turned away and wrapped her arms around herself. You can compromise. Try it—just this once. “I’m willing to negotiate some kind of...child support or something. If that’s something you’re comfortable with.” She wasn’t comfortable with it, but she’d suck up her pride and get over herself if it meant he could help her meet the baby’s needs.
“No.”
Becka turned back to find Aaron shaking his head and doing another circuit around her apartment. “What?”
“I said, no.” He poked the threadbare pillow on the couch. “You can’t live like this while you’re pregnant. You shouldn’t be living like this right now.”
“Excuse me?” Anger flared through her, and she welcomed it with open arms. Easier to be angry than to be scared, easier to fight than to admit she was in over her head and didn’t know what she was going to do. “There’s nothing wrong with my apartment.”
“The list of everything wrong with this place is longer than we have time for. Pack your bags. We’re leaving.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re crazy.”
“No, you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let the mother of my future child live in these conditions when I have a perfectly adequate apartment that will fit both of us and the baby without crowding.” He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “I have a spare room, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t expect you to be in my bed.”
The top of her head damn near exploded. “No.”
“Wrong answer.”
She sputtered. “You can’t just decide to move me in with you. That’s not how any of this works.”
Aaron stalked to the fridge and opened it. He barked out a laugh. “I suspected as much. There isn’t even fucking food in your fridge.” He turned and glared. “Let me lay it out for you—you have two options.”
“I choose the option where you get the hell out of my life.”
“That’s not on the list.” If anything, her anger only made him calmer, icier. He nodded at the door leading into her bedroom. “You can walk in there, pack your shit and come with me to my place. You’ll settle in. It will take some adjusting, but it’s doable.” He shrugged. “Or I can call your sister and brother-in-law—and Roman and Allie, since they have a vested interest in your well-being—and we can all have a sit-down about your current living conditions and how you’re rejecting a perfectly reasonable plan out of hand.”
Checkmate.
She could actually hear the cage click into place around her. Becka didn’t have a chance in hell of winning that argument with all the parties involved. Allie would be sympathetic to her plight, but Lucy would offer a secondary option of moving in with her. Both Gideon and Roman would go into protective older brother roles and, no matter which way they fell on the argument, Becka wouldn’t come out on top. She didn’t stand a chance.
She snarled. “That’s blackmail.”
“It’s called skillful negotiation. You should try it sometime.”
I will not punch my baby daddy. I will not just chop him in his stupidly attractive throat.
She counted to ten, but it did nothing to lower her blood pressure. There had to be a way out of this. Aaron was obviously only steamrolling her because he had an honorable streak that apparently demanded he borderline kidnap her. Okay, maybe not that honorable. She just needed to buy some time, to get a little distance to figure out what she wanted.
It was the one thing Becka couldn’t pin down.
She knew she wanted the baby. The rest was terrifyingly hazy.
She gritted her teeth. “I’ll consider it.”
He stared at her so long, she just knew he was weighing his options—including throwing her over his shoulder and hauling her ass back to his place. Finally, Aaron nodded. “You have until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“At that point, I’m coming back here. Whether I come back alone or with Roman and Gideon in tow is entirely up to you.” He strode to the door and paused to look over his shoulder at her. “Don’t let stubbornness get in the way of what’s best for the baby.” He was gone before she could give in to the impulse to throw something at his head.
Becka stumbled over to her ugly green couch and sank onto it. She let her head fall to her hands and spit out every single curse she knew. It didn’t make her feel better. She wasn’t sure anything could make her feel better at this point.
“I am so freaking screwed.”
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