He stills, resting his forehead against mine and gasping for breath. “What?”
“I can’t…” My voice breaks. My whole body is begging me not to let go of him. But Levi’s words float back to me. I can’t move forward until he knows the truth. “I have to tell you something.”
He pulls back, confusion clouding his eyes. “Now?”
I swallow hard, fingers shaking as I lower my hand from his chest, smoothing out his T-shirt. “Something I should’ve told you a long time ago.”
He stiffens and tilts his head, patiently waiting, having no idea I’m about to blow up his life.
“Leia…” Her name trembles out of my mouth. “She’s yours.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sean,
* * *
Bennett showed up an hour after Kristie left.
Had she not already outed what he was about to tell me, I would’ve known something was wrong the minute I opened the door.
His hands were tucked into his pockets, while dark, heavy bags weighed under his eyes, and the look on his face… It’s still so vivid in my memory.
That was the moment I knew it was over. His decision was made, and I didn’t make the cut.
I stepped aside to allow him in, not giving him my usual kiss and hug whenever we saw one another outside of work. I’m guessing he didn’t even notice because his mind was somewhere else entirely.
My bags were packed by the front door from an hour before, I’d been prepared for a weekend of sex and love.
His gaze flickered to them, hurt reflecting back at me. “How was your trip?” he asked, stalling.
“Fine. We got the bid.”
He nodded, and even with all the pain on his face, he managed a small smile. “I knew you’d do it.”
I shut the door behind him, and he sat on the couch, exactly where Kristie had. When I sat on the chair instead of next to him, he tilted his head but didn’t question me. Instead, he slid closer to the edge of the couch and took my hands.
I tried to steel myself. I had taken the hour before he arrived to prepare myself, but there was that sliver of hope that he’d still pick me, even if that would be nothing like the Bennett I knew.
“While you were away, Kristie reached out to me.” His eyes constantly fought to stay on me. One minute he looked down at our hands, then across the room, until they landed on mine again, only to do the whole rotation over again.
“Oh?” I heard the lack of surprise in my question, but Bennett was so lost in what he was feeling and the decision he’d made, he didn’t notice.
He raised his head, eyes on me. “She’s pregnant.”
I nodded.
“I went for a rush paternity test, and the baby is mine.”
I nodded again.
He reached for my wrist and started tracing an infinity symbol. His gaze fell to his hand, probably thinking, like I was, how there would be no forever for the two of us. He clenched his jaw hard, and my heart cracked.
“She’s asking for another chance. Wants to raise our baby back in Willowbrook. Try again.”
Words clogged my throat, so I waited for him to finish, to put the last nail in the coffin of our future.
“I’ve thought a lot about it. We could stay here and be coparents, but…”
