“I don’t know.” I shrug. “You’re not the only one caught off guard by this. I thought I would have time to figure out my life, but now I’m trying to pivot and figure out what I’m going to do with a baby.” I fall onto the stool in front of my easel. “It’s been a lot, so I know this news is a lot for you too.” Honestly, none of this even feels real.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I laugh. “Knocking me up?”

“I guess.” He chuckles, running his fingers through his hair. “Shit, I can’t believe we can laugh about this right now.”

“Believe me—there have been more than a few tears shed since I found out. There were also a couple of weeks of denial and a few other emotions. But…” I let out a long breath. “I’m coming to terms with it and have to believe that everything will be okay.”

“I want to step up and help you. I just⁠—”

“I’m not asking you to do that, Dayton,” I interrupt him. “I know that we both messed up that night.” I feel my cheeks get hot just thinking about it. “I wasn’t on birth control, and you assumed that this wasn’t even a possibility for you anymore. It’s okay for you to opt-out.”

“This isn’t a fucking subscription plan, Franny,” he mutters, and I start to laugh and end up snorting, which only makes me laugh harder. “Jesus.” He shakes his head, rubbing his hand over his mouth, but I still see the smile he tries to wipe away.

“Sorry.” I hold up my hand as I attempt to get myself under control. “I know you’re not trying to be funny, but that was funny.”

Chuckling, his eyes wander over my face. “Can we take this one day at a time?”

The question causes my laughter to die away in an instant. He looks scared—actually… more like terrified—and I’m sure there’s a reason behind that expression, a bigger one than finding out that he’s going to be a dad. Maybe, one day, he’ll tell me about it, or maybe he won’t. But as I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that there is a tiny human growing inside me, I’m learning quickly that I will do whatever it takes to provide the best life for him or her, and part of doing that is giving Dayton some time to figure out if he wants to be involved.

“Yeah, we can do that,” I agree softly.

“Thanks.” He reaches out and brushes his fingers up my cheek to behind my ear, causing a tingle to race across my scalp and down my spine. As I start to lean into his touch, my phone begins to ring, snapping me out of whatever spell I was slipping under.