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I roll my eyes. ‘The one that you carry everywhere. I’m not stupid. Where is it?’
‘In my suit jacket.’ he admits sheepishly.
‘Go and get it.’
‘No, I’m not leaving you with her.’ He doesn’t even grace her with a look this time.
‘Her?’ Coral blurts incredulously. ‘Is that the way you’re going to speak to the mother of your child?’
He swings around violently. ‘You are not the f**king mother of my child, you deluded freak!’ His anger is building again. I need to remedy this once and for all.
I leave them and head straight to Jesse’s office, finding his suit jacket where he discarded it last night. I root quickly through his pockets, finding a neatly folded wedge of notes and his phone before locating the picture from his inside pocket. It’s a little worn; no doubt from being transferred from pocket to pocket. I exit hastily armed with exhibit B and find the distance between Jesse and Coral has closed. Jesse is still in the same location, but Coral is moving forward.
‘We had something special, Jesse.’ She goes to touch him, but he yanks his arms away.
‘Special?’ he laughs. ‘I screwed you for a while. I f**ked you and then kicked you out. How the f**k is that special?’
‘You came back for more. That has to mean something.’ Her tone is hopeful. She really is deluded. ‘You made me need you.’
Those words prickle at my skin. I want to interrupt, but I want to hear how he responds to that.
‘No, you made yourself need me. I barely even spoke to you when I was screwing you. You were a piece of meat that was handy to have on call.’ He moves in and leans down, making her pull back slightly. Jesse’s tone is full of venom, and intended to be. He’s doing a damn good job at trampling all over her himself. ‘You’re just like the rest of them, but even more desperate. Get a good seeing to and you think your life depends on it.’
I almost laugh. My life really does depend on it, even more now I’m a raging bag of pregnant hormones.
Jesse looks her up and down, and I get the glimpse of the conceited man who treated women like objects for so long - the man who drank, f**ked and threw them out.
‘What the hell makes you think that I’d leave my wife for you?’
‘Because I’m having your baby.’ The smugness has fallen away completely now. She knows she’s losing the battle.
‘You’re lying.’ he retorts, but there is definitely an element of uncertainty in his tone.
‘She is lying.’ I interject, uncomfortable with seeing Jesse so close to her, even if he is snarling in her face, and I’m really not comfortable with him being so concerned by something he should have no concern for.
‘I’m not. You have the proof there.’ She points at the picture in my hand.
‘Yes, I do.’ I turn it around and push it in her face. ‘This is a six week scan picture.’
She frowns ‘No, it’s a four month scan picture.’
‘This isn’t your baby, Coral.’
‘Whose is it then?’ she asks slowly. She’s beginning to catch my drift.
‘This is my baby.’ I look at the tatty piece of paper fondly. ‘And Jesse’s.’
‘What?’
‘Well, I say baby. What I actually meant was babies. You see, we’re having twins, and I know you’re trying to pull a fast one because this really is a six week scan picture. And there are two peanuts here, smaller than your one blob, I know, but I can get a feel for it. I don’t know. Maybe it’s motherly instinct.’ I shrug. ‘Is that all?’
Her mouth is slightly agape and whilst I’m still reeling on the inside, I am beyond proud of myself for maintaining my composure. Jesse is right. I can’t go rolling around on the floor, as much as I’d love to rip her hair out.
‘Unless you can miraculously produce this missing strip that’ll confirm your dates, I think we’re done?’ I give her an expectant look, but she’s saying nothing. I throw her picture into the space between us. ‘Now f**k off and go find the real father of your spawn.’ I don’t remove my eyes from her and I won’t until that door is shut and she is firmly behind it. ‘Are you leaving, or do I have to drag you out?’ I ask, stepping forward.
She bends and picks her picture up before backing out of the door, her eyes flicking nervously from Jesse to his deranged, pregnant wife, and as soon as her body is over the threshold of the penthouse door, I slam it in her face, then turn to look at my ex-whore of a husband. He’s chomping nervously on that bottom lip and maybe I shouldn’t be, but I’m mad with him, too. I steam past him and up the stairs, finding the shower still flowing when I arrive back in the en-suite. Stripping down, I scrub my teeth, then step in and make no rush to get done quickly. I’ve been up for less than half an hour, and I already feel like it should be the end of my day.
My eyes are closed as I rinse my hair, but I can feel him behind me. He’s not touching me, but I know he’s there. And he’s all worried. I can sense the anxious vibes shooting into my wet back. The evidence of his uncertainty at Coral’s claim just reinforces my concern. Have I now got to add potential baby mommas to my list of things that could cause us issues? We’ve been back from Paradise for just two days, and I’m mentally exhausted already. A life of peace and comfort. That’s what I want and need, and every time I think we’re close to exactly that, something jumps up and obliterates it.
The familiar feel of the natural sponge connects with my back, as does his palm with my tummy. He’s cautious, and he should be. The only thing that sends me loopy is him and his sordid history with women. ‘Jesse, I’m not in the mood.’ I step away from him and finish rinsing my hair. He doesn’t know what to do, so as usual when he finds himself in this situation, he tries to win me back over with his touch. I expect to hear a snort of disbelief or even a scorn for denying him, but I don’t. I do, however, feel his hand slide back around my stomach. ‘I said I’m not in the mood.’ I snap harshly, shrugging him off and grabbing a towel to dry myself.
