Money (The Keatyn Chronicles Book 10) (2 page)

Ever.
 

“
Shelby, as in
naked, leather-strap, threesome Shelby?
”
Ariela asks in my ear.

“
Uh, hang on,
”
I say to her, putting the phone against my chest. Then I say discreetly,
“
Shelby, whatever you need to say, you can say here.
”

“
God, you
’
re such an ass,
”
she hisses loudly.
“
I thought you might want to do this in private.
”

“
I don
’
t want to do anything with you
—
in public or in private.”

“
Well, you
’
re going to have to now, Riley. Because I
’
m pregnant,
”
she says, uttering the words no man wants to hear from a three-night screw.
 

“
You
’
re
what
?
”

“
Do you really want to do this here?
”
she asks, glancing toward my doorman.

“
Fine. Come up.
”
I drag her into the elevator. Once it closes, I say,
“
I don't know who you
’
ve been fucking, but if you
’
re pregnant, there
’
s no way that it
’
s mine.
”

“
Yes, it is, Riley. I haven
’
t been with anyone since we broke up.
”

“
We didn
’
t break up. You went to a few events with me. We fucked. And I used a condom every single time.
”

She shrugs.
“
I don
’
t know what to tell you. They aren
’
t one hundred percent effective. I
’
m sorry, Riley. I certainly didn
’
t plan on getting pregnant.
”

“
Aren
’
t you on the pill?
”

“
No, it made me fat.
”

I shake my head. I can
’
t fucking believe this. But I
’
m not stupid either. I go into my guest bathroom, grab a pregnancy test out of the cabinet, and then hand it to her.
“
Take this.
”

“
Why do you have that?
”

“
Honey, you
’
re not the first girl to tell me she
’
s pregnant.
”
I open it up and hand it to her.
“
Go pee on it, bring it out, and we
’
ll watch. See what happens.
”

She hesitates, just as they all do.
“
Um, I don
’
t know if it will work yet. I
’
m barely pregnant.
”

“
So you didn
’
t do a test?
”

“
Yes, I did a test, Riley. God, you
’
re being such an ass.
”

She
’
s right. I am.
“
I
’
m sorry. Please, for me, go take the test.
”

“
I will, I
’
m just saying that they aren
’
t all as accurate as the one I took.
”
She lets out a dramatic sigh and goes into the bathroom, not bothering to shut the door. When she sees me watching her pee, she gives me a sexy smile.
 

I turn around.
 

Fuck.

Of course,
that
’
s
what got me into this mess.
 

Please, please, don
’
t let her be pregnant.
 

I hear the toilet flush and turn around.
 

“
Here
’
s the stick, Riley. I
’
m going to sit down. Pregnancy is exhausting.
”
 

She flops down on my couch while I stare at the stick, willing the line not to change.

But it does.

I sit down on the couch next to her, holding my head.
“
I can
’
t fucking believe this.
”

She puts her hand on my thigh.
“
I know we weren
’
t together very long, but we had a lot of fun. And, if I
’
m being honest, I like you a lot. No, that
’
s a lie. I
’
m in love with you. If I had to get pregnant, I
’
m glad it
’
s your baby. I think we should just make the best of it.
”

I nod. If I am the father of her baby, I need to be a man. A father.
“
I agree. We
’
ll make the best of it.
”

She does a little bounce and smiles.
“
And we should get married right away. I don
’
t want to wait until I
’
m showing. I saw the sexiest dress, daddy.
”

“
Don
’
t call me that.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, but now you are one! So, it fits!
”
She wraps her arms around my neck. I used to like it. Now, I don
’
t.
“
And you should see this dress I found. It
’
s got a sexy, sheer bodice. You will love it.
”

“
You
’
ve picked out a dress?
”
I ask incredulously. What. The. Ever. Loving. Fuck?

“
Yes. I had all weekend to think about things. I called, but you didn't answer. Where were you? And who are you on the phone with?
”

I look down and see that my phone is tightly pressed against my chest.
“
Oh, gosh. Ariela.”

I examine my phone and see the call disconnected.
 

Shit.

Did she hang up on me? Did she hear what Shelby said? Does she hate me?

How can this be happening now?

“
Ariela?
”
Shelby shrills.
“
Is she the girl who wouldn
’
t have a threesome?
”
She rolls her eyes.
“
Obviously,
that
won
’
t last long. You need someone like me, a lady on the red carpet and a freak in the bed. Speaking of that, when is the next premiere?
”

“
I, uh
—”

“
That
’
s okay, baby. We
’
ll worry about it later. We should talk about more pressing matters, like the wedding. I know they are hard to plan on short notice, but we should do it up right, don
’
t you think? And I found the name of the wedding planner who did Blake Lancaster
’
s wedding. They flew all their guests to Paris and had a whole week of parties. Wouldn
’
t that be so amazing?
”

I feel like I
’
m going to puke.
“
You can stop with the wedding talk, Shelby. We are
not
getting married.
”

“
But
—”

“
No buts. I'll take responsibility for the baby if it
’
s mine, and I will be part of its life
—
but that
’
s it.
”

Shelby
’
s lip puffs into a pout. She curls her shoulders to give me a clear shot of her cleavage as she gets teary.
“
You don
’
t have any idea what it
’
s like to grow up in a house without a father.
”

“
No, I do not.
”

“
I don
’
t want that for our baby, Riley. I want it to have a home. And speaking of that, I think I should move in with you. My place is shitty, and I don
’
t think Riley Johnson would want his baby growing up in such a place.
”

“
I
’
ve never seen where you live. I really don
’
t know anything about you. Do you have a job?
”
How is it possible that I got a girl pregnant who I know nothing about? Especially when the only girl I ever wanted to get pregnant is finally back in my life.

“
Of course I have a job. I
’
m a cocktail waitress. That
’
s how we met.
”

“
No, we met when you sat down next to me at a bar.
”

“
It wasn’t very busy that night, so they let me off early. Melanie, who
’
s a bitch, was bragging that she was waiting on you and Knox Daniels and how she was gonna get a big tip. I told her big deal, that I was going home with you. And I did. To Paris. It was the most amazing first date ever.
”

While she
’
s rambling, I
’
m worrying about what Ariela may have heard. I
’
ve got to call her back.
 

“
So, let
’
s worry about the details later. I need to make a business call,
”
I lie,
“
and need some privacy. I
’
ll call you later this week after I’ve had some time to digest this.
”
 

And
call my lawyer, I think to myself.
 

“
Oh, that
’
s okay. I won
’
t bother you. I brought my stuff. It
’
s all downstairs. While you make your call, I
’
ll get myself settled.
”
 

“
Shelby, you are
not
moving in with me.
”
 

No fucking way.

“
If you saw my place, you wouldn
’
t say that.
”

“
Then I
’
ll go see your place soon
—
after we have a paternity test.
”

“
A paternity test? Seriously?
”

“
Yes, seriously.
”

“
You
’
re the only person I
’
ve slept with, I swear. I love you.
”

“
Okay, time to go,
”
I say, ushering her to the elevator. She
’
s the last person I want to hear those three little words from.

“
But I don
’
t want to go,
”
she pouts. Honestly, I
’
m a little shocked at her pouting.
 

“
Shelby, I
’
m in shock over all this. Give me a few days to think about things, and I will get back to you.
”
I expect her to drop to her knees, like she usually does when she doesn
’
t get her way. In the past, she was very good at convincing me to do whatever she wanted when my dick was in her mouth. The fact that she doesn
’
t worries me. That’s how she managed to attend all three premieres rather than just the Paris one.