“Stop it,” he said, looking a little broken, frowning at me. “You’re being harsh.”
“I’m scared.”
Our eyes met then. He looked scared too. We’d messed up this life, we’d hurt one of the best people in the world, and she would never even be able to get away from it. Her niece or nephew was someone I was sure she’d never abandon, even if their father was her cheating ex. Because they would be exes, they’d have to be.
There was no coming back from this.
Harry opened his mouth to speak again when the server arrived at our table with two plates. He plonked them down with no real care and dipped away, already onto the next task.
I looked down at my burger, starving but stilted, unable to move. Harry’s hand found mine across the table, and he gave it a squeeze. It was impossible to keep up any anger at him. It just wasn’t there. We were in this together.
When our gazes met, there was that heat, that fire, that connection. Something so intense crossed between us, and I did not know what it was, how it had started. I barely knew him. But his DNA was working its magic inside me. He was burrowed beneath my skin in more ways than one.
“It’ll be okay,” he muttered, his eyes dipping down toward my stomach. “We’ll make sure it’s okay.”
“She’s never going to forgive me,” I whispered.
His jaw twitched, and he released my hand, reclining and grabbing a fry, chewing on it while he contemplated.
“We need to talk about the, uh, baby, too.” I winced. I’d kept it at the back of my mind too, not letting the impending arrival play around in my head too much. Because I was under twelve weeks, things could still go wrong; that’s what I told myself. It didn’t seem real. Despite the nausea and the weird aversions to smell and taste, it didn’t feel real yet.
I never expected to have Harry back, to have him involved. He was supposed to be the mysterious client who’d never know he'd handed over some of his DNA.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” Harry said then, his tone serious, heavy. “I’m all in with the baby. Everything about it. About you, love.”
“You don’t even know me.”
He nodded. “You’re right, I don’t know you like I should, but I want to. I will. That’s one thing I’m sure of, weirdly enough. We will know each other.”
Something in my heart unclenched; I believed him. He was so powerful with his words, so open with his emotions. So why couldn’t we make a plan for Victoria?
How the fuck were we going to break that news?
Chapter Ten
Harry
Twoweekslater,westill hadn’t told Victoria anything. As fate had it, she was out of town or I was busy for a lot of the last fourteen days, so it was easy to ignore. Zora and I were both massive chickens. Massive.
Victoria had followed her parents’ desired path, working for a big corporation that always had her in different cities. It had never posed an issue for us; we’d never been a couple to need each other like that.
And that grew even more obvious for me in how obsessed I was with her sister. Through every night I lay in our bed by myself, I realized just how little I needed Victoria. How long it had been since I had wanted her in any meaningful way.
So, the disgusting ass I was, I’d lie under the covers Victoria had chosen and dream about her sister, about the baby she was growing, about what a life withherwould look like. The wrong sister.
Both Zora and I had neglected to share the truth, burying our heads in the sand and continuing on like we weren’t about to blow shit up, both admitting to avoiding looking Victoria in the eye whenever we were in her presence.
We’d also kept seeing each other, unable to keep away for more than a day. At any time that we were both free, we were together. For hours, or minutes, or overnight. We’d neglected to go to either of our homes, only hotels or moody bars with dark lighting, but it was becoming clear there was something big between us.
I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
So when she’d asked me, as I left the cheap hotel she’d booked for the night, if I wanted to come to her next sonogram, it was an easy yes.
“Aaand…” the sonographer said, moving the little jelly-covered wand over Zora’s lower stomach. “…there they are.”
We both tilted our heads, trying to spot what she was showing us on the small screen. It was all grey-scale and weird looking, patchy kinda.
How could I not have accepted this invite? I wasn’t lying when I said I was all in. Even if we had to get to know each other while also getting to grips with the mess we’d caused, I was in it with her. I didn’t want to miss a moment of this.
