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“What’s got your goat?” he asked.
“Sorry?”
“You look miserable. Is that arsehole from the pub giving you problems?”
“That’s none of your business, Kyle.”
“He is, isn’t he? Got more muscle than brains. You can’t trust men like that, Ivy.”
What did he know? My entire family was like that. But they were criminals, and I couldn’t get away from that fact. Could Jay have met someone else? My heart wrenched at the possibility. No, I didn’t believe it of him. The way we were together wasn’t just in my head. He felt the same way about me, I was sure of it. We had something special.
Maybe my father and brothers did break the law, but they were loyal, weren’t they? That was the one thing I’d always been able to depend upon—them being loyal to our family. Now I was the one betraying that loyalty. I couldn’t even bring myself to think about how my family would react if they found out I was sleeping with Jayden Wynter. And it wasn’t as though we were just sleeping together either, was it? He’d been the only one to mention the word love, but the intensity we had together couldn’t be just a crush. I’d never been in love before, and while it wasn’t a question I’d ever asked him, I knew he’d never been in a serious relationship before we’d met. All he’d ever done was screw around.
Maybe he’d got bored of being with only one girl and he’d decided to go back to being a player? Could it have all just been fake—the way he looked into my eyes, the things he said to me, the way he touched me? Could it all have been an act?
No, I didn’t believe it.
My phone buzzed, the sound continuing, telling me it was a call rather than a message. My heart leapt, and I snatched it up. The name Prof T was on the screen.
I turned my back on Kyle, and heard his footsteps as he walked off, no doubt shaking his head at me.
“Jay? Are you okay?”
To my relief, his now familiar voice replied. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I didn’t know what I’d been expecting but until I’d actually heard his voice for myself, I was still worried that someone had his phone and might have been calling to deliver bad news.
“Oh my God, Jay, I’ve been so worried about you.”
He sounded tired. “I’m fine. It’s Hallie. She had her baby.”
“That’s wonderful news.” Why didn’t he seem happier?
“The birth didn’t go well.”
My stomach knotted. “Is everyone okay?”
“Hallie hasn’t woken up yet. She haemorrhaged and lost a lot of blood.”
I sat down heavily. “Oh no. That’s awful. Will she be all right?”
“We don’t know yet. We won’t know until she wakes up. “
“What about the baby?”
“She took a little while to start breathing after the birth, but they think she’s going to be okay.”
“It’s a little girl?” I checked.
“Yes.”
“How lovely. They have a daughter.”
Despite what Hallie had gone through—and was still going through—I couldn’t help the stab of jealousy that got me in the heart. I pictured how it would be to have a family you’d both chosen and created. A reason for living for someone other than myself.
“When can I see you?” I asked, missing him terribly.
“Tam is beside himself. I can’t leave them.”
