Free Waiting for Him (Waiting Series Book 3) by Dawn Stanton Page B

between us, I cannot let it cloud my judgment. I’m always going to be attracted to him. I’m always going to want to have sex with him. I know that moving forward, I need to avoid being in situations that place me alone with him. We have to keep things platonic between us for now. I’m not saying that I’m ruling out the possibility of a relationship with him at some point in the distant future, but I can’t let myself lose sight of the bigger picture. I don’t know who the father of my little guy is and I’m not going to jerk either one of them around while we’re waiting for him to be born. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself. I have a great job and I live in a wonderful apartment which has enough space for the baby to have his own room. We’ll be fine.
          Garrett doesn’t put up much of a struggle and he leaves within a few minutes. He did make sure to kiss me on my lips and tell me that he’d be taking me out again, real soon. I’m confused about why he would want to. What’s his motive in all of this? Is he hoping for a reconciliation? Maybe he just wants to have sex with me? Whatever’s behind his sudden interest, doesn’t matter. I plan on keeping some distance between us. If he wants to take me to dinner, I’m fine with that. We won’t be coming back here or going to his place afterward, though. I’ll take my own car and meet him there. I can do this…I can keep things platonic between us.
     
    ***
     
          Greyson and Aiden came over to my apartment that next Saturday to help me paint the nursery. I picked out a nice shade of lemony yellow, thinking it would be a happy space for the little guy to sleep in. The linens and crib bumper are made out of a blue and yellow plaid patterned cotton. Once I saw the set at the baby superstore, I knew I needed to pick the wall color to match the sunny shade in the material.
          The guys are rolling the first coat of paint on and I’m slowly taking care of all the cutting in along the baseboards and around the windows and doorways. Cutting in is actually my favorite part of painting and it soothes my perfectionist’s soul.
          “So Seashell, you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle, haven’t you?” Oh great, here we go. I knew it was only a matter of time before Aiden started in on me.
          “I’m not sure what you mean,” I answer, playing dumb.
          “Well, I’m referring to the fact that you’re knocked up and you don’t know who the father is. It’s all rather Jerry Springer don’t you think?” Fucking Aiden. He’s such a judgmental prick sometimes. It’s no wonder I prefer Greyson over him.
          “Aiden, it’s not like there’s a whole slew of guys that I’ve been screwing and I don’t know which one could be the father. I know it’s either Jeff or Garrett that fathered my baby. I’d appreciate it if you kept your judgy attitude to yourself, though. We can’t all be perfect like the great Aiden Tyler. No one likes a judgmental prick,” I say pointing my paintbrush in his direction.         “You might want to keep that in mind, because you’re being a giant one, right now.”
          “Guys don’t like girls that are easy either, Seashell. Maybe you should think about that.” My mouth falls open with shock. I can’t believe the insult he just delivered. That one really hit its mark and stung. I want to cry, but I won’t give him the satisfaction. I grit my teeth before I open my mouth with the intent of telling him where to go, but Greyson beats me to it.
          “Aiden, that’s enough.” He says, his voice raised. “What the fuck is wrong with you? This is your little sister that you’re talking down to. What gives you the right to judge Shelby for something that happened between her and someone she loves? I think it’s time for you to get the hell out of here and don’t come back until you can be a supportive older brother.”