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Angry tears sting my throat. I tighten my hands more, squeezing all the blood out of my fingers. “And I’m just supposed to…”
“Trust me,” he says with a bitter edge to his tone.
“I did. I guess. But now I’m not sure.”
Something ghosts across his expression. Too fast for me to name.
After a long stare-off, he speaks with quiet finality. “This is happening. Now. This isn’t some soft, romantic thing. This is a business transaction, and you’re not in control.”
Utterly stung, I stand, frozen to the floor. My insides quivering in pain.
Without taking his eyes off me, he walks to the bar and picks up a cup of coffee. Casually, as if he hasn’t just destroyed me.
Again.
When I spin and leave, he doesn’t follow.
I’m glad. I’m not sure I could control the pain that his heartless stare unleashed inside of me.
I thought my heart had been decimated seven years ago. So, why does this feel like my chest is ripping apart?
The shower water is hot, but I’m chilled to the bone.
When I finally get out, I don’t look in the mirror. It will hurt too much.
CHAPTERTWO
One of the strongest characteristics a man can have is knowing when to talk and when to keep his mouth shut. I failed badly enough to make a wreck of an already simmering disaster.
Fuck.
I want answers. Every breath I take makes me more desperate.
Looking at Carra and thinking about her being pregnant by another man makes me want to break every fucking thing in this house.
It’s a fight to prevent my hand from smashing the coffee mug in front of me. The only thing keeping me from doing it is the knowledge that I won’t stop there.
Inside my gut, there’s a knife fight. I’m the one losing blood. I wonder how much is left in me after getting the news from Max about the video.
Upstairs, the shower water turns on. I take the moment alone to call Max again.
He answers quickly. “ETA five minutes for the pick-up.”
“Good. Because I’m getting itchy to get out of here. But the truth is, I wasn’t calling about that.”
“The video?”
“How did you know?”
He makes a sound. “Any man would feel like you do.”
“No. I’m not sure he would. I’m about to force the woman I thought I could trust to go through a fake wedding, all while she thinks we’re really getting married against her will. And all I can think about is the fact that she had a baby and hasn’t told me. I mean, fuck, Max. What if that baby was mine?”
I grind my teeth together. “I’m losing my bloody mind. What if she gave our child away?”
He counters, “What if she was in love with someone else? You did leave her. You didn’t exactly have a solid base and you left for seven years.”
I growl and pace. “You’re not helping, asshole. I thought you were keeping tabs on her.”
