"We're alone. So how about you explain to me why it's so important that Fuller be the baby's father?' he asked.
Her hands shook as she reached for the box of tissues on the end table. "You have to understand that I didn't set him up. I didn't want to be pregnant."
Carter nodded. "I understand. So…"
"He's established. He has his career set and he's financially more than able to provide-"
Rick felt as if he'd been sucker punched. "So that's it? He's got money and I don't?"
“My mother never knew who my father was. We never knew where our next meal was coming from. Each guy she met she hoped would be Mr. Right Most of them couldn't put a meal on the table." She shook her head, the tears flowing down her cheeks.
Carter swallowed hard. "I'm not as wealthy as Fuller yet, but I more than get by.”
She raised her moist gaze to his. "What if you get hurt before your first big contract? What if you have a bad season and nobody wants you or arbitration doesn't work out?"
"What if I get hit by a bus crossing the street? Babe, life is a risk. All you can do is live it the best way you know how and be happy doing it."
"When did you become so philosophical?" She sniffed and he pulled a tissue from the box and gently wiped her tears.
"About the time I realized I might lose you." Carter knew he'd come this far, not just in miles but in personal growth. He might as well risk it all. "I love you, babe. Even if the baby is Fuller's, it'll be okay"
Carole stared at Ricky Carter in shocked disbelief. "Love?”
One minute her childhood poverty was rising to suffocate her and the next minute this man was trying to make her fears disappear. But as much as he tried, he couldn't do the one thing she needed and that was guarantee her she wouldn't end up alone and on welfare, reliving her mother's unstable life.
"Yeah. Somehow during all this, I ended up falling in love with you. And let's face it, we are alike enough to make this work."
“Two peas in a pod?"
He nodded, his dimples showing as he smiled. "Listen, babe, we're both driven. We're both not above using other people to get what we want. You knew this baby could be mine and you would have passed it off as Fuller's."
She winced as he laid out her sins. "I never meant to hurt you."
"And I never meant to hurt you when I called the papers and told them Damian was going to be a daddy. I was just so angry he was getting something else I wanted again-"
"You told the papers? Something else you wanted? I don't know which statement makes me angrier. That you'd betray me or-"
"In the heat of the moment," he said, his eyes downcast, his remorse seemingly honest.
"Or that you think I'm a possession to be had by you or Damian!"
He shook his head and laughed, taking her off guard.
"What's so funny?"
"You're doing the same damn thing with that unborn baby. You're using it as a possession to give to Damian or whomever you think is the best daddy at this moment. Like I said, we're alike. Similarly driven. So let's turn all that energy towards one another-and the baby-instead. What do you say?"
Inside, Carole was shaking, her stomach in knots, nausea rising up her throat. "Did you forget that there's a fifty percent chance the baby's Damian's?" she said, admitting a truth she could no longer deny.
"Not at all. But let me lay out a few facts for you."
She drew her tongue over her dry lips.
"First, even if Damian's the father, he has no intention of marrying you."
Her stomach cramped at his words. "You can't know that for sure."
"He told me and if you ask him outright, he'll tell you the same thing. Oh, he'll do right by you and pay you so you and the baby are comfortable, but you are never going to be a family."
She swallowed hard, unable to reply.
"Unlike Fuller, I plan on marrying you whether or not the kid is mine. I plan on supporting you and your baby regardless and I plan on giving you the family you're looking for. Want to know why?"
"Why?" she whispered.
He took her hand again, his touch warm and reassuring. "Because like I said, I love you." He squeezed her fingers. "But you're scared and I don't expect you to be able to deal with all this right now. So let's take it one step at a time "
Carole rose but the blood rushed from her head and she grew so dizzy she had to sit once more.
He pushed her head downward between her legs. "Relax and breathe," Carter instructed her.
She did as she was told and slowly she began to feel better. "I'm okay," she mumbled.
"Sit up nice and slowly."
She lifted her head and met his gaze. "I'm better. Thanks."
"I'll take care of you, babe. I promise. Now how about we take that test?" He reached behind him and pulled an airline ticket out of his pocket. "We can be on the 5:00 p.m. tonight."
She grasped his hand, suddenly seeing him as her only lifeline. It didn't matter that she loved him, too, and always had. Love had never been enough to make any of her mother's men stick around.
Why should she be any luckier?
THANKS TO A BAD HEAD COLD, Micki stayed home from work. When boredom set in and she couldn't stop thinking about Damian's trip to Florida, she began cleaning her apartment, tackling junk drawers, cabinets and closets. With the amount of garbage she'd collected, the dust bunnies did nothing to help her already stuffed nose and itchy throat. She was surrounded by junk and completely miserable when the doorbell rang.
She sniffed, grabbed a tissue and headed for the door. "Who's there?"
"It's Roper."
She let her friend inside. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"And a welcome to you, too. I called the office to see if I could take you for lunch and they said you were out of the office today. I figured you could use some company what with Damian being in Florida and all."
Micki scowled. "You're subtle as ever, John. I'm not home wallowing. I'm sick."
He studied her intently. "Red nose, no makeup…Yep, you're sick." He headed for the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"What are you doing?"
"Ordering you the best chicken soup in Manhattan. Luckily they deliver." He called in the order and, since the thought of hot soup sliding down her raw throat was heavenly, she didn't argue.
They settled into her den. Micki grabbed an afghan blanket and wrapped it around herself to keep warm. "So why are you really here? Is it because you think with Damian off talking to Carole, I'd be a basket case?"
Roper chuckled. "You said it, I didn't. Have you heard from him?”
She shook her head. "And I don't plan to." She glanced down. "It's over" she told her best friend.
"Because?"
"Baby or no baby, Damian lives a lifestyle that has no room for commitment. And I want that." She blew her nose into a tissue. “I want someone who can balance a career and a family"
John leaned forward in his seat. "And you think Damian doesn't want that? With all the changes in his life at the moment, I'd think some stability would be nice right now."
She shook her head. "He's overwhelmed with the paternity thing. If it's his, he's going to have his hands full adding a baby to his list of responsibilities, which he admits he has trouble prioritizing."
"And if it isn't his kid?"
Micki let out a laugh. "Come on. You know him pretty well. He'll be so damn relieved he's off the hook, he's going to return to focusing on what's left of his career. He's certainly not going to do a one-eighty and want a serious commitment when he's just escaped one."
"Says you."
"Says logic, common sense, and I'd bet Damian if you asked him," Micki argued. She'd thought these issues through long and hard. Her conclusions hurt, but they made perfect sense.
"If I asked him he'd say he couldn't have gotten through any of this without your support. The man needed you."