Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Except she’d tossed a grenade in his lap and now it was all he could think about. His fingers curled into fists at his sides, frustration running through him.
“Okay.” She held up both hands. “I just had to say my piece.”
“Thank you for caring.” It was the best he could manage to say and still keep things peaceful between them.
She nodded, then turned and walked back to the family room, leaving him to mull over her words and accept that she had a valid point. No, he didn’t want more kids, let alone to start over with a newborn. Dakota had had colic. The very thought of a repeat was a frightening concept.
He needed time alone to think and he wouldn’t be finding it today. Forcing the uncomfortable thoughts she’d brought up to the back of his mind, he went to join everyone and try and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
He found everyone gathered in the kitchen, obviously ready to sing “Happy Birthday” to his brother, but Fallon was nowhere to be found.
He walked over to Liam. “Did you see where Fallon went?”
“Lost your girlfriend already?”
Noah rolled his eyes.
“Okay, okay. She excused herself to go to the ladies’ room.” Except he’d been in the hallway where the bathroom was located. At least the one guests tended to use. And he hadn’t seen her.
Was it a leap to wonder if she’d overheard his mother’s comments?
He walked out of the kitchen and opened the front door where he found Fallon standing on the wraparound porch, looking out at the trees that surrounded the property. The fact that she’d walked out on the party inside left him with no doubt.
She’d heard his talk with his mother and she was obviously upset.
* * *
Fallon hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on Noah and his mother but she’d rounded the corner to the hallway where the bathroom was located and she’d heard her name. Stopping so she didn’t interrupt, she’d paused and caught the gist of the conversation. It was the second time she’d heard that Noah didn’t want more kids. For the last couple of weeks she’d been able to push the possibility from her mind and let her current reality occupy her thoughts.
But now she was faced with the truth. No longer a what if Noah didn’t want children, he definitively did not. What did that mean for their future?
“Fallon?”
She turned at the sound of her name. “Hi, Noah.” There was no avoiding this conversation, no matter how much she’d rather keep pushing it off. But talking at his parents’ house during his brother’s birthday party wasn’t the right thing to do.
He walked over, hands in the front pockets of his dark jeans. “I know you heard my conversation with my mother.”
Way to go right for the jugular, she thought. “I didn’t mean to. I heard my name… and—”
“It’s okay.”
“It is,” she whispered, the lump in her throat growing bigger and more painful. She wanted to make this easier for him because they were both entitled to their feelings. “It’s not your fault how you feel any more than it’s mine that your mother is right.”
“We need to talk about this,” he said.
“Do we? Is there anything either of us can say to change the fact that your mother was right? You mentioned it earlier in passing and I knew then there would come a time for this.” She gestured between them.
He remained silent and she understood. What could he say?
She forced herself to swallow, though it hurt so badly. “I’m going to walk back inside, say goodbye, and tell your family I’m not feeling well. Then I’ll call an Uber and go home. I really need to be alone.”
The tortured look on his face ripped her apart inside but she couldn’t change things. Couldn’t fix what was broken between them.
“Don’t go.”
He reached for her and she stepped back, another bid at not making things harder than they had to be.
“Okay then, at least don’t go home alone. I’ll take you and—”
She shook her head. “The girls might want to go with us and I’m…” She blinked back tears. “I’m not up to it right now. But no matter what, I promise I won’t just disappear from their lives. We’ll figure out a way to make this easier for them.” Even if her heart was ripped to shreds.
With everything in her she wanted to give up her dreams of having babies and say Noah and his girls were enough for her. But she’d grown up in a big family. Big holidays, big brothers, and for herself? Big dreams.
“You’re killing me, sweetheart,” he said, his hands dangling uselessly at his sides.
She forced a smile. “I don’t mean to. I’m trying to do just the opposite. Besides, you have to admit I’m right. So let’s just get this over with, okay?” She started to walk past him and he spun her around, pulling her into his arms and pressing his lips hard against hers.