Promise Me Forever

CHAPTER 1

Cara

I’m keeping the baby.

I have to tell the father I’m having his baby.

It’s no longer just the morning sickness causing me to puke.

Butterflies have been swarming inside me, rolling and taking flight ever since I made my decision, but the time has come to let him know.

I first met Aidan two years ago, because of Jake, my best friend's husband. He's a womaniser, having different girls around him everyday, and a right wing for Vegas Golden Knights. We don't get along- unless we count the time he fucked my brains out- on his 28 
birthday. Happy fucking birthday Aidan! Or should I say daddy? 

A baby is the last thing I need thrown into the mix. I'm 26, I live in a small apartment, if I can call it that. I live on two cups of coffee, maybe three, and on rom-com books. This baby changes all the plans I’ve made, but I’m still keeping it. 

I only hope Aidan doesn’t despise me for it. We might have just been a one-night stand but we’re connected through Ella and Jake and while we haven’t seen each other since his birthday, one month ago, that doesn't matter I'll never see him again.

Grabbing the piece of paper where I scratched down his number and rink address weeks ago when Ella gave it to me, I toss my purse over my shoulder. It’s time to face the womaniser and father of my baby.
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I see Jake coming out of the hockey rink after practice and the moment he sees me I know he understands what I'm doing here. 

"He's just getting out of the shower, he'll be here in a bit. You look sick, don't stress out alright?"

"Easier said than done Jake." I swallow what feels like the crackers I ate on the way here. 

Gotta love pregnancy and the first trimester, right?

“He’ll be right here. Do you need a bucket?” Is it that obvious to everyone that I’m constantly five seconds away from vomiting these days? I shake my head. "No, thank you."

"Break a leg, Cara!" Jake says right before getting in his fancy sports car.

"Hey shortcake! Fancy seeing you here. Missed me?" I hear him before I see him, so when I turn and look at him I feel like throwing up, and definitely not from his face.

He’s right in front of me. He’s so tall I have to tilt my head up and he’s too close. His masculine scent invades my senses and another wave of nausea hits me.

This has to stop. My hand flies to my stomach and I step back. God, I’m going to puke all over his feet and won’t that be amazing. I’m going to throw up all over him before I can tell him I’m pregnant. 

Don’t puke. Just tell him. I hug my stomach more firmly. "Okay. Well, we had sex and um…well, I’m pregnant." He doesn’t move, not a single twitch of any emotion flashes in his eyes or his face, not a single damn muscle twitch.
This isn’t going how I expected at all. "And, well, it’s yours."

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Aidan

I’ve been with a lot of girls who wanted to go slumming with a guy like me who they’d never take home to Mommy and Daddy, but I’ve gotten used to it. A lifetime of being misjudged, being thought of as less than someone else because of my zip code, hardens a man like me. 

Growing up in my hood, kids like me went one of two ways with it. Died in anger, turning to drugs and gangs and a lifetime of running from the police, or we got out.

Luckily, I found hockey right when I needed to.
 
Yeah, we’d probably had way too much to drink and ended up in my hotel room the next night after my birthday and when we shouldn’t have, but she can't tell me the wrapping I always use on my dick malfunctioned. 

But hell, she looks like she’s going to puke all over my feet. 

"Sit down first, Cara." I say, and guide her to a bench near the rink, before she can argue with me.

"I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to just blurt that out, but I figured you should know." Her head snapping up, gave me a clear view of her face. She looks sick. Truly sick. She's absolutely pregnant then, and tired. 

"You want to repeat what you said?"

Her hands tangle in her lap. She’s just as beautiful as I remembered her. 

Her voice is shaky when she says, "I'm pregnant and it’s yours."

…Just as terrifying as it’d been the first time. "Cara, you're sure it’s mine?"

"I wouldn’t be here if I weren't sure."

Of course she wouldn’t. Fucking hell. This is a disaster.

If it was possible for her skin to pale further, it does. She turns a slight shade of green and I lean forward, closer to her.

"Are you alright?"

She pushes back and covers her mouth with her hands. "Can you, please, step back?"

She isn’t looking at me, something that pisses me off further. That confirms I made the right decision. Even though I’d wanted to get her number, as soon as she’d crawled out of bed, she was gone.

"Well, you smell really nice, but it’s also making me really—" She lurches forward, and I know what's going to happen next.

She wrenches and I pull her hair off her cheeks, holding it in my fist. 

"Fuck…I'm so sorry." She mumbles right before she gags again.

"It’s okay, Cara."

Somehow in all the anger, the shock of seeing her, I haven’t even considered the fact my kid is inside of her. It’s my child and my fault she’s throwing up right now, and probably everyday.

"You okay now?"

She shrugs. "Whoever called it morning sickness was a lying piece of shit. Hits me at the worst times, all day long. And I’m so tired. I can’t sleep, can’t eat anything besides crackers."

That explains the pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. 

I give her my water bottle and pray it doesn't come right back up. 

"Come on, let's get you home." She needs someone to take care of her and I need answers. Lots of them.

"I really want to sleep. I have your number, can I…um… can I call you later tonight?"

Like hell that's happening. I'm not letting her alone on the street when she looks like she's on the verge of passing out at any moment. I'm not that much of a dick.

"Come on, I want to make sure you get home safe. Did you drive here?" I take her hand in mine and every moment from our night together comes back full speed into my mind.

"No, I don't drive." She shakes her head and sways on her feet. "Aidan? I really don't feel so–" 

She sways again and her head hits my chest right before her eyes roll.
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