His cheeks reddened. “Forget I said that. “
Paige blinked rapidly. “Okay. Okay. I’m … who? Who? What happened? And when?”
Logan’s chest expanded on a deep breath, and I could practically see him shift gears, see the helplessness written all over his face. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m good. And Paige, I’m just about … nine weeks along.”
Paige pulled out her phone and started tapping on the screen. “So that was … pretty much right when you got there.”
“Y-yes.”
Logan’s eyes flipped to my sister. “You knew?”
“Yeah. I was on the phone with her when she took the test a few weeks ago.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s why you were acting so weird when I asked about her.”
Claire laughed. “You know I’m the worst liar.”
Paige kept her eyes on her phone, which was when my worry started to grow again. Every second I couldn’t see her eyes, it got worse. “Apparently, you’re a good secret keeper, though,” Paige said evenly.
Logan sighed.
“I asked her to,” I said. “I wanted to tell you myself.”
“Great,” Paige answered. “Now you’ve told us, and I’ve got flights up right now. How soon can you pack?”
“I’m not booking a flight home, Paige.”
Her hands froze. Logan’s eyes closed, but I saw his hand curl tightly around her shoulder.
Paige’s face finally lifted, and her eyes were bright with tears. “You’re staying?”
“There’s no reason I can’t finish out the semester.”
“You’re pregnant, Lia, and in a foreign country and alone. There. That’s three reasons to come home.” A tear spilled over her cheek. “You don’t have any of us there with you. Have you been sick? I got so sick with Emmett; it was awful. Don’t you remember? And I can’t i-imagine you in that tiny flat all alone, with no one to bring you crackers and hold your hair like you girls used to when I was pregnant, a-and”—she stopped, hiccupping around a sob—“I hate the thought you’re doing this alone when you don’t have to.”
My own eyes watered, and I curled my fingers into a fist, the sharp edges of my nails providing just enough pain to keep my emotions at bay. “I was only sick for a couple of weeks, but it’s better now. I feel okay, Paige, I promise. Just tired. I’m taking my vitamins and eating well and drinking a lot of water.” I leaned in, fighting the urge to wrap her in my arms because it was hard seeing the toughest woman I knew this way, out of worry for me. “And I’m not alone.”
Logan’s jaw clenched. “What’s his name? Does he have a job? Is he …” He cleared his throat. “Is he treating you well?”
“His name is Jude McAllister, he’s thirty-one, and yes. A very good job, actually. He’s the one who set up the doctor, and I’m at his place right now while he’s at work. We’re … getting to know each other.”
Logan’s brow furrowed. “What was the name again?”
“J-Jude McAllister.”
His eyes narrowed.
Heeeeeere we go, I thought.
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
Paige glanced at her husband, swiping at her cheeks. “Does it?” Before I could stop her, her fingers started flying across the screen again. The moment she saw it, I knew. Her eyes got huge, and her jaw dropped somewhere to the vicinity of her belly button. “Holy effing shit, Lia, is this him?”
“
That
Jude McAllister?” Logan yelled. “The footballer Jude McAllister?”
I nodded weakly.
They both stared dumbly at the phone screen, and I could only imagine what headlines and images had popped up.
I mean, Paige could hardly argue with the why of it. He looked (and played) like David Beckham and Tom Brady’s DNA were combined in a lab somewhere. And Logan definitely couldn’t argue about his ability to financially help with the baby. The Brits were generous with their football players, that was for sure.
Logan dropped his head into his hands. It took a second, but he let out a groan. “I swear, you girls have an athlete radar, and it’s going to be the death of me. Couldn’t one of you end up with a lawyer or a teacher or a dog trainer or something?”
Claire’s hand appeared on the camera, giving our brother a condescending pat on the back. “Bit hypocritical coming from you, don’t you think?”
“No!” he shouted, lifting his head. “Because I know exactly what goes into this life. The drinking and the drugs and the parties and the women. Do you know how hard it is to be an elite athlete and not succumb to all that bullshit?”
It was Paige’s turn to be in the comforter role. She gave me a small smile, even as she wrapped an arm around Logan. “You managed it, though. And we know a lot of guys who do. Maybe Jude is one of them.” When Logan turned to her, she cupped the side of his face. “And even if he had a past, we can’t hold that against him as long as he’s doing right by Lia.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly. My heart was still hammering, but mainly because I hadn’t anticipated this part being the largest hurdle. “Logan, look at me.” It took a second, and I could tell my big brother was struggling with this just as much as his wife had but was far more reticent to show it. “I need you to try not to worry, okay?”
“Impossible,” he answered, voice a gruff, tortured whisper. “I worry about you four every single day as it is, and not because I don’t trust you. It’s part of the deal when you love someone so much that you’d die for them. The worst thing you can imagine is them hurting and you can’t do anything about it.” He shook his head, and that was when I lost the battle.
Playbook was out the window.
I sniffed as the first tear fell. Even with the quick movement of my hand to make it go away, he caught it.
Logan’s eyes held mine. “I don’t know this guy, and I hope he is doing whatever you need him to do, but the second he doesn’t, he has to answer to me, because that is my job. The moment you were born—you, Claire, Molly, Isabel, and Emmett—it became the most important responsibility of my life to make sure you’re taken care of and loved the way you should be. I won’t apologize for that.”
“I don’t want you to,” I told him. There was no disguising the tears in my voice, all thick and wobbly. “It took me so long to tell you guys because I knew it would kill you to be so far away from me.”
“We love you, Lia,” Paige said.
“I love you too.” I exhaled heavily. “It will be okay. I promise.”
“But you’re coming home at the end of the semester, right?” she asked.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I didn’t know. Did I want to be an ocean away from Jude when his child was born? Was that even fair?
“That’s the plan,” I managed, but her eyes narrowed because she heard the pause all the same.
“What about a job?” Logan asked. “You won’t have your master’s yet, will you? You’ll need a semester off if you’re due in the spring.”
“I don’t know.” My voice sounded about as big as a church mouse. “I-I haven’t thought about it.”
Claire appeared behind Logan. “We have plenty of time to figure that out.”
That was why I wanted Claire there. Because she could probably sense my inner freak-out building.
Paige smiled. “Can we talk next week maybe?”
I nodded. “I promise.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.