Lib Novel Page 89
“Hey, Harper.”
My body went stiff and my eyes widened. Perhaps if I’d been in a clearer state of mind, I would have softened my expression as I turned my head toward the voice. But I wasn’t, so I probably looked like I was shocked out of my mind.
Because I was.
Owen stood in the doorway to the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. It took me that long to remember I was holding a positive pregnancy test in plain sight.
My pregnancy test, announcing the baby I was going to have with Owen’s dad.
I hid it behind my back and sputtered for a second before actual words would come out. “Hi. What are you… What’s going… Hey.”
“Hi, Owen,” Marigold said.
“Hey, Aunt Mari. Aunt Audrey. What are you doing here?”
Audrey started to say something but Marigold put a hand on her arm and spoke first. “We had lunch with Harper.”
“Cool.” He turned his gaze back to me. His brow furrowed and the fact that he looked exactly like his father when he did that did not make me less jumpy. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” The word shot out of my mouth.
His furrow deepened. “That’s super sus, you know that, right?”
I let out an awkward laugh, hoping Marigold would step closer and take the pregnancy test out of my hand. “What? There’s nothing sus.”
“Okay, but you’re acting weird. Did you get another murder bear or something?”
“No, no. No more murder bears.”
“Murder bear?” Audrey asked.
“Long story,” I said.
“What are you up to?” Marigold asked. “It’s too early for school to be out, isn’t it?”
“Half day,” he said. “Dad’s at work, so I thought I’d see if Harper needs help.”
Marigold and Audrey’s gazes swung to me.
So cute, Audrey mouthed.
I nodded, still about to die of nervousness. Or maybe it was terror. The empty pregnancy test box was sitting right in the open. Any second, Owen could look, and it would only take a moment for him to read it.
He’d know.
“So…” Owen took a step. “Do you need help today?”
The three of us spoke simultaneously, and unfortunately none of us said the same thing.
“Not today.”
“Sure!”
“I don’t know.”
Owen looked more confused than ever. My stomach turned. I hoped I wouldn’t vomit, but with my luck I was probably going to hurl all over the kitchen and we’d have to close just to clean it up.