“They’re kind having kind of a hard time with this.The boyfriends.Jesse in particular, but Knox, too.”
His eyes darkened slightly.“They don’t want her to terminate?”
“No, they’re fully supportive,” she assured him, and some of the tension in his body eased.“But they’re struggling with how to do that, exactly.And, well, this kind of thing can bring up some complicated emotions.”
He nodded.“Yeah, it can.”
“Chloe thought you might be able to help.”
Surprise flickered in his eyes.“Me?”
“You’ve been there,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, but…”
“But what?”she asked when he trailed off.
“Chloe hates my guts.”
The bald statement made her grin.“She doesn’t hate them, but she would like to punch you in them.Repeatedly.”
“I’ve gotten that impression,” he said drily.
“But however much she loathes you—”
“Loathe.Good word.”
“—she loves Jesse and Knox,” she continued.
“She must, if she’s willing to ask me for help.”
“So?What do you think?”
“I’m happy to talk to them.”He lifted a hand to scratch his head.“I’m not sure how helpful I can be, though.”
“You were there, a part of it.”They’d never really talked about this, she realized.“Do you remember a lot of it?”
“It’s not something you forget.”The look he shot her was half amused, half thoughtful.“You showed me that test, and I thought I was going to shit myself, I was so scared.”
“Were you really?”
“Hell, yes.I didn’t want to be a parent any more than you did.”
“You seemed so calm, so together,” she remembered.“I was the mess.”
“I’m just better at hiding it than you are.I was sweating bullets until you told me you wanted an abortion.Even after that, because I didn’t know what to expect or how to help you.”
“You did okay,” she managed.
“Because I figured out what you needed.”
“Which was?”she asked around the sudden lump in her throat.
His lips twitched.“For me to wait on you hand and foot.”
She let out a startled laugh.“Is that how you saw it?”
“That’s how it was,” he said, his smile widening so the dimple creased his cheek.“It’s pretty much like taking care of someone when they have the flu, but with more cuddling.”