Page 188 of Craving Consequences
I sniffle and search her face. “Really?”
She rolls her eyes again. “No, but I might be having a half sibling so I mean...”
“I tried really hard,” I tell her.
Silence extends for several seconds while she glowers up at the ceiling. When she finally speaks, her voice is resigned.
“I’m not saying I’m glad he picked you, but ... I’m glad it was you. I always worried he’d get lured in by one of theJefferson women and I’d get a Stepford stepmommy. At least I like you. Occasionally.”
“Hey!”
We grin at the other.
Lauren reaches over and lightly taps me on the nose. “I will like you a whole lot more if it’s a girl.”
“No pressure,” I grumble.
She shrugs and sits up. “A boy is fine, too, but I’m still buying him girl clothes.”
My chuckle is met with her lopsided grin.
“Laur?” I murmur.
“Yes, my love?”
“Thank you ... for everything.”
Her smile slips. “I don’t need a thanks.”
I push up and face her. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
She turns her face away. “I mean, it would have been weird if you were holding my hand through it.”
I frown at her attempt at humor. “That’s not funny. You know what I mean.”
Blue eyes fix on me from a face set in shadows and annoyance. “Don’t worry about it, okay? In the end, we won and that’s all that matters.”
Reminders of our actions only the day before have my stomach churning.
“Do you think I should tell Lachlan?” I blurt.
Lauren’s brows pull together. “Tell him what? That his son’s a piece of shit? I think he already knows.”
“You know what I mean,” I mutter.
“Why? What difference will it make?”
I shrug, shifting uneasily. “Bron was his son. What if he goes on wondering what happened to him?”
The other woman studies me for a long moment. Too long. Long enough that I have to drop my gaze to keep her from burrowing into my skull.
“It was your idea,” she reminds me, not with malice, but a gentle reminder. “You can’t back down now. It’s too late for regrets.”
“I don’t regret what we did. I know I would do it over again, but...”
“But nothing. You tell Lachlan, you really will have something to worry about. No matter what, he will not understand. He won’t thank you for ridding the world of one piece of shit. So, keep it to yourself. You can’t change what we did, nor should you give that motherfucker anymore power.”
She’s right of course.
