An Old Fashioned book two Full Circle Series

Boys and Balls

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Chapter 23

Emerly

I feel like a beached whale. I'm hot, uncomfortable and cranky all the time. My ankles are the same size as my calves and I can't bend over to get my shoes on without tipping over. I have no balance, no patience and no figure. And after all that, I've never been happier than I am today.

I'm having a baby, weeks away from my due date now. Granted I thought it would be very different from what's happened but I'm okay with it. I'm okay with being a single parent. It's better than having someone in the situation who doesn't want to be there.

I don't know what I was thinking with Jeremy. I knew who I was getting involved with. I knew the kind of person he is. And I allowed myself to get dragged in, just like Trent and the others, caring about a man who cares for no one but himself. That mistake was mine, I won't be making it again.

Seeing him last night at the wedding was a shock. I really didn't expect him to show up. He's been MIA for months. Ever since the custody hearing, he's disappeared from all of us. Now, out of the blue, he shows back up. Why?

I understood why he stepped back from Trent and the bar. His best friend was now daddy to his little girl. It had to feel awkward. I even felt sorry for him over the situation. Zoe is such a sweet little girl, she got very lucky to have Trent and Maggie as her parents. Even Jeremy with his hard heart cared enough to do the right thing for her. That's where I lost my footing with him. I started to care.

It won't happen again, no matter how much pity I feel for him. He's done this to himself. I'm not responsible for his happiness and he's not responsible for mine. We shared a moment, that's all. Several times but that's not the point. He didn't want anything more than sex from me. I knew that going in.

Now we're about to share a child. A child he probably will never know. That's by his own choice. I would never keep his child from him but I don't think he wants to be a father. He made it perfectly clear last night, he's not the

His loss, not mine and not this baby's.

"Here you go, sweetheart. You want some ketchup for the fries?" Cole brings over my double BBQ bacon cheeseburger with guacamole and a heaping portion of fries and a chocolate shake. One of the perks of being pregnant is the food consumption.

I've eaten more in the last six months than I've eaten in years. It's awesome!

"Yes, please. Thank you, Cole." He grabs a bottle from a nearby empty table and sets it in front of me.

I'm sprawled out in a corner booth at the bar, working on my cases while Zoe is coloring at the table next to me. Her own burger and fries partially devoured. I have a meeting in an hour at my office. Lily should be here soon to babysit for me.

I was only too happy to babysit for Trent and Maggie this week. I justified it by telling myself I was practicing for when my own bundle arrives. There's a part of me that's anxiously waiting for the day this baby is born. The rest of me is scared to death. How do other single parents juggle everything?

"Have you heard from the honeymooners yet?" Cole sits down across from me, sneaking a fry from my plate and popping it into his mouth.

"This morning. They were having a wonderful time and sounded so happy. Maggie wanted to talk to Zoe and she thanked me again for babysitting. She's such a great mom and Zoe loves her." Not that Cole doesn't already know that.

"How are you two feeling today?" Cole asks the same question he does every day.

He's been so sweet to me. Ever since he found out about the baby, he's taken an interest in us. Taking me to appointments, calling to see how my day was, he has even given me the best foot massage. He was the best date for the wedding. Not that it was a real date. It was just two friends going to the same event together. Nothing more.