Page 79 of The Pact


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Letting out a soft sigh, Sabrina flared out the skirt of a little flowery dress. “I swear, my ovaries melt whenever I look at baby clothes. My biological clock starts ticking even louder. Do you still want seven kids?”

Recalling my childhood plan, I chuckled as I began wheeling the empty basket along the faux wooden floor. “I haven’t wantedthatmany since I was at least eleven.” I stacked the basket on top of the pile near the propped-open door and then returned to my friend’s side. “I think three is a nice number, but I wouldn’t be opposed to having more.”

“Tamara wants two,” said Sabrina. “I don’t really care how many we have or—dear Lord.” She grimaced at her reflection in a wall-mounted mirror. “Could no one have told me that my bangs are all frizzy?” she demanded.

“It seemed more fun to let you find out the hard way.”

“You suck.”

Chuckling again, I fingered the soft cotton sleeve of a white tee that was positively adorable. I’d hopefully be returning to the boutique at some point in the not-so-distant future to shop for my own baby. The thought warmed my chest and made my lips curve.

I glanced to my left as movement caught my eye … and I happened to clash gazes with Felicity through the store window, who stumbled to a halt on the sidewalk, her lips firming.

My smile faded. Ugh. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her crap.

I mentally urged her to keep walking, but there was no such luck. She strode inside, her shoulders stiff, her chin up.

“Wonderful,” Sabrina uttered.

Wasn’t it just.

Felicity stopped directly in front of me, and her gaze dropped to the tiny t-shirts I was looking at. Her eyes met mine again, hard and scornful. “That explains why my cousin married you—and with such speed. You’re pregnant.” She sniffed. “I should have guessed.”

I thought about correcting her assumption, but I owed her no explanations. So, instead, I gave her a soft, mocking smile. “Now let’s be civil, Felicity. We’re practically family.”

The corners of her eyes tightened. “I’ll bet you got pregnant on purpose to trap him.”

“Not all women have to manipulate men into committing to them.”

An amused snort popped out of Sabrina.

Felicity looked me up and down, her top lip curling slightly. “You would have had no other way of making him tie his life to yours. Dax is so far out of your league he’s a mere dot on your horizon.”

“As you can surely tell, I’m terribly hurt you have such a low opinion of me,” I said, my voice bone dry. “It’s gonna keep me up at night for certain.”

Sabrina gave my shoulder a pat. “At least you have Dax to fuck you back to sleep.”

“There is that,” I said.

Sabrina tilted her head at Felicity. “I would have thought you’d be relieved that Addie’s quite clearly moved on from Grayden. Oh no, wait … the idea that she’s not pining after your man is something you actually detest, isn’t it? There’s no joy in ‘winning’ when you’re the only one taking part in the competition.”

Felicity gave her anoh, pleaselook. “It’s obvious she only ensnared Dax to get Grayden’s attention.” Her gaze cut back to me. “You thought he’d leave me, rush to your side, and offer you everything if only you’d walk away from Dax. I’ll bet you got quite a shock when he didn’t try to stop the wedding from going ahead.”

I let out a bored sigh. “Such a thought-provoking parable. I suppose I also thought that Grayden would totally raise the baby you’re convinced I conceived to trap Dax.”

“I suspect you would have insisted on it, since you would have wanted to use the child to get money from Dax.”

“You know, you’d have made a kick-ass detective.”

Sabrina barked a laugh and turned away.

Her cheeks reddening, Felicity blasted me with a harsh glare. “You won’t convince me that you’ve quite simplyfallenout of love with my husband.”

“Ex-husband,” Sabrina helpfully chipped in, but the bitch ignored her.

I exhaled heavily. “If the only way you can feel satisfied in your relationship is by believing that someone else wants your partner, fine, believe it. Believe I crave Grayden with every fiber of my being. It doesn’t bother me none. Because the truth is, Felicity, at the end of the day … you’re irrelevant to me.”

“To the world,” Sabrina added under her breath.

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