The Heart of Christmas

It wasn’t difficult to discern the exact moment he clued in to what she was trying to establish. A distinct wariness entered his eyes. “Why?”

“Why do you think?” she asked. “I don’t know what you remember about last night, but I remember making love three different times.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! Did you have that many condoms?”

When he didn’t respond, she added, “And if you did, did we use them? I mean...maybe you sleep around enough that you carry a whole box. But it wasn’t as if you had your vehicle, so...that means you had only what you were carrying on your person.”

He bowed his head as he leaned against the wall. “Shit.”

She winced. “That’s a no, right?”

“I had just the one. And it was pretty old. But are you certain—”

“I’m positive. There was—” she lowered her voice “—the first time when we didn’t quite make it to the bedroom, remember? And then the second time, we did find the bed. After that, I’m pretty sure there was one more, when we woke up a couple of hours later.”

“That was when I had to move you down so you didn’t hit the headboard.”

She felt her face flush. “Yeah. So at least three.”

He nodded solemnly. “That’s when I used the condom.”

Her stomach knotted. “But you didn’t use anything before?”

“I couldn’t have.”

“And you didn’t know that?”

He threw up a hand. “Maybe I was mentally avoiding the possibility of...consequences by assuming they were all one time.”

She bit her lip. “Oh, boy.”

“So I take it you’re not on birth control or anything—” He cut himself off. “Never mind. I don’t even have to ask. If you haven’t been sleeping with anyone, you wouldn’t need to.”

He rubbed his forehead. “So where are you at with your...you know...your cycle? Is there any chance you might have been fertile?”

She’d already counted the days. She’d wanted to be prepared before she spoke with him. “I’m afraid we couldn’t have planned it any better if we’d been trying to conceive.”

At that, he went pale. “I see.”

“That doesn’t mean I am pregnant,” she said. “Chances are just as good that I’m not. We’ll hope for the best. But if I am...I won’t have an abortion or put the baby up for adoption.”

“Okay,” he said, as if that news was as unwelcome as the possibility of a pregnancy.

“I’m sorry that disappoints you.”

“I’m not sure it does. I just...I don’t know what to say to all this.”

“You don’t have to say anything until we find out. If I’m pregnant, I’ll have and raise the baby alone. But...since you’re in a situation where you’ll be leaving soon, I’d like to know exactly who I’m dealing with.”

He began to pace, head down. “I showed my ID when I checked in,” he muttered, but that was hardly convincing.

“So you’re Brent Taylor? Or are you Taylor Jackson?”

He stopped to look at her, his jaw hard. “You’ve been snooping through my things?”

“Not like you think. But someone had to clean your room, and I noticed the luggage tag.”

“I borrowed a suitcase from a friend.”

“Brent Taylor is your real name, then.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Can I get some contact information, too? Just in case.”

He rubbed his forehead again, as if he needed a moment to regroup, or didn’t like the thought of giving her what she’d asked. That was more than slightly off-putting.

“I promise I won’t contact you unless absolutely necessary,” she added, her voice showing her irritation.

“You don’t understand,” he started, but then he stopped. “Never mind. I don’t have any good contact information right now. I’m in a...transitional period. I’ll have to check back with you. But I’ll do my part. Don’t worry about that.”

Did he expect her to rely on his integrity when she didn’t even know if he had any? She opened her mouth to tell him that was asking a bit much, but he didn’t let her get that far.

“I realize that requires a great deal of trust,” he said. “But I’m hoping you can manage it if...if I’m also trusting you.”

Feeling a chill, although it wasn’t that cold in the room, she rubbed her arms. “In what way?”

He seemed to be thinking fast, trying to come up with an arrangement that would be fair. “Do you have medical insurance?”

“I do. I provide it for all my employees, too,” she said. That was partly what made it so difficult to stay afloat.

“The birth would be covered, then?”

“Yes.”

“There’s that, at least. But still...there’ll be plenty of other expenses. What if I leave you with some money? If you’re pregnant, you can keep it for the baby. And I’ll send more, of course. Like I said, I’m not trying to dodge my responsibilities.”

Eve hated that she’d screwed up so badly that her life, in a matter of twenty-four hours, had been reduced to this kind of negotiation. “Does that mean you wouldn’t want contact with the...um, child?”

He closed his eyes. “I can’t even think about, I mean that right now—what I want. I just need to take care of what you want. We’ll worry about the rest later, if there is a baby.”

“Then how much are you planning to leave?”

“Enough that you’ll feel confident, or optimistic if not quite confident, that I’ll follow up. You name the amount.”

She had no idea how much to request, but there was something very odd going on with Brent Taylor. This proved it, and made her raise the figure that came into her head by several grand. “Five thousand?”