What Elli and Shea had, Piper wanted with Erik. She wanted to marry him and have more of his children. But the way he was acting now, marriage was not a possibility—he was acting like a douche and she just didn’t understand it. He was known for having a wild side but after their night together it looked as though he’d amped up his waywardness even more.
Piper was usually a happy person, but lately it made her sad to think that her child was bound to grow up without knowing his or her biological father. Sure, Erik would probably come and visit every once in a while, but he wouldn’t be there like a full-time dad would. He wouldn’t be there in the morning to play, or at night for bedtime. It was heartbreaking to think about, but she had known this when she decided to keep the baby.
The way Erik was acting, he probably wouldn’t even own up to being the father, let alone have an interest in his child. How sad was that?
“That’s good,” Harper said. She looked over, meeting Piper’s sad gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Sure, I’m just tired,” Piper said quickly, waving her off.
“Hmm, okay,” Harper said, eyeing her the way only an older sister would. Her face changed after Piper guessed she was satisfied with the lie, then Harper said, “I need to ask you something.”
“Okay?”
Harper looked down and then out to the lake again. She took in a deep breath as if preparing herself for what she was about to say, “The doctors have told me that I need to stop trying for a baby.”
Harper wanted another child very badly, and Piper wished that it could have worked out for her, but after five miscarriages it wasn’t looking as if it was going to.
“I’m so sorry, Harper. How are you holding up?”
Harper shrugged her shoulders. “Not good, but Jakob said we could adopt if I wanted, or get a surrogate.”
Piper smiled. Jakob was amazing. “That’s awesome, Harper!”
“Yeah, I want you to do it,” she quickly blurted out.
Piper stilled. “Excuse me?”
Harper smiled, turning to her before placing her hands on Piper’s shoulders. “I want you to have our baby. You are the perfect person. I trust you. You are home all day now with your new job, and you take great care of yourself. I don’t want a stranger having my child: I want you. I want someone I can trust.”
Piper could only blink as she looked up at her beautiful older sister. How could this be happening? Here she was having the hardest time figuring out a way to tell her sister she was pregnant. Of course, if Piper weren’t already pregnant she would have definitely considered doing this for her; she loved her sister, loved Jakob, and knew how much they both wanted another child. But she couldn’t help Harper now; she had to tell her, the whole truth. OMG. She took in a deep breath, her eyes clouding with unwanted tears as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Harper, I can’t.”
“Why not? I would do it for you.” Harper’s shock at Piper’s statement was obvious, as was the hurt in her voice.
“And I would do it for you if I could, but I can’t,” Piper said quickly, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Well, why the hell not?”
Piper’s tears began to fall and without much more thought, she said what she should have said five months ago: “Because I’m already pregnant.”
Chapter 2
Erik Titov didn’t feel good about this.
Something was off. He should have known something was up when his boss’s assistant called him that morning to schedule an appointment for a meeting. He had a feeling that meant it wouldn’t be just the two of them discussing his career aspirations and the option for him to become the alternate captain. Alex Welch was on the injured list with a concussion and the probability of him returning for the rest of the season was slim. Erik had been very vocal the past few days about wanting Alex’s job for the interim. But as he walked into the meeting room and saw not only Elli, but also his agent, his coach, and Elli’s uncle, who also owned the team, he developed a nasty feeling in the bottom of his stomach.
Shit, what have I done?
As Erik moved his thumb along the palm of his hand, he searched his brain for a reason for this impromptu meeting as he confidently walked into the conference room, closing the door behind him. His contract wasn’t up yet, so that couldn’t be it. Plus, he knew that Elli wouldn’t trade him, at least not with the way he was playing right now; he was doing a damn fine job, if he did say so himself. Besides all that, the Assassins were known as a team that thought of family first. And Erik was family … at least he thought he was.