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“Well, actually, it might be a good thing that you did,” Rick sighs, settling on the sofa next to me. “I know you don’t want to hear this, Liv, but wouldn’t you like to cross one thing off your list of possible reasons for these symptoms of yours? Assuming you would like to get better, obviously.”
It takes a while for the idea to take hold in my head. I vehemently reject it at first. It can’t be. But then I barely manage to think… it shouldn’t be. Should it?
Slowly but surely, I start putting two and two together, catching up with everything my kid brother has been better at observing about me than… me.
Holy crap.
My blood runs cold as I give Rick a pleading look. “Would you mind going down to the drugstore?” I ask meekly.
“Wait here.”
He bolts out in the blink of an eye, and I spend the next fifteen minutes thinking I’m dumb-lucky to have Rick in my life, even if it’s only temporary. What if he’s right?
Whoa, the room starts spinning again. I should take the test before anything else, otherwise I’m going to wrap myself in the icy claws of panic and come apart at the seams.
The timeline might fit.
Protection wasn’t even part of the discussion. I was tipsy and crazy about him. I stillamcrazy about him, but that’s beside the point. Will was into it. He was so into it, so intense and unwound. We didn’t talk about protection of any kind. I haven’t given it a single thought since because it didn’t fit into a presumably dangerous date on my calendar. And now… oh, man.
The minutes pour slowly down the drain of time as I wait for Rick’s return, my mind darting every which way and trying to figure out what I’m going to do if… if…
“Oh, God, this can’t be happening,” I mutter, rubbing my face with my hands as I take deep breaths to pull myself back into the conscious realm. My legs are like boiled spaghetti.
Rick comes back with a pregnancy test, and I disappear with the kit in the bathroom.
When I come out ten minutes later and he sees the look of dread and confusion on my face, Rick says: “I’m guessing we’re not gonna tell Mom yet, then?”
CHAPTER19
OLIVIA
It’s been two weeks since I took the test.
Two weeks of trying to figure out what the hell I should do next.
The first part was straightforward—I want this baby. The timing isn’t ideal, and the situation with Will could not be further from it, but I know that much at least.
As for the Will part… I haven’t told him yet. I want him to know. He should know. It took the two of us to make it happen, after all. And yet I still haven’t found the strength to go into his office.
Since we both work until late these days, there have been plenty of opportunities for us to be alone—but as soon as I see him coming my way, I get skittish like a deer near a picnic camp and head straight for the elevator. I can’t be around him right now. Tears keep testing my eyes whenever he looks at me, and I’m pretty sure there a dance of dragon-hormones happening inside me and messing with my reasoning as I go farther along into this unexpected pregnancy.
Zara’s warning about getting involved with Will keeps coming back to kick me in the shins, too. But just because I’m having Will’s baby, that doesn’t mean the two of us are involved…
I finally go into his office one late afternoon, after I’ve made sure that Zara has left the building. She’s a faithful guardian, and my guess is she’s getting a hefty percentage out of that stock portfolio when they flip it, otherwise she would leave his side more often. Surely Lilian would like to see more of her without having to see Will, too. My heart’s beating like a broken drum, uneven and terrified, but I don’t and won’t give myself any other choice.
I was taught to face trouble with my head held high. This is one such moment, and I need to rise to the occasion regardless of how it ends. I’ve already gone over all the worst-case scenarios. Most have me crying my heart out, but I’m pretty sure that’s gonna happen either way. My feelings and my thoughts are steering this runaway train toward the cliff’s edge. I can only hold on for dear life and pray that I might survive.
“We need to talk,” I say, closing the office door behind me. There are only a couple people left in the open area at this hour, but I don’t want anyone overhearing for a multitude of reasons. “And there isn’t a better time. Ever.”
He looks up at me from his computer screen. For a moment, I see warmth in his eyes. A certain familiarity that makes my blood warmer. But then he leans back into his desk chair and frowns slightly, almost like I’m bothering him. “What is it?”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out. Since he wanted to do this the hard way.
I did consider a softer way of giving him the news, but I keep remembering that morning at the resort and I realize… I want him to be uncomfortable. I want him to feel at least a small percentage of my shock and anguish. He was cruel and distant. And now, he’s going to be a dad. I think. I hope.
Oh, Olivia, snap out of it. The man is clearly more interested in protecting his reputation and his fortune.
“Excuse me?” Will replies, his voice barely a whisper.
