Page 82 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
“Nico, I’m pregnant. It’s yours,” I heard the words.
They entered my ears but I didn’t exactly register them. All I could do was stand still, frozen to the ground.
“That’s what I needed to tell you. That’s what you don’t have the time to hear,” Kennedy’s voice was sizzling as she spoke now. She was pregnant? With my child? I was going to be a father?
I whipped around to her and saw that she’d wiped the tears from her eyes. She was holding herself straight. She still had her pride. I couldn’t say anything. What were the appropriate words in this situation? I didn’t know how to feel.
When I said nothing, Kennedy nodded her head gently. Like this was exactly what she was expecting from me.
“Okay, I get it. I’ll go. I just wanted you to know. I didn’t want to keep it a secret from you,” she said.
Kennedy was walking past me when I grabbed her wrist.
“Come with me,” I grunted and tugged her in the direction of my car. There was no way I was just going to let her leave now. Not after what she’d just told me.
“Where are we going?” she asked as I opened the car door for her.
“Somewhere we can talk about this,” I replied. After she was sitting safely in the car, I ran back to where I was working. I needed to put my shirt back on.
“You know that piece of ass?” one of the men asked when he saw me return. It made me fucking furious to hear him talk about Kennedy like that. I socked his jaw. The punch came out of nowhere and I had no way to control it. The others looked surprised by my reaction. We were all accustomed to talking about women like that.
“Don’t ever fucking call her that,” I growled as I picked up my shirt.
They watched me in silence as I ran back to the car, to Kennedy who was waiting there for me.
Chapter 16
Kennedy
I didn’t know how else I expected Nico to react. I’d turned up at the construction site on a whim.
Ever since I found out about the pregnancy…I’d been toying with the idea of whether to tell Nico or not.
When I got seriously sick the previous evening, Ava had rushed to a pharmacy and bought several pregnancy tests. Each one of them had been positive. There was no other option but to accept the fact that I was pregnant. I wasn’t ready, in no way was I prepared to be a mother. I had spent all this time rolling my eyes at our other friends and their ‘mom problems’. I hadn’t even pictured myself as a mother.
Least of all a mother to Nico’s child!
Ava and I had spent the rest of the evening talking. I’d cried a lot and she tried to console me. I was feeling lost, and angry…but mostly sad. It was painful to imagine bringing up a child alone, to know that my child would never know its father.
I knew Ava would always be there for me. So would our other friends. They would all try and help out as best as they could. But would it ever be good enough? Nobody else could help me the way Nico could. There was nobody else my child would need in this world more than its father.
Ava didn’t want me to tell Nico. She believed he’d already done enough damage to me. Not only had he gotten me pregnant, but he’d also disappeared from my life. Without a trace, without a single parting word. Ava didn’t think anything good could come from me telling him.
She’d almost convinced me. By the time she left my apartment last night, I was resolved to bringing up this child alone. Ava suggested that she might move in with me during the months of my pregnancy to lend a helping hand. She promised that everything was going to be okay. That my baby and I were going to do just fine without Nico.
But that night, I’d laid awake in bed. I couldn’t sleep. Nico needed to know. He needed to take some responsibility. I didn’t know how he would react when he found out, but I would be guilty all my life. I would end up carrying this huge burden on my shoulders forever—the burden of keeping my child away from its father.
The least I could do was tell Nico and leave it to him to decide.
Ava had reluctantly given me the addresses of the possible places I could find him. I took a taxi to the first one on the list and thankfully, that was where he was.
I hadn’t seen him in four weeks. The shock of seeing him again was a jolt to my system. Those familiar feelings of wanting him had returned. Why did he have to be without a shirt on!
His reaction was bad. It was very bad. Instead of being friendly and concerned…Nico had tried to push me away. He was about to do away with me before I even had a chance to tell him. But I’d stood my ground. I wasn’t leaving without him knowing. I wasn’t going to live a life of guilt.
Now, he’d driven us to a restaurant on the other side of town. It was like he wanted to get me away as far as possible from the construction site.
We’d taken a table in one corner of the restaurant, and Nico was sitting across from me. I could see the nervous worry on his face. He didn’t know what to say to me.
I decided to break the awkward silence. How long were we supposed to sit quietly together?!
“Nico, I just want you to know that I have no intention of trapping you,” I said.
He looked up at me sharply. Neither of us had ordered anything to eat. Neither of us had much of an appetite. This could very well be the most important conversation of my life. I watched as he clenched his jaws. What was he thinking?
“That’s not what I suggested,” he replied.
“Yes, but I’m aware of what men like you think in situations like these,” I said and he narrowed his eyes at me.
“Men like me?” he asked and I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms over my breasts.
“Yes, men like you who disappear after the sex is over,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. There was no point losing my temper now. Nico was his own person, and we were never in a relationship. He didn’t owe me anything.
A waiter appeared asking for our order, just when I was about to add something to that. I ordered a Caesar Salad without looking at the menu and Nico ordered an espresso. Finally, the waiter disappeared and Nico fixed his stormy gray eyes on me again.
“You think I’ve stopped wanting you now?” he asked and my heart began racing in my chest.
“What else am I supposed to think? You just disappeared without a word. You said it yourself, you had your fill…you were done with me!” I snapped.
Nico breathed in deeply. I saw the way his shoulders squared. His wide, strong shoulders. Even though I desperately wanted to hate him right then, I couldn’t. He was too handsome for that.
“I had my reasons for disappearing, Kennedy, and they had nothing to do with how much I want you,” he replied.
“A sick granddad again?” I asked, arching my brows.
Nico ran a hand frustratedly through his hair.
“Kennedy, we need to talk about the pregnancy first. All the rest can wait,” he said.
I gulped and nodded my head.
“You didn’t even want to talk to me, or see my face half an hour ago!”
“I didn’t know you were carrying my child!” he thundered and it silenced me.
I looked away from him, and I could sense his eyes on me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you, Kennedy. Neither did I mean to push you away when you came to see me. I didn’t know,” I heard him say.
When I looked at him again, his eyes had softened. He genuinely looked sorry…but I didn’t know whether to believe him. I didn’t want my emotions to take a hold of me.
“So, now you know…what do you have to say to me?” I asked.
Nico reached for my hand over the table. I wanted to pull my hand away. That would have been the wise thing to do, but I didn’t have the strength. I was under Nico Rossi’s spell again.
He was peering into my eyes. He had complete control over me and he knew it.
“Kennedy, I want you to know and I hope you believe how sorry I am. For my behavior these past four weeks and also for my behavior today. The last thing I
wanted was to hurt you. I hope you can see that,” he continued.
I was staring at him with quivering lips. I wanted to be strong and hold my dignity, but the truth was that I was melting. He had me wrapped around his thumb.
I tugged my hand away from him, after much effort.
“And I hope you believe me when I say that I wasn’t trying to trap you, Nico. I would never do that to someone. I’m here today only because I wanted you to know. I wanted to give you a chance to be a part of this baby’s life,” I replied. I knew my voice was a whimper. I was trying to not break into a fit of tears and embarrass myself.
Nico nodded his head.
“Yes, I know that…I didn’t think that for a second. I know you’re not that kind of a woman. I need you to stop blaming yourself for this, Kennedy. We are both involved in this.”
I stared at Nico. This wasn’t what I was expecting him to say. I thought he would want to wash his hands off me.
He leaned over the table instead, keeping his gaze fixed on me.
“Thank you for telling me, Kennedy. For giving me the choice to be a part of this baby’s life. I know I reacted badly to the news…but the truth is that I’m happy,” he said.
He was actually smiling now! That handsome smile on his face made my heart quake. I was going to smile too!
“You’re happy?” I asked.
