He leans forward, grabbing my hand. “I know this shit is rough right now, but we’re going to make it through. We just need to be there for one another. No fighting. No holding things back. The press hasn’t run as many features since we went silent and those images of Lena being escorted away in the police car surfaced. The world knows there’s more to the story and it’s best if we let things die down a little more before we move forward. But the important thing is that we do move forward. You’ll get another book deal, and I’ll get another movie.”
“But what if—”
“Nope.”
“Corbin—”
“You’re coming with me to California and doing the tour,” he states, not giving me any time to argue before there’s a knock at the door and Dr. Ray pops his head in.
He instantly notices Corbin in the chair by the wall, his white brows arching before he closes the door behind him. “I heard there was quite a stir in the waiting room. Sorry to keep you two waiting.”
The two shake. “Corbin, sir.”
“Oh, I know,” the doctor chuckles, loading my file on the computer. “My daughters are fans of yours, Mr. Callum. Now, Kinley, you’re far enough along to determine the sex of the baby if that’s something you’re interested in.”
Corbin and I share a look. His eyes brighten even more than they already were, making me smile over his enthusiasm. When I look back at the doctor, he’s waiting. “We’d like that. Thank you.”
My eyes focus on Corbin as Dr. Ray applies the gel onto my stomach and presses the wand against me. When the softest thumps of a new heartbeat fills the room, Corbin’s lips part the same way mine did.
And it’s easy to tell he’s a goner.
He squeezes my hand tighter as he locks eyes with the screen, his throat bobbing as Dr. Ray points out a few body parts he sees on the screen. When the wand stops, I know he must have found what he’s looking for.
“Ah, right there.” He taps the screen, causing me to peel my gaze away from the silver-eyed man beside me and at a spot on the screen his finger points to. “It looks like you’re having a little girl.”
My heart dances. “A girl?”
Corbin raises my hand to his mouth and presses a kiss on the back of it. “A girl, Little Bird.” He laughs and swipes at his face as he watches the screen some more as Dr. Ray captures a few images.
Seeing his reaction makes everything that’s left me bedridden and depressed disappear. We’ve both had our fair share of losses, but I can’t hold onto anger or else it’ll consume me.
He’s right.
We’ll make it through this.
Together.
The three of us.
I blink at the dress clinging to my body. I’ve avoided fitted clothing like the plague because ever since I hit the third trimester, I’ve hated the reflection I see in the mirror. My belly and boobs are huge and covered in stretch marks, and I feel the opposite of beautiful.
My lip quivers as Corbin stares at me from his bedroom doorway. Or ours, according to him. Spending Christmas with our families seemed surreal, but even more so was the flight back to California. We’d both tried keeping to ourselves but were noticed just before boarding, leading to a lot of cell cameras pointed in our faces and questions thrown out.
Now I’m here, in his condo, looking like a beached whale.
“I can’t wear this, Corbin.”
“You look beautiful.” He walks in and trails his eyes slowly down the front of me, the color flashing with lust that I truly don’t understand.
“I look like a whale.”
An angry expression crosses his face. “I don’t want to hear you say that again, understood? You are gorgeous, Kinley. Stop being down on yourself.”
I go to open my mouth, but he glares.
Sighing, my eyes look back into the mirror, studying the long black maxi dress. It’s plain and simple, nothing extravagant, and under any given day I’d love it. But not today.
“I don’t see why I can’t just wear what I normally do,” I whine, wanting my leggings and oversized sweatshirt. Though the AC/DC sweatshirt, which mostly just says C/D on it from the faded lettering, fits me better than normal because of the size of my midsection.