Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Good.” Carrie leans over to kiss my cheek. “I’m going to take a bath and then tuck myself in. Unless you need to talk about something or maybe someone who wears big shoes.”
I glance at the floor as an escape. I can’t make eye contact with Carrie now. She’ll see everything I don’t want her to. My sister is an expert at reading my emotions just from looking at my face. “I’m tired. I’ll hit the hay too.”
“We’ll meet in the kitchen at eight a.m. for coffee, okay?”
I round out the lies by letting another slip out. “I have to be at the office extra early tomorrow, so I can’t.”
Her hand taps my shoulder. “Are you sure everything is all right?”
I finally meet her gaze with mine again and nod softly.
She tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “You work too hard. You know that, right?”
“Says the chemist who is always in her lab.”
That makes her smile from ear to ear. “Touché. I do love my lab, though.”
“I love you,” I whisper. “I’m so glad your mom gave my dad a chance.”
“Me too.” Her eyes close briefly. “I think that one glass of champagne is finally hitting me. I may need to skip the bath and head straight to bed.”
“You should,” I encourage her because I need more time alone. “I’ll text you in the morning, Carrie.”
“Good.” She glances at my tote again. “Promise me you’re not going to spend all night focused on what’s in that bag, Abby. Whatever is in there can wait until tomorrow. Your work day is officially over.”
I ignore everything but her last sentence. “You’re right. Work is done for the day.”
That satisfies her enough that she gestures to the hallway. “I’m off to dreamland. Hopefully, that involves some hot guy with good hair.”
As soon as she exits my bedroom, I’m there to shut the door. I turn the lock for good measure before heading straight for my bed.
With shaking hands, I dump the contents of my tote bag on the duvet cover.
My phone spills out, along with keys, my wallet, and a few necessities, including an uneaten candy bar and a vial of perfume Carrie developed months ago.
It won’t hit store shelves until sometime next year.
Those things get a glance from me before I settle my gaze on two rectangular boxes I picked up at a drugstore less than a block from Kalina’s apartment.
I stare at the boxes as a single tear forms in my right eye.
My emotions have been colliding since I said goodbye to Kalina after she told me she is pregnant.
The only protection she used was Llura brand condoms. Still, even though the condoms passed every test imaginable during the development phase, including the crucial air test, she’s about to be a mom.
My hand drops to my flat stomach as a silent sob shakes my frame.
“You’re only two days late,” I tell myself for the third time since I got on the subway to make my way home to Brooklyn. “You take the pill. You’re not pregnant.”
My weak self-directed pep talk doesn’t help. Tears stream down my cheeks.
I didn’t realize my period was late until Kalina mentioned the condom fail. Even though I know I should take one of the tests right now, I scoop up both and shove them in the top drawer of my nightstand.
“Tomorrow,” I whisper, tugging on the belt on my dress to loosen it. “Tomorrow is the day you’ll deal with all of this.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Declan
“I thought I wouldn’t see you for weeks.” Rook laughs. “Why aren’t you at your brother’s apartment holding your new niece?”
“He threw me out,” I confess. “I stopped by there on my way to work this morning. It looked like he hadn’t slept all night, so I offered to watch over Hailey so he could take a nap since Callie was already doing that.”
“I remember those first few days of being a dad.” He adjusts the dark blue tie he’s wearing. “I would have appreciated it if you’d done that for me.”
“I did,” I remind him, reaching forward to straighten the knot on his tie. “You were so sleep deprived that it must have slipped your mind.”
“Probably,” he says, buttoning his suit jacket. “So I take it Sean didn’t want to trade in baby time for sleep?”
“Nope.” I laugh. “He told me to get my ass to work because he was taking paternity leave for the foreseeable future.”
Rook tosses his head back in laughter. “Sounds just like Sean to me.”
I glance over his shoulder toward his desk. “What’s with the flowers?”
With a lingering chuckle, he shakes his head. “My daughter gave me those this morning before I left for work. She told me they’d brighten my day.”
I move around him to get a better look at the three daisies in a mason jar filled with water. “Kirby is a sweetheart.”