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Alex freezes halfway to the door.
“Want to know how old he is? How oldIwas when I got pregnant?”
I push myself up from the hard linoleum, buoyed by his hesitation. “Would Nick care? If he knew? If he knew thatyou knew?”
When Alex turns back around, his expression is pained. Worried. Panicked. He stares at me like he wants to rewind the last few minutes and avoid having this conversation altogether.
I don’t understand it. Don’t understand anything.
“Would he?” I prompt.
Alex nods. “Yes.”
“Well…now, you know.”
I walk past him and out of the room. Past the nosy nurse and head outside.
I’m not sure if I handled that the right way. If I should have said more or if I should have said less.
All I know is, I would have regretted saying nothing. That certainty quells a little of the panic that the thought of Alex sharing the conversation we just had with Nick prompts. Saying Nick will care isn’t exactlywrite down your number so he can call you.
Enough time has passed that I shouldn’t be angry with him. We were eighteen when we met, basically kids ourselves.
He didn’t mean to leave me to raise a baby on my own. But he did. He disappeared with no way for me to contact him, knowing I was completely alone in the world.
I reach my car and climb inside, turning it on to blast the heat. Back in familiar surroundings, it’s easier to shove thoughts of Nick away.
Luckily, I’m used to being alone.
CHAPTERFIVE
NICK
I’m standing in front of panes of pristine glass, staring out at New York’s distinctive skyline when Alex calls. The naked woman sprawled out in the silk sheets stirs, but doesn’t wake up.
I walk into the attached living room of the hotel suite, taking my phone and empty glass with me.
“Yes?” I drawl, answering the phone and tucking it between my ear and shoulder so I can pour more bourbon into the crystal tumbler.
“You’re awake.” Alex sounds displeased by that fact.
“You were hoping to wake me up?”
“Figured I would. It’s the middle of the night there.”
I take a sip before I speak, savoring the smoky burn before I sprawl out on the couch. “I’m in New York. Mecci is stirring up some shit I had to handle in person.”
“What?”
I chuckle. “Nothing I can’t handle. But Pavel is pushing to make things official with Anastasia. I won’t be able to leave the country once I’ve signed the agreement.”
Silence.
Complete and total silence.
Unease trickles down my spine like a melting ice cube. “Alexei?” I hear the shift in my voice, from friend to superior.
“I have to tell you something.”
