in and get it every three months as required.
“Not per se,” she says with a soft smile. “Your urine test indicated a high amount of HCG, telling us you’re pregnant.”
My throat tightens and my stomach knots. This doesn’t make sense. “Could it have been something I ate or drank?” I ask stupidly. “I always get the shot. I thought it was like ninety-nine percent effective.”
“It is… when you take it on time. You’re a little over four weeks late getting it, though.”
I quickly do that math in my head. I rescheduled it once… twice… Shit! She’s right.
“But shouldn’t it like… last?” My heart is now beating rapidly against my ribcage, and it’s hard to breathe. I’m pregnant, and there’s only one man who can be the father. Landon. We didn’t plan this or even talk about it. He trusted me to be on birth control. I told him I was on the shot, yet I fucked up. Again.
“It should… and in most cases it does. But when you’re late getting the shot, you increase your chance of getting pregnant. Everybody’s body is different and reacts differently.”
I breathe out an exasperated sigh. “So, what do I do now?”
“We can do an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and determine the estimated due date and then we can go from there.”