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“I’m sorry!” I said as soon as we were stopped.
He held up his hand, breathing deeply like he was trying to control his temper. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“…yes.” I said slowly.
“Is that why you ran?”
“Yes, and no.” I took my own gulp of air and tried to order my thoughts. “I ran because I didn’t think I could ever find you again, and I knew that I might be pregnant. I couldn’t live as a single mother in Vegas, but I’ve had a few cousins who lived here so I thought I could come here.
“I was hoping we would find each other again and I could give you your ring back, but I haven’t been able to find a place to live yet and I can’t afford the security deposit, so I’ve been living in my car. Last week someone broke into it and I had to get the window fixed and replace my phone for work, so I had to pawn your ring to cover it.
“Look, I know what I did wasn’t mature, but I have no idea who you are or how you’d react. I had no idea if you’d try to force me to get rid of my child! I did what I thought was best and I am so, so sorry if that hurt you. I will sign the divorce papers or whatever else you need. You don’t have to-”
“Hold on,” he said sharply, cutting me off. “You’re living in your car?”
“It’s just what I need to make due for the moment. I’ll get back on my feet, don’t worry.”
“I…just…I-” He shook his head and looked just as flustered as I was. “This is a lot to process. Maybe we can go to lunch, talk this all out?”
Wait, what? He was being peaceable about this? I had to admit, he was surprising me pretty hard. I expected a lot more yelling and swearing, but so far everything had been pretty amicable.
“Uh no, it’s past my lunch break and I can’t just leave work.” I tried to think of a compromise since he was being so gracious. “But I can do dinner if you’re willing to wait until I get off at six.”
“Yes, that would work. Just…” he gave me a look that was somewhere between reproach and hope. “Please don’t run.”
“I won’t.” I answered sheepishly, my mind trying to catch up with the speed at which everything was taking place. “That was a special circumstance, I promise.”
“I hope so,” he said before turning around and walking off.
I stood there a moment, just trying to calm my breathing. I couldn’t believe that in just a few short moments, my life had been turned upside down again. Geeze, my luck was like a rollercoaster and I never knew where the hell it was taking me.
I realized that I needed to get back inside before my coworkers noticed that I was missing. I didn’t want to get reprimanded by the boss the moment that I had gotten out of my probationary period. I had the feeling I was already on thin ice for being pregnant, even if they didn’t say so directly due to legal reasons.
Rushing back in, I sat behind my desk with my heart pounding a million miles per minute. But even with all the adrenaline flowing through my system, I still felt a bit of relief.
The maybe marriage that I wasn’t sure had or hadn’t happened had been weighing on me heavily for months. I didn’t like leaving things up to chance or being uncertain about anything, so the confirmation was pretty nice -as was the revelation that James just wanted a divorce.
I guessed that was just the best I could hope for, given the situation. Then again, we hadn’t had dinner yet. Maybe he would pull out some real whammies then.
I guessed I would have to wait and see.
Chapter Ten
~James~
I was still reeling from the news, wondering if I was dreaming and somewhat hoping that I was.
I couldn’t believe she was pregnant. When she confirmed that she was, it was like my entire world had shifted. Suddenly, there wasn’t just her, me and the divorce, there was a child involved.
Well, a potential child.
I was still one hundred percent sure I wanted the divorce, but I was already remembering why I had clicked so strongly with her in the first place. She just had this sort of presence to her, a sort of honest eagerness that I didn’t encounter so often. It helped that she was also ridiculously beautiful and had a sense of humor too.
I couldn’t deny the fact that something in her rounded belly and slightly widened hips made me want to protect her, and that which was growing inside of her. Was it the man in me, wanting to guard his offspring? Or was it something else? I didn’t know. And I didn’t think it was important that I knew why, just that I would.
