“Damn straight. Chris saw the picture this morning and hid the bat, just so you know,” Grace told her. “But, I know where the sporting goods store is. You tell me, and I’ll buy two new ones.”
“You’re a good friend.” Emma sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”
“You get out of his apartment. Take all your stuff out. Then, you don’t talk to him. He’s scum and he doesn’t deserve someone as wonderful as you. He screwed up big time and you don’t owe him anything.”
Emma chewed on her lip. It wasn’t that simple. She was carrying his child. She couldn’t just shut him out. But, she hadn’t told anyone about the pregnancy yet. Not even Grace.
“You listening, Emma?” Grace asked. “If you feel like you need to see him, you call me. I’ll talk to him for you. You’re my best friend and I don’t like people messing with my friends.”
Emma smiled a little bit. Her friend’s fierce loyalty at least made her feel a little loved. Someone in the world cared about her.
“Okay, Grace. I’ll do what you said,” Emma replied.
“Okay. I’ll be over in thirty minutes to help. I’m bringing some ice cream and animal crackers.”
“Animal crackers?” Emma asked. That wasn’t a usual breakup food.
“I have Sammy and it’s all he wants to eat right now,” Grace explained. “I figure he’s good for cheering you up.”
“I’d like to see him. See you soon.”
Emma sighed and clicked off her phone. Everything felt hopeless. She pressed her hand to her stomach and closed her eyes.
“Don’t you worry, little one,” she promised the child growing in her belly. “I’ll take care of you. Even if your father’s awful, I’ve got you.”
With that, she started to pack.
Chapter 32
Jackson
* * *
Jackson sat at his desk, head in his hands. He didn’t know how to fix this one. He had screwed up. It wasn’t really his fault, but now that it was happening, he could see a million different ways he could have prevented this.
‘If onlys’ whispered through his mind. He could have pushed the woman away sooner. He should have never been alone. He should have told Emma right away.
That was the one that hurt the most. He should have come straight home and told her that a strange woman had kissed him. She would have forgiven him then. She would have understood.
He sighed. Now it was too late. He’d kept the kiss to himself. For the first twenty-four hours, he thought he was safe. There were no news stories, no leaks. He had thought that it really was just an over-eager business student.
And then came the phone calls. Nearly the instant it hit the tabloids, he was deluged by phone calls.
Now there was a note from his housekeeper that Emma had moved all of her things out.
He ran his hands through his hair. How had this gotten out of control so quickly? He had barely seen the images himself before finding out that his fiancée had moved out. He couldn’t blame her though.
He could only imagine what she must think of him. What she must be feeling. He was a notorious womanizer, and as far as she knew, he had just cheated on her in front of the entire world. If he were in her shoes, he would have left him too.
His office door flew open and hit the wall with a loud thud. Jane stood in the doorway, practically spitting fire. Her normally neat bun was a mess of gray streaks and her shirt was wrinkled.
“What the hell did you do?” she growled at him.
“I didn’t do anything,” he told her, trying to keep his calm.
“You didn’t do anything?” Jane asked calmly, nodding her head as she spoke. “Then how the hell did they get that picture?”
“She kissed me. I was just standing there and she kissed me. I pushed her away.”