Free Who's Your Daddy? by Lauren Gallagher Page B

tell them.
    But how much longer could I hide it? I wasn’t showing yet, but I would be before too long.
    Just get it together, Carmen. They won’t be any happier about it if you wait until later, so just get it over with.
    I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then I turned the knob and stepped out into the hall.
    Eileen waited for me, arms folded across her chest and her eyebrows pulled together with concern. “You okay, hon?”
    “Yeah,” I croaked. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, you know…” I gestured up the hallway toward the kitchen and made a face.
    My sister wasn’t buying it, though. “Carmen. Sweetheart. I know you. You can stomach the worst of Mom’s cooking without batting an eye. Is there…something going on?”
    “Something?” I chewed my lip. “Like what?”
    “Are you…” She paused, searching my eyes. “Are you pregnant?”
    I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.
    “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Seriously?”
    I looked at her and nodded.
    She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not Paul’s kid, is it?”
    I laughed out loud. “No way. We stopped sleeping together a long time ago.”
    “Thank God,” she said. “Last thing this world needs is something Paul spawned.”
    Our eyes met, and we both laughed.
    She went on. “In all seriousness, I’m really glad to hear it’s not his. You don’t need a reason to be tied to him for the next eighteen years, so it’s just as well.” She smirked. “I think I’d rather be knocked up by a stranger.”
    “Tell me about it.” I bit my lip. “And…it wasn’t a stranger.”
    “That’s good.” She paused. “If you don’t mind my asking…” The tilt of her head finished the question.
    I swallowed. “That’s where things get a little…complicated.”
    “What? Is he married or something?”
    I laughed bitterly. “Sort of.”
    “Sort of?” She cocked her head. “To use a perfectly appropriate analogy, being sort of married is like being sort of pregnant. You either are, or you aren’t.”
    “Well, he’s not married,” I said. “But he’s…attached.”
    She groaned. “Carmen, please tell me you didn’t sleep with some guy who was cheating on his girlfriend.”
    “Actually, he has a boyfriend,” I said.
    Eileen blinked. “Pardon?”
    “He has a boyfriend. And his boyfriend was…” I cleared my throat. “Let’s put it this way: one of the two of them is the father of this baby.”
    She stared at me. Then she shook her head and put her fingers to her temples. “You’re not…you’re not telling me this involves Donovan and his guy, are you?”
    Heat rushed into my cheeks. “Yes. That’s exactly who it involves.”
    “Really?”
    I nodded.
    “Well, I’d say snagging those two was a hell of a way to cash in all the karma you racked up putting up with Paul for so long.” She grinned but then cringed. “I mean, not the baby, but…the…”
    I waved a hand. “I know what you meant.”
    “And anyway, I thought they were gay,” she said. “They both bat for both teams?”
    “Apparently so.” My face burned hotter. “I didn’t realize it either, but we were sort of celebrating my divorce. With some wine.” I coughed. “A lot of wine.”
    Eileen laughed. “A lot of wine and…yeah…”
    “Yeah.”
    “Does Mom know?”
    “Are you kidding?” I stared at her, wide-eyed. “She’d have brained me by now.”
    “Good point.” She chewed her lip and raised her eyebrows. “Are you going to tell them?”
    I glanced down the hall. “Eventually. Not tonight, though.” Coward.
    “I don’t envy you,” she said with a grimace. “We—”
    “Carmen, honey.” Mom’s voice interrupted Eileen, and a second later, my mother appeared in the hallway. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
    “I’m fine.” I forced a smile in front of clenched teeth as nausea roiled in my stomach again. “Just getting over a stomach bug.”
    Her eyes widened. “What? You’ve been sick? Oh, honey, why