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Reilly just stared at her, trying to comprehend what she’d just said. Obviously he misheard. “Say again?”
She slumped in the seat and stared down at the floor. “I’m pregnant.”
Ah, damn. “That’s what I thought you said.”
Lucy shot from the chair so fast, Reilly didn’t have time to react. She pushed her purse onto her shoulder and planted her hands against the desk so they were nose-to-nose and stated, “Congratulations, Dad.”
She turned and started for the door before Reilly came out of his puzzled stupor and taunted, “You expect me to believe I’m the father? So you lied about being on the pill?”
Lucy stopped dead. Long seconds passed before she slowly turned and ground out, “For the record, I didn’t lie. I was on the pill, but I was also taking antibiotics at the time. Apparently the meds screwed with the potency of my birth control pills. Also, I don’t much give a damn what you believe. But you are the father. Now, you can be a jerk and call me a tramp and a liar, or you can do the right thing and take responsibility.” She slung her purse over her shoulder. “Either way, it doesn’t affect me. I just thought you’d like to know.”
Then she walked through the door, and Reilly was left staring at empty space. A baby? He was going to be a father? Lucy was going to be a mother? What sort of crazy twist of fate was that? He’d even used a condom. A condom that had broken, he reminded himself. As he sat there, wondering about what this would mean, her parting words registered. It doesn’t affect her? Bullshit.
Reilly shot to his feet. The force of his anger pushed the chair backward several feet. He stalked out of the office and went straight through the kitchen, then out the front entrance. He caught up to her just as she was getting into her little black Volkswagen bug.
Grasping her slim arm in his hand, he tugged her around to face him. “You drop a bomb like that, then leave? Hell no.”
Her spine stiffened. “Get your hand off me. Now.”
Reilly quickly noted her pale face and the tremor in her lower lip. Was she about to cry? Christ, he was handling this worse than when he’d accused her of sleeping with him to get the singing gig. No, damn it, he wouldn’t screw this up too. He was determined to make things right.
“Calm yourself, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I’m sorry for what I said in there. You took me by surprise. That’s my only excuse.” Lucy relaxed a fraction and let out a heavy breath. He added, “Please, come back in so we can discuss this in private.”
She seemed to relax a little, but she stared down at the ground as if not able to look at him. Well, that was a shitty thought.
“I don’t see what there is to talk about. It’s not as if we have a relationship. I don’t expect anything from you here.” She shrugged. “I just thought you had a right to know.”
He began stroking his thumb over the erratic pulse in her wrist and whispered, “There are things I need to set straight. Come, please.”
Her head came up, and once more her expressive blue gaze held him captive. She seemed to be debating whether to bolt or follow him. Finally, she nodded. Reilly was so grateful he wanted to howl. His reaction was telling of how badly he wanted to keep her around.
Once they were back in his office, Reilly let her sit while he shut the door. He didn’t want Eddie overhearing this particular conversation.
He went to lean against the desk, directly in front of her, and crossed his feet at the ankles. He took advantage of Lucy’s unusually subdued manner and pondered the situation. In his mind, he presented and discarded several options and every time he came back to the same one. The only one that made any sense.
For two very long months, Reilly had been going slowly nuts wanting a woman who didn’t want him. Now she was here, and she needed him. In one easy swoop, he could fix their problem and have her back in his life. But it was such a risky move. Reilly wasn’t sure if it would be the smartest thing he’d ever done, or the dumbest.
“The way I see it, there’s only one way to handle this.”
She stopped staring at the floor and glared up at him. “And?”
He nodded and forced the words out past the rock in his throat. “We’ll get married.”
At first, Lucy only sat there, staring at him as if he were a strange-looking insect she’d suddenly discovered. “Are you for real?” she asked.
The disbelief in her voice wasn’t encouraging. “Why is that so unbelievable?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not unbelievable—insane.”
“I’m very serious.” His muscles stiffened as Lucy continued to glare at him as if he’d lost his mind. Hell, maybe he had. “I’d be a good husband. You would want for nothing.”
Her mouth dropped open, and for several seconds, Lucy simply sat there. Finally, she said, “Oh my God, you really are ser
ious.” At his nod, she sighed. “Neither one of us is anywhere near ready to settle down. I’m not sure I ever want to get married again, but if I did, it would be to a man I loved. Not a man who was merely doing the right thing for the sake of the baby.”
“You think it’s so impossible that I could love you?”
“You don’t love me any more than I love you, Reilly.”
