I’d been sent to Sacramento for a week to make a bid on a project and couldn’t wait for some alone time with him when I returned.
I was repacking my bag, waiting for Bennett to pick me up for a weekend getaway, so I flung the door open, assuming he was early. I was ready to throw myself into his arms, kiss him, and let him sweep me away into a love bubble of just us at a bed-and-breakfast by the ocean. But my feet skidded to a stop before I broke the threshold. Familiar blue eyes stared back at me.
“Hello, Delaney,” Kristie said.
Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail on top of her head. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt that said “Color Outside the Lines” with a pair of worn-in Birks.
I looked past her, not seeing Bennett and wondered what was going on.
“Hi.”
“Well, I can tell from that response that there’s no need for introductions.”
“Kristie.” I crossed my arms, trying to prepare myself for why she was at my door. Hell, how she knew where I lived in the first place is still a mystery.
“Yes, Bennett’s wife.”
“Soon-to-be ex-wife, you mean.”
She huffed a laugh as if saying, you foolish, foolish girl. “May I come in?”
I stepped aside and opened the door a little farther, allowing her into my space. Looking back at it now, that was a big mistake. “Sure.”
“Thanks. You’re as sweet and beautiful as Bennett said. That girl next door vibe for sure.” She walked over and sat on the edge of my sofa.
“You know about me?”
She laughs, her head falling back. “Yes.” She chuckles again. “I’ve been competing with you for years.”
I sit on the chair adjacent to her but stay on the edge because I was pretty sure this conversation wasn’t going to be her saying she wishes us both the best.
“I’ll just cut to the point because you look like a little fawn caught in the headlights on a dark highway… I’m pregnant.”
Any response was swallowed by my shock.
“And it’s Bennett’s.” She rolled her eyes, as if it was absurd that I’d have a facial expression that said I was doubtful. “I’m almost three months along. But yeah, he doubted me too, so he went for a paternity test, and he’s the father.”
I sat there in shock, panicked and unable to say anything, feeling as if my dream was slipping away.
Her lips turned down. “Sorry to blow up your little lovefest.” Her hand fell to her stomach and rubbed a circle as if I wasn’t already thinking about the baby growing there. “If it makes you feel better, it hurt me to tell Bennett there’s a kink in his plan to reunite with the woman he believes is his soulmate.”
Anger flared in my veins. I was over sitting silently and letting her play the game she wanted to play. I’d reached my patience level for her to come to my house with her snarky attitude, acting as if Bennett and I were just a joke, and I was the mistress. She was the one who blew up her marriage by sleeping with his friend. “What do you want? Why are you here?”
Kristie positioned her purse in her lap, unzipped it, and pulled something out, placing it on the table in front of me. “I’m here for her.”
The ultrasound picture showed nothing but a little white fleck surrounded by dark with her name printed on the top.
“Cute. You thought I was lying.”
I pushed it closer to her, and she picked it up, admiring it for a second, smiling, before placing it face up on the table once more.
Bennett failed to mention how much Kristie enjoyed games.
“Again, why are you here?”
“I’ve always been irregular, you know. I thought it was a long shot I could be pregnant. I figured there was no way it was Bennett’s, but then I remembered that last time when we both decided to try again. I guess destiny had other plans for us.”
“Get on with it,” I said, annoyed and wanting her to leave so I could talk to Bennett. So we could figure this out. Sure, it would be tricky and uncomfortable, but he could still be a father to his little girl…
