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His instincts had been right.
He climbed in and nodded to the driver, giving him the address of his penthouse.
"Eli," she said, her voice soft, "I—"
"Not here," he said curtly, cutting her off.
Holly folded her hands in her lap and looked down at the floor of the car. He'd never seen her look so vulnerable, not even on the day when she couldn't walk. How the fuck could he want to hold her, yet be so fucking angry with her?
The minutes ticked by as they waited in miserable traffic, the driver navigating shortcuts to get them where they needed to go. Everyone else was looking for the same shortcuts, so what should have taken twenty minutes dragged on forever.
When they finally arrived at his building, Eli tipped the driver and got out without a word. Holly followed him into the lobby and waited silently as he pushed the call button for the elevator.
When she started to speak, he held up a hand. "No. Wait until we're back at my place."
"Fine." Setting her mouth in a firm line, she stared straight ahead and waited for the elevator to arrive.
When he finally had the door of the penthouse open, she marched past him and into her bedroom to check on the cat.
A note from the pet sitter sat on the counter, telling Holly she'd fed Miss two hours ago. At least they wouldn't have to wait for the sitter to leave before hashing things out. They could get everything out in the open now.
Holly came back into the kitchen and took a bottle of ginger ale from the fridge.
"Is this even really fucking happening?" he asked, locking eyes with her. "Because I feel like I'm in an alternate universe."
"Yes," she murmured, her voice trembling. She clutched the bottle in her hand. "It is."
He scrubbed his hands down over his face. "Jesus Christ."
The anger he'd managed to keep in check for the car ride bubbled up and out, and he couldn't stop it. "How could you keep something like this from me? But you know what? That seems like your go-to thing, Holly. If it's important as fuck, you just hide it."
Holly's face paled. "What? No—"
"Really?" he asked. "So when you realized that you couldn't walk, you just up and told me, then? You didn't keep that shit to yourself for weeks? Maybe I just imagined having to carry you up the stairs."
"That's not fair."
"And you think this is? How long have you been hiding this?"
"Eli, I've only known for a week. I wasn't about to tell you something of this magnitude when you were focusing on the biggest career goal of your life. I wasn't hiding this from you. I was going to tell you after the parade. But then I got the text while we were on the float, and I didn't know what to do."
"What you should have done is tell me."
"I didn't want to ruin your moment," she cried. "I was waiting until after the parade."
"This is bigger than a fucking parade! You're pregnant. You're pregnant with my..." He gritted his teeth. "And you didn't tell me. Instead, I had to find out from that motherfucking blog!"
"So I was supposed to tell you on the float in front of everyone? Eli, come on."
"At least it would have spared me the shock of finding out the way I did. I should have heard this from you, the moment you knew. Instead, I had to get a text of the front page ofThe Lucky Bounce.”
"Because I was stupid," she whispered. "Lyla threatened to tell you if I didn't give her the feature. I didn't want you to find out that way. But she did it anyway, regardless of our deal."
He stared at her. "That's why you gave her the feature? Holly... for fuck's sake." He covered his face with his hands and sucked in a breath. "You didn't tell me that, either."
"I tried to do the right thing," she said defensively. "I don't regret not telling you immediately, but I do regret how you found out. I didn't know she was following me around, Eli. I should have known better, but I've been so distracted with everything from the fire to getting the MG diagnosis, and now this. I let my guard down."
He swallowed hard. "You told me—" He fought down his emotions, then shook his head. "You told me you loved me. Was that true?"
