Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1746

Keaton was utterly mind-blown.

"But... doesn't the Newsom family only have one daughter? Since when is there a son?"

Winona rolled her eyes and explained impatiently.

"He's my aunt's son. He grew up overseas."

Keaton still couldn't believe it. He looked toward Caroline to confirm.

Caroline nodded.

"I am Shane's aunt, and Winona is his older cousin."

Keaton stared blankly.

His eyes were wide as saucers as he repeated the word in his head. Cousin. He's her cousin.

Just a cousin.

A sudden rush of immense relief washed over him. But immediately after the relief came the soul-crushing embarrassment.

"My bad. I completely misunderstood."

"Sorry about that, Shane. It was a misunderstanding. If you need me to, I can clear things up with Linda for you. Tell her you aren't a two-timer and that you don't have a girlfriend back home."

Shane was still furious.

"I don't need your help. And I'm not your cousin, so don't act like we're family."

He glared fiercely at Keaton, then turned around and walked out to call Linda and explain everything.

Keaton watched him leave, feeling entirely sheepish. Even after being snapped at, he didn't dare say a word back. All he could do was offer an awkward, apologetic laugh.

After all, that was Winona's family.

And he was the one who had made a massive fool of himself in the first place.

After Shane disappeared, Keaton turned back to face the rest of the room.

Everyone was staring right at him, each wearing a different expression of sheer disbelief.

Keaton had never been so mortified in his life.

The secondhand embarrassment was so thick he could practically dig a hole in the floor and hide in it.

But then his mind snapped back to the main issue. He quickly asked,

"If the baby isn't Shane's... whose is it?"

In his mind, meeting the parents was a massive step. It basically meant they were headed for marriage.

He had dated countless women in his life, and he had never brought a single one home.

Beatrix Sutton had met his parents, but she wasn't even his girlfriend.

So the thought of Winona bringing Shane home to her family had practically given him a heart attack.

Add the massive hangover from last night's binge-drinking, and his brain simply hadn't been functioning logically.

Winona wasn't angry. She spoke calmly.

"Shane and I should be thanking you. Thank you for caring about me, and thank you for giving him the perfect opportunity to confess."

"He's liked that girl for a long time but never had the courage to tell her. You essentially forced his hand today."

Keaton shifted gears. "A while back, when you went out of town to cancel your contracts... was that because you found out you were pregnant?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I thought you were doing it just to sever ties with me, and I was a total jerk to you about it."

"It's fine. You didn't know. It's partially my fault for not telling you."