Chapter Twenty-Six
“Lauren,” I called, chasing her down the stairs.
If she’d just let me explain, she’d understand. Well, maybe not understand. But at least maybe she wouldn’t be walking out the door. Walking out of my life.
“Lauren. Please.” I would do anything, say anything, to get her to listen.
I’d fucked up. I should’ve told her about Mia and the baby. But I’d been scared. I’d been terrified I’d lose Lauren, just like I was now.
She ignored me, continuing on. And I had this sinking feeling that if I couldn’t get through to her now, I might never be able to. But she was so…stubborn.
She roused Riley and rushed over to her car, and I felt like my whole world was crumbling. I hadn’t meant to blurt out the words “I love you” earlier, but I meant them all the same.
“What are you doing?” I asked, glancing between her and Riley with a horrified expression.
She didn’t answer me this time, and I knew she was done talking. Done with me.
Argh!I tried to break free of the handcuffs as I chased her into the garage, my bare feet slapping against the concrete slab. She helped Riley into the back seat before climbing in the car, all without looking at me. She opened the garage door without looking at me. Fired up the engine and sped out onto the street, all without looking at me.
“Fuck!” I shouted, dragging a hand through my hair.
One of my neighbors happened to be walking his dog, and he got an eyeful. I would’ve waved, but I was too busy covering my junk with my hands, which were still fucking cuffed together, and thinking about how I was going to fix this.
I returned inside, determined to go after her. I strained against the handcuffs, the metal digging into my wrists as I tried to break free.
“Fuck,” I muttered, my bare feet pounding against the tile. “Fuck!” I shouted again.
I couldn’t believe Lauren had left me naked and alone, without the key to the handcuffs.
Actually, I could.
I sank down on the edge of the couch, scrubbing a hand over my face. How had everything spiraled so far out of control so fast? How had we gone from the hottest foreplay in my life to…this? To me sitting alone with my dick going soft, while Lauren’s tires peeled out of the neighborhood.
I yanked open kitchen drawers, searching for something, anything to pry the handcuffs open. After a screwdriver proved useless and a knife dangerous, I darted up the stairs two at a time. I needed answers, and the internet would surely have them.
When I switched on my phone, the first thing I saw was a text message from Mia with a picture of her and the baby.
Mia:We can’t wait to see you, Daddy.
Daddy?
What the fuck? I’d told her all along that we needed to wait for the paternity test. Yet she kept pushing, insisting I was her child’s father.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.” It was unoriginal, but nothing else really fit the situation.
Why had she texted me that? She knew I was only coming to New York to do the damn paternity test and sort this shit out. We weren’t in a relationship, despite the frequent text messages she sent me, many with pictures of the baby’s ultrasounds. And that wasn’t going to change, even if the baby was mine.
I navigated to the internet, searching for answers to my handcuff situation. After scanning the first result, I knew I needed a bobby pin. I rummaged around in the bathroom drawers, hoping maybe Lauren had left one somewhere. No luck.
Could I order one online and have it delivered? A quick search said no. Most websites required the order to be placed by three in the afternoon, and it was well after that.
There was no way I was calling Kate.
Preston, it is, I thought, connecting the call.
It took three rings. Three agonizingly slow rings for him to answer.
“Hunter?” His voice was groggy, and I could tell he’d been sleeping. “Is everything okay?”
