“Wait, what?”
“Get your things. I’ll drive.”
I swallow. Great. Now I’m going to be poked and prodded all over again.
Three days.
It’s been three days since the alley. Since Lucas. Since I fought like hell and walked away.
The bruises are still there—light purple blooming beneath my collarbone and over my shoulder, hidden beneath my thick sweater and wool coat. The ache in my ribs hasn't faded either. But I’m here. Breathing. Living. Carrying my baby. Moving forward.
Ethan has barely let me out of his sight. He tried not to hover, but it’s in his DNA. Every time I wince, he notices. Every time I blink a little too long, his hand finds mine. He’s trying to be strong for me—but I see it. The fury he keeps buried under calm eyes. The guilt.
I never blamed him. Not once. But that hasn’t stopped him from blaming himself.
Shifting the phone in my hand, I scroll through the flood of messages I haven’t had the energy to answer. But one stops me cold.
Roland Blake.
It’s been weeks since I’ve heard from him. I like Roland. He’s blunt, honest, and just sweet. I don’t believe Ethan when he says the older man has ulterior motives. But it has been a while since he reached out to me. I check the message and frown.
He wants to meet up. Urgently?
I stare at the screen, unsettled. My thumbs hover.
“What is it?” Ethan glances at me from the driver’s seat. We’re heading to a restaurant to meet his family for dinner today. It’s the first family dinner since I moved in with him. I’m already nervous.
“Roland messaged me. He says he wants to meet today.”
“Delete his number.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ethan. I’m not deleting his number.”
“You have no reason to talk to him.”
“I’m not flirting with him, for God’s sake!”
“I never said you were.” He shoots me a grim look. “But whatever he wants from you, he can come to me for it.”
My teeth grit. “Ethan, everything said and done, you’re not in any position to be making decisions for me. You can make a suggestion, and I can consider it. But tell me what to do again, and you won’t like how I react.”
His eyes flicker with amusement as he looks at me, a hint of desire darkening his gaze. “Oh, yeah?”
“I’m not blocking him. I want to meet him. You’re welcome to join us. And before you say anything, I’m going to ask him to come to the office to meet me.”
He doesn’t look pleased, his jaw tightening in that way that simultaneously irritates and attracts me. “I don’t like him, Natalie. He looks at you funny.”
“You think everybody looks at me funny.” I roll my eyes at him, suppressing a smile. “Next you’ll be growling at the barista who makes my tea.”
He just shrugs, his eyes briefly leaving the road to trail down my body. “You just don’t see it.”
I choose not to answer him. Instead, I shoot Roland a message that I’m busy today, but I can meet him tomorrow. I tuck the phone back in my purse and sigh. “So, my mother really did bail him out then?”
“Lucas?” Ethan turns the corner of the street. “Did it surprise you that much?”
“No.” I turn my head to look out the window. “I just didn’t think it would be that fast.”
“Considering he was arrested the same day—” He overtakes a car. “—Lucas has connections. I’m surprised that your mother had to pay the bail. He has enough to pay it himself.”
