One night stand with my daddy's best friend
96

Bridget

My mind was willing to work hard and be the best marketing specialist in the world, but my body was dragging. The fatigue made it hard to focus at times. I couldn't figure out why I was exhausted except perhaps it was sadness at what happened between me and Dane.

The split, not the affair.

While in hindsight the affair should have never started, I couldn't regret it. Those couple of weeks with Dane had been wonderful. And it wasn't just the awesome sex. He was sweet, kind, funny, and real. That's what struck me the most, I suppose. For a man that came from such a prominent family, he was remarkably down to earth.

But now it was over. I needed to accept that and move on. If only I could get my sluggish body to jump start, then I'd be able to focus.

That afternoon, Lane and I went to lunch at a little bistro down the street. "What's up with you, girl?" she said once we ordered our sandwiches on

baguettes.

"I'm just tired."

She cocked her head to the side. "Long nights with a dark lover?"

God, if she only knew the truth. I didn't know why, but all of a sudden a torrent of sadness hit and I started to cry.

Lane's eyes widened. "Oh God, what's wrong? Did I say something to upset you?"

I waved her question away as I brought my napkin to my face, embarrassed by the sudden burst of emotion.

Maybe I couldn't get over Dane because I was keeping it all inside. I hadn't talked to anyone about what happened. But who could I talk to? Not my dad or Lizzie. Not Dane. I had concerns about telling Lane, but I could see that I wouldn't be able to move on if I didn't let out my feelings and frustrations.

"No. It wasn't you. I...ah..."

She reached over and took my hand. "You can tell me. You can trust me." I looked up into her eyes wanting to see verification of her statement.

Could I trust her? Right now, I felt like I had no choice.

"Remember when you said Dane had a crush on me...he was watching me?"

She nodded, her expression changing to suggest she knew what was coming.

"Well...he and I sort of..."

"You slept with the boss?" she prodded gently.

"Yes. Many times. We had a little fling, I suppose you'd call it. No one is supposed to know, so-"

"Mum's the word."

I shrugged, feeling so defeated. "Then again, it's over, so what would it matter now?"

"What happened?"

"My father happened." I took a sip of my water hoping the cool liquid would soothe. It didn't.

"What do you mean? Did he have a problem with Dane himself or your age difference?"

I shook my head, still shocked at the turn of events. "Dane and my dad are old buddies. They went to high school together or something."

Her jaw dropped. "You've been sleeping with your dad's friend?"

Said like that, it sounded sordid. But it wasn't dirty...well sometimes the sex was, but there was nothing taboo about our relationship, such as it was.

Right then our sandwiches showed up. Once the waitress left, Lane asked, "You didn't know about their friendship?"

"No. And Dane didn't know I was his friend's daughter until he attended my step-mom Lizzie's birthday party. I about died when he walked in. He did too." I took a bite of my turkey and cheese sandwich.

"I bet he did. He slept with his best friend's daughter." "It wasn't sordid," I snapped.

Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that it was, although your dad probably-"

"My dad doesn't know. Won't ever know." This time I took a sip of water because my stomach wanted to revolt. That was the other thing happening to me besides fatigue. Sometimes I felt sick to my stomach, and a few times I actually threw

up.

The loss of Dane was really doing a number on me. A part of me was annoyed at myself for having such a reaction. I was a strong, independent woman. I didn't need a man to make me happy. I hoped this talk with Lane would get me back on track.

She studied me for a moment as she took a bite of her sandwich. "It was more than just an affair, wasn't it?"

"We weren't together long enough to know for sure, but I felt like it could be something."

She bit her lip and scrunched up her face as if she was thinking or remembering something. "You know, Dane's been off a bit this week. I thought it was the fallout from dinner with his family and Bran. But now that I know about you two, I bet that's what's going on."

I scoffed. "I bet it's his guilt. He had a choice between me and my dad and he chose my dad."

Sympathy shone in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Bridget. There must have been something special between you two that you both took such a big risk."

I put my hand on my stomach, feeling the telltale signs of nausea. "Well, it's over now. I need to move on. Focus on my career." Acid slid up my esophagus. "Excuse me." I jumped up from the table and rushed to the restroom. Thankfully there was a stall open, and I made it just in time to relieve my stomach of its contents.

When I finished, I leaned against the wall of the stall. "Are you okay?" Lane's voice sounded outside the stall.

I stepped out and went to the sink to wash my hands. I'd forgotten my purse with my breath mints, so I used my hand as a cup to rinse my mouth out.

"Yes. It's just everything going on. It's wreaking havoc on me, right now."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm tired. My brain is foggy a lot. And every now and then, I feel sick. I hope that by sharing all this with you, by letting it out, my body will go back to normal."

"Have you gone to the doctor?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm sure it's psychosomatic." She arched a brow. "Are you sure that's what it is?" "Yes. What else could it be?"

I started for the door but she stopped me. "Is your period late?" "What?" Good God, just what I needed.

"Maybe you're pregnant. You have the signs and you said yourself you've been having sex."

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"Not unprotected sex." I tried not to be offended that she thought I'd be so careless.

"Did you both use protection? Because if it was only one of you-" "I'm on the pill. It's like 99 percent effective. It's never failed me."

Her eyes shone with empathy. "It's really only about 91 percent effective in actual, real life use, but even at the 99 percent, that's one percent it could be ineffective."

"There's no way." I pushed past her, hoping she saw how confident I was, even though deep down, I was starting to worry.

"There's only one way to know for sure. Let's stop by the store and pick up a pregnancy test."

"That's not necessary." Why wouldn't she let this go? She arched a brow. "Trust me. It is."

I frowned. "How do you know so much?"

She stiffened. "I read a lot of women's magazines. Come on. If it's negative, you'll at least know that."

She had a point. Now that she'd put the idea of a possible pregnancy in my head, I'd be perseverating on it until I knew for sure.

"Fine. Can we finish lunch first?" "Absolutely."

We stopped at a local convenience store, and I bought a pregnancy test. I hoped to God, Dane never frequented that store. The last thing I needed was him learning I bought a pregnancy test. He was freaked out by me being Troy's daughter. His head would probably explode if he thought I was pregnant.

When we got back to the office, our lunch breaks were over so Lane couldn't go with me to the restroom. She headed to her desk saying she'd check in with me later.

I started toward the restroom, but couldn't go in. I couldn't be pregnant. It was silly to worry about it. I went back to my desk to work.

Unfortunately, I couldn't concentrate on work because the pregnancy test in my purse called to me.

"Fine. I'll take it." I grabbed my purse and went to a bathroom away from the marketing department and Dane.

I locked the door with shaky hands. What would I do if it was positive?

What would Dane do?

I read and followed the instructions, and then waited for what felt like an eternity. It took an enormous amount of strength to finally look at the little stick. Two pink lines.

Panic slid up my spine. I grabbed the box hoping I misread the results.

Two lines had to mean not pregnant, right? Wrong.

Oh God. I was pregnant with my boss's baby. My dad would kill me if he knew. Dane was going to freak out.

I wondered if Lane would be able to take another short break. I wrapped up the pregnancy test and box in paper towels and tossed it in the trash. If it happened to be found, no one would know it was me.

I took a breath to hide the turmoil inside and stepped out of the bathroom. I made a beeline to Lane's desk. As I came around the corner, I walked into a solid wall of man. The light scent of masculine cologne told me it wasn't Bran. Dane. My heart ached to hold him. Instead, I jumped back. "Sorry." He studied me with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." I'm having your baby. God, how was I going to tell him?

He cocked his head to the side. "Are you sure?" His hand started to reach out to touch my face, but then, as if he realized where he was and what he was about to do, he put his hand down.

"Yes. Fine. Just busy. Speaking of which, I just remembered that I forgot something." I turned and rushed back up the hall, not stopping until I was safe in my office with the door closed.

I tried again to focus on work. I managed to make some progress, but not as much as I should have.

I couldn't stop thinking that I had a life growing inside me. It terrified me and at the same time, it felt like a miracle. Oh sure, women got pregnant all the time, but still. The idea of creating life seemed so amazing.

As the day came to an end, I packed up my laptop intending to work at home to make up for my brain fog during the day.

A knock came on my door. I stiffened. Please don't be Dane. Why would it be, though? We'd managed to avoid each other all week. Certainly, he wouldn't visit me in my office. "Come in."

Lane poked her head in. She closed the door behind her. "Did you take the test?"

"Yes."

My expression must have given the results away. "Oh...I don't know whether to congratulate you or not."

I sank down into my chair. I felt like all the air had been let out of me. "I don't know what I should do."

"You should tell Dane. It takes two to tango, so they say. He has a responsibility to be a father. But also, he's a good man. He deserves to know."

"I know you're right, but you should have seen him, heard him, when he learned I was his friend's daughter."

"Bridget, he's going to feel like you do. Panicked. Uncertain. But he'll do the right thing."

I blew out a breath. "You're right, but I need to get myself sorted and figure out what to say. Plus, I should go to the doctor. I should get an official confirmation first."

She pursed her lips, knowing I was trying to put off the inevitable.

"Lane, if I do this wrong, I'll hurt my family and destroy my dad and Dane's friendship."

"That's not just on you to navigate. Dane is a part of this too. You shouldn't carry the burden alone. It's not easy to be pregnant all by yourself."

I frowned. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

She shook her head quickly. "Think about it. You've got hormones making you tired and queasy. You've got the stress of being single and the family issue. You shouldn't carry all that alone."

I nodded, but deep down I knew this was going to blow up my family, and Dane and my dad's friendship. I had to play my cards carefully.

First, I'd go to a doctor to verify the pregnancy. Then I'd figure out a way to tell Dane. It was hard to know what he'd do. Oh sure, he'd help me financially, but I couldn't help but think he'd want to continue to keep us a secret. He'd chosen the friendship with my dad over me. Would he do the same with the baby?

If he chose me because of the baby, would that be enough for me? Could I be happy knowing I hadn't been enough without the baby?

God. What a mess.