Next to the bananas, Ollie’s phone buzzed. Was it Eric?
He held his breath, wondering if Eric was still annoyed at him for yesterday.
Where are you? Eric had texted.
Olivier made a face. That told him nothing about what Eric was feeling.
Pigeon’s, he texted back. I had to make a grocery run. Jenn’s with me.
Well, hopefully Eric was fine with Olivier taking Jenn to the store. Ollie had never gone far with her by himself.
Afraid of seeing Eric’s answer, Ollie closed the text conversation, glancing at Jenn for a distraction.
She reached for the tiny bells dangling from his phone. So Ollie opened the YouTube app, playing one of her favorite cartoon songs. Jenn watched, transfixed.
While she was distracted, he got them through the cashier stands. Ollie tried not to look at the grocery total. Eric had been paying the last few times, so it was only fair for him to foot the bill.
By the time he pushed the cart out of the store, Jenn was prodding at the phone screen. Olivier clucked his tongue. “Don’t do that,” he said, catching her wrists gently. “You might hit something you shouldn’t!”
“Aa-waa oo!” She beamed up at him, her smile innocent. Olivier melted. He left the phone in the cart, its screen still facing her.
“Maybe I should’ve gotten you some mittens, too. Doesn’t seem fair that I got them for your brother and not for you.” Olivier paused. “Well, maybe it’s your sister. I guess we won’t know until the ultrasound, will we?”
He wheeled them to the curb, waiting for the traffic in the parking lot to clear. “At least you don’t understand enough and you can’t tell your dad what I just said.” Olivier paused. “Think he’ll be mad that you’re getting a half-sibling?”
Jenn kicked at him. The phone slipped off her thighs and out through the hole of the child seat, tumbling onto the concrete sidewalk. Olivier winced, bending to pick it up.
When he turned the phone over, the screen had Eric’s name on it. Further down, a green phone icon, and a red phone icon. As though it was in a call.
“How did this even...?” Olivier froze, glancing at Jenn. She kicked her legs, beaming.
She’d accidentally answered a call, hadn’t she? And that call was still going. The timer was still counting, and... it had been connected for a whole two minutes. To Eric. Who had just heard what he said.
Olivier stopped breathing. Should he check if Eric was really listening? Or did he end the call and pretend nothing happened?
Had Eric found out that the baby was his?
Ollie pressed the phone to his ear, holding his breath. There were sounds coming from the other end of the line, maybe music on the radio. Maybe Eric had accidentally sat on his phone and dialed it, or something.
Then a breath rushed, loud in Ollie’s ear, like Eric was breathing into the receiver. Eric had been listening.
Olivier yelped, fumbling. He ended the call. Shoved the phone into his pocket, staring at Jenn. She burbled, watching a squawking bird fly into the air.
Olivier bit down a whimper as he crossed the parking lot. Eric had overheard. He knew the baby was his, and it was going to mess everything up, wasn’t it? He’d want to be responsible. What if he left their family in favor of Olivier?
The cart rattled on the asphalt, mirroring Olivier’s nerves.
Olivier hurried toward his car. The Friday morning crowd was surprisingly heavy, and he’d forgotten where he’d parked.
Then his skin began to prickle. He didn’t know how he felt it, only that he knew someone was watching them. How long had that been happening?
A bubble of anxiety grew in Ollie’s gut. Where was his car? Could he get Jenn there in time?
She beamed at him, kicking her legs. Olivier fervently wished she wasn’t with him. He couldn’t let her get hurt.
“Let’s get you home,” he murmured, glancing discreetly around.
Someone slipped out between two cars, padding quietly behind them. Olivier’s heart leaped to his throat.
He increased his pace. The stalker followed.
Then the man fell into step beside him, and Olivier recognized that pungent, fishy Callery-pear scent before he saw those cold eyes.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Zan said, his muscular limbs as ruthless as Olivier remembered. “I didn’t know you had a daughter.”
19
Eric
Eric stared at his phone, his heart pounding. The baby was his. Of course it was his. Since when had Olivier stopped lying? Eric should’ve fucking known.
“I hate you, Ollie, I really do.”
Except he really didn’t.
Eric tipped his head back against his car seat, replaying that call in his head. The background noise, Jenn babbling next to the phone. Olivier saying, Think he’ll be mad that you’re getting a half-sibling?
Ollie had kept that secret for two fucking months. Through all that puking, the fatigue, and curling up in bed next to Eric, like that information wasn’t the most important thing.
That was Eric’s child in Olivier’s belly.
Part of him growled, possessive. Another part wanted to yell at that idiot for lying. I thought that was your ex’s kid. Why didn’t you tell me it was mine?
He was aggravated. Frustrated. Trust Ollie to withhold only the most important information. Like him loving Eric, and him carrying Eric’s child.
Eric groaned, dragging his hand down his face. What was Olivier going to do next?
He pulled out of the Total Sounds parking lot, the burglary from the morning reported, the police finally satisfied with the evidence they’d uncovered. Through the whole morning, Eric’s thoughts had been on Olivier. Whether Ollie was mad at him for leaving Jenn behind, whether Jenn would be fine in Ollie’s hands.
He should’ve known not to worry. He’d called Olivier to see if Ollie wanted to meet at Pigeon’s, only to have the call connect, Ollie’s voice floating somewhere away from the phone.
Ollie had been talking to Jenn. Just having a normal conversation. Then he’d gone and told Jenn his secrets, and Eric had wished he were right there, so he could hear those
