Beautiful Surrender(22)
“I thought you were on birth control!”
“I was, I mean, I am. I just—I don’t know how this could have happened.”
“Oh Kris, you know that even the pill isn’t one-hundred percent effective.”
I nodded. “I mean, I knew that as a concept, but I never thought that I’d be the tiny sliver of a percentage that it would fail for!”
Riley studied my face, probably discerning that congratulations weren’t in order. Her tone became serious. “What are you going to do?”
I started crying harder. “I never planned for this. Vincent and I never talked about it. We’ve barely even known each other for two months!”
Riley came to hug me and rub my back. “It’s going to be okay, Kris. You have options. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
Her voice was soft. “Are you considering getting an abortion?”
“I don’t know. What other choice do I have? I’m not ready to be a mom. I thought I’d be into my thirties before I considered having a baby. I don’t even know how Vincent would react if he found out.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Should I?”
“You should. He has a right to know. He is the father right?”
I wiped the tears from my cheek. “Unless my fingers have started magically producing sperm, yes. Vincent’s the only one I’ve had sex with.”
“Okay. How is your relationship with him going? You said you two made up right?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“Good. That should make it easier to tell him. Have faith in him, Kris. Didn’t you say he adored his nephew?”
Giselle’s stories about Vincent’s emails in the early morning hours enthusing over activities and programs for Brady ran through my mind. “He does. I think he might actually be too intense about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, his sister made it sound like he’s borderline obsessed with the kid. Sends her emails at two in the morning with camps and stuff his nephew can go to when he’s old enough.”
Riley nodded. “That sounds very sweet. It sounds like he would be a great dad.”
“I don’t know Riley, liking kids is not the same as wanting one of your own.”
“That’s true. He’s a busy CEO and lives a fast-paced lifestyle. But liking kids is certainly a positive sign.”
“Or what if he really does want a child and I don’t? What if I just don’t want to be a mom yet? I could get an abortion and not tell him. Wouldn’t that be easier? If I tell him, and we disagree, this could destroy our relationship. Then it would have been easier just to not tell him, and maybe we can have a baby years from now.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I think you should think hard about whether you want to get an abortion. My mother had an unplanned pregnancy and almost got an abortion. I’m glad she didn’t, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
I could feel my face grow hot with embarrassment. “Riley, I didn’t know . . .”
“It’s okay. We all have secrets Kristen.” She squeezed my hand. “Just don’t make a quick decision. Think about it. I think I would tell Vincent. If you make this decision by yourself, it’s going to be a strain on your relationship for the rest of the time you’re together. I mean, it’s pretty dishonest.”
She made a good point. If Vincent couldn’t trust me to talk to him about something this important, that said bad things about the health of our relationship as a whole. Still though, it was just so much to deal with. “You don’t think I’m too young to have a child?”
Riley shook her head. “You’re twenty-five. A lot of women have children at that age. When people are as young as we are, typically money is a big concern, but that’s obviously not the case here. You have a great job and Vincent is loaded.”
“That’s part of it though, Riley. I can’t have a baby fathered by my client. That’s beyond scandalous. If I decide to have this baby, my time at Waterbridge-Howser is done.”
“I thought you said they had no policy against it!”
I sighed. “Official policy is one thing. Shoving it in the company’s face by taking maternity leave to have a baby fathered by a client is another. It’s practically proof they got the client because I had sex with him. Other wealth management firms could use that against them every time they make a pitch. The wealth management business is pretty conservative.”
“So they would fire you? Isn’t that illegal?”