Page 56 of Entangled

She was going to hell.

“Twenty-nine weeks in a couple of days,” Cara said quietly.

“Almost there, then. Boy or girl?”

“Boy.”

Elena smiled, but Cara couldn’t help but notice how it didn’t feel true. It certainly looked warm enough, but the iciness in Elena’s gaze was hard to hide. Cara wondered if that was just a part of who Elena was inside her soul—perpetually cold, always distant.

Cara didn’t have any right to speculate on those things, anyway.

“Have you thought of any names?” Elena asked as she put a couple of tubs of the ice cream in her basket.

“Um, his father likes Marcus. A family thing, I guess. I haven’t said yes or no to it.”

Cara’s awkward tone did not go unnoticed.

Elena shot her with an apologetic look. “Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry. You probably think I’m a creep or something, randomly questioning a stranger in a grocery store about her pregnancy. Don’t mind me, really. Babies just make me curious, and so does pregnancy.”

Cara knew better than to ask, and she should have just taken the chance to get out of the conversation while she had it, but she didn’t. “Why is that?”

“I lost a baby, nearly four years ago, shortly after I married my husband. We haven’t been able to … well, you know.”

Guilt and shame compounded hard in Cara’s chest, squeezing the fucking life out of her heart.

“I’m sorry,” Cara said lamely.

What else could she say?

I’m sorry your husband knocked me up?

Elena smiled widely at her, as though her admission meant nothing, and neither did Cara’s apologies. “Well, enjoy your ice cream, and have a great day.”

“You, too.”

Cara watched Elena disappear down the aisle. It was the strangest, most random interaction of her life.

Worse, was the fact Cara didn’t even know if it was random.

Cara balanced the four bags of groceries in her one hand and arm as she tried to get the main doors to her apartment building open. She felt his presence slide in beside her before he even spoke. He slipped the bags from her grasp easily, and his sweet kiss landed on her cheek without a word.

An arm slid around her waist, and Cara’s body reacted as though heaven had just come to wrap around her soul. She leaned into Gian’s embrace as he kissed her cheek once more.

“What did I tell you, mon ange?” Familiar, comforting dark eyes looked her over, before moving onto the contents of her grocery bags. “Come on, tell me.”

“About what?”

“When you need something, Cara.”

“Gian, I am not getting someone to grab my groceries. I can handle it—”

“Then take someone with you to help you carry all this shit, love.”

Cara shrugged. “You showed up. All is well.”

Gian sighed, and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. Cara smiled, and managed to get the main doors open at the same time. Quickly, the two slid into the building, and Gian led the way. His arm stayed firmly tucked around Cara’s waist, his palm hidden under her jacket, resting flat to her swelled stomach.

“I didn’t expect you so soon,” she said as they climbed the one stairwell to her floor.