Under Any Conditions (Failure to Thrive, #2)

by Elle Rivers

“Oliver?” Riley asked, sounding wary. “This isn’t the part where you tell me you’re broke and we’re selling the house, right?” “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I was just shocked you didn’t already know.” “Know what?” Her voice was tense. “That those people are right.” She blew out a breath and paced around the island. “Really? Like . . . billionaire level?” “I’m going to be honest: I have no clue. A lot of my money is tied up in investments.” “Oh, that’s a rich person phrase.”

“There you go. A vanilla latte for my favorite customer.” “You just guessed I wanted vanilla?” “Was I wrong?” She wasn’t. “One of these days, I’m going to surprise you and get caramel.” “That will be the day the world ends. You hate caramel.”

One person’s tragedy is not the barometer to measure yours against.”

“I suppose that’s true, but she was still your mother. Parental love should be unconditional, and it sounds like hers was not. Favoritism is painful.”

“I’m not sure,” Jane said, frowning. “I worry about her slipping, and then pushing you away.” “I wouldn’t leave if she slipped,” Oliver said. “She mentioned Zoe’s mother had problems with drinking.” “Riley is Zoe’s mother.” “Sorry, birth mother.”

Sophie had treated Zoe like a chore she couldn’t be bothered to do. Riley treated Zoe like a gift.

“This wasn’t as hot as I thought you’d have it,” he said, the water spraying his back. “Maybe I’m converting you,” she said with a smile. “Being boiled alive is fun.”

As much as she wanted kids of her own, she knew she loved Oliver more, and he and Zoe were enough.

“But why her? God, you looked like you hated her the day after you met her. What the hell happened?” “I fucking fell in love with her, that’s what.”

“Let’s start with her selflessness with how she adopted Zoe the moment she could. Or we could talk about how her smile could light up a city with no power. How about we bring up her incredible sense of humor. Or maybe the fact that she is always herself without caring what anyone thinks, despite your best efforts to make her insecure her entire life.”

“All she ever needed to be was herself. I love her, and I will tell her every bit of this after she walks down the aisle and marries me. The timing of your divorce doesn’t matter because I would have chosen her on a dark night with my eyes shut. You could have been single. You could have been pursuing me for years. But the moment she walked through the door, I was hers, and it will never change.”

“Because you were the missing piece of the puzzle. I’ve dated women that were magazine-page perfection and that did nothing for me. I don’t need another shallow girlfriend. I need you, the woman who helps loosen me up, who gives me a reason to smile every day. I never wanted someone to keep me in a box. I need someone to get me out of it. And that’s you.”

“And what happens when I’ve gotten you out of your box? Then will you be done with me?” “No, because I broke out of it to be with you. And I’d do it all again just to see you smile.”

“I know you have a hard time believing it, but you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. I saw it the first time you smiled in my direction, and I still see it to this day. Anything you see as an imperfection is perfect to me because it’s you, Riley. This is how love is. I know you know that because you do it for me and Zoe.”

“I love you, and I would never have chosen anyone else. I can only prove it by standing by your side. But trust me when I say it’s the easiest thing I’ll ever do.” She was quiet, but her arms tightened around him.

“We can explain the fainting pretty easily. What other symptoms were you having?” “Mood swings, tiredness, headaches,” Riley said, “but mostly in the last two weeks. It wasn’t too worrisome. Well, until now.” The doctor nodded. “Well, then the answer is pretty simple. You’re pregnant.” Silence. “Excuse me?”

There were a few things Riley would consider a life-changing moment. One of them was when she found out David was cheating on her. Another was when she found Zoe at the playground when no one else could. The biggest one, until this moment, was when Zoe asked if she could call her “mommy.”

All she saw was a tiny bean that looked a little like a gummy bear, but the idea that this was her child, just like Zoe, made her world shift again, moving to accommodate a second child she thought she would never have.

Her choice was made then. If Oliver didn’t want to have another child, she would do it on her own. She wanted this, and as long as she could do it, she would find a way t...

She didn’t dare look at Oliver because if he mentioned anything about not wanting this child, she was going to have to tell him she would never consider not having it, and then they would have to go their separate ways.

“I know this isn’t what you wanted,” she said. “So, you don’t have to stay.” That got him to look at her. “What?” “You told me you didn’t want another kid, and I don’t expect you to go back on that because of this. I can handle this myself.” “And what does that mean?” he asked harshly. “It means you have an out.” “I don’t want an out.” “You said you didn’t want more kids. You don’t have to have another one.” “So, you don’t want the baby?”

“It’s okay,” Jane replied. “But you need to get better about taking care of yourself. I know you’re busy and you have a lot on your plate. You’re so busy taking care of everyone else, you need to remember to take care of you.”

But things had changed, and Riley would have to get over her aversion to the idea of being spoiled. Because she and their child certainly would be. He focused on making Riley’s life easier, and ordered everything he wanted for their future child.

People before him never bent for her. They expected her to be the flexible one and she did it until she broke. She expected things to end badly because it was all she’d ever known.

“This wasn’t what I planned, but there was no question when I heard their heartbeat and saw them for the first time. If you didn’t want them, then I’d do it all like I did with Zoe.” “But I do want them,” she said, tearfully. “I really do.” “Then let’s do this together. All of it. Even the tough parts.”