Fuck.
I forced back the pain and opened my eyes. I gave Honey a reassuring but fake smile because Jesus Christ, it was hard to make those face muscles work. “We’ll work it out.”
“It will mean the end for us.”
“I’m not with you because you’re pregnant—”
“So you’ve been saying. I guess we’ll see . . .” Her words faded away as she turned her head and sank her teeth into her bottom lip. I wanted to stop those lips from trembling. But damn if I could stop the sudden whirring in my head.
“I’ll make an appointment for the doctor—”
She cut me off. “I already have.”
“For when?”
“Tomorrow at two pm.”
I had a full day booked at the studio, but I would reschedule it.
“I’ll pick you up at one thirty,” I said, taking her hand and lifting her to her feet. I pulled her to me, as close as I could while there was a big baby bump between us.
Which was fucking ironic.
Her bump was coming between us physically for now.
But was it about to come between us completely?
With two fingers I raised her trembling chin so I could look into her beautiful blue eyes. They were stormy with torment and wet with tears. Without a word, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. At first it was chaste, but when it came to Honey I couldn’t help myself. Her lips parted and I kissed her hard, my tongue drinking her in, my lips moving passionately over hers. She twisted her fists into my shirt and I felt her agony sweep through me. I pulled away, caressing her face with my thumbs.
“Whatever happens, what we have is real.”
Sadness washed over her beautiful face. She nodded but I knew she didn’t believe me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be.” I gently brushed her hair from her face as my heart slowly began to break apart in my chest. “We’ll see the doctor and take it from there, okay?”
She nodded and I felt her relax a little. But I needed to get out of there. I needed to process what the fuck this all meant.
“Put your feet up. I’ll go get us pizza for dinner.”
Trying not to look as rocked as I felt, I grabbed my car keys off the coffee table. I bent down and gave her a kiss goodbye and left.
I didn’t want her to see the chaos taking place inside me.
My girl might be pregnant to another man and my baby might not exist.
And I was devastated as fuck.
HONEY
“Explain the situation to me,” Doctor Perry asked.
Caleb and I sat across the desk from my doctor, the one who’d confirmed my pregnancy only six months ago. I’d just confessed to him that I wasn’t sure if Caleb was the father or not.
“I caught my boyfriend of two years with another woman. We broke up and I met Caleb a few days later and we spent the night together.” My cheeks began to burn. “We used condoms but I thought one of them might have been faulty because he was the only person I’d had sex with following my period two weeks earlier. Turns out I was wrong.”
“How so?” Doctor Perry asked.
“Apparently there’d been an incident a few nights earlier with my boyfriend.” My face grew even hotter. “And we didn’t use a condom. Well, I assume we didn’t because we didn’t usually. I can’t remember because I’d taken a sedative following a minor car accident.”
Doctor Perry nodded. “I see.”
“So we’d like to do a paternity test,” Caleb said. I glanced at him. His body was rigid. His easy-going nature gone. “We’re wondering what our options are.”
“Of course.”
“So what are the chances that this is my baby, Doc?” Caleb asked.
Dr. Perry looked at him over his glasses. “You used a condom. The other guy didn’t.” His hands parted and then closed together in front of him on the desk. He didn’t need to spell it out for us. His silence and the hand gesture spoke volumes. I tried to swallow, but the cold lump in my throat made it impossible.
“So how long will it take?” Caleb asked, his jaw clenching as he shifted in his chair.
“We usually have results back in three weeks.”
“Three weeks!” I gasped.
Three weeks.
It was going to be three weeks of hell.
Three weeks of hell to find out it was Charlie’s baby.
Because I knew it was.
Even the doctor had suggested that the odds were in his favor.
The look on Caleb’s face almost broke me. It was rigid, his eyes hard. I watched his throat work as he swallowed deeply. He was trying to hide his feelings, but I could see this was hurting him.
You’ve done this to him.
When he caught me looking, he tried to give me a close-lipped smile but failed. Instead, he just looked remorseful. Disappointed. Hurt. And guilt crashed through me.