Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“And then we saw her in Paris, and she caused that huge scene.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t say anything to me about all of this, even though you told me that you’d been with her.”
I sigh again and rest my forehead on the back of her hand. “I thought it was over. It had been over for a while. I was absolutely not expecting her to decide to hurt you, Polly, or I would have had my men take care of it.”
“I feel like this might be something we should have anticipated,” she says with a frown. “If she was that unhinged before, it makes sense, Ryan.”
“Fuck.” I push my hand through my hair and stand to pace myself.
“Hey, no fair, I can’t do that.”
“I’m sorry,” I say and look down at her, so small and frail looking in that bed. “You’re right, I should have figured she would try something, and I didn’t think of it because I’ve been too focused on you and Jake and this incredible life we’re building. I should have thought of it. I’m smarter than that.”
“Yeah, you are. But your security team should have thought of it, too.”
I stop and nod. “You’re right. That’s their job. I suspect after Claudia is charged with attempted murder, assault, stalking, and any other charges we can bring against her, we won’t have to worry about her anymore.”
Polly takes a deep breath, lets it out, and her bottom lip starts to quiver.
“Ah, baby.”
I rush back over to her and pull her against me.
“I’m so sorry, my love. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she says with a sniff. “I’m extra emotional these days, and maybe the past hour is catching up with me. But we have to talk, Ry.”
“I’m right here.”
She starts to speak, but the doctor comes in with a smile.
“Good news,” he says as he puts films on a light board and turns it on. “No break. Looks like you just wrenched the knee, so you’ll need ice and some ibuprofen for that. Oh, wait,” he consults the chart, “you’ll want to stay away from ibuprofen if you can. Let’s stick with Tylenol, but if that doesn’t help, you can take a small dose of the other, but not after twenty weeks. I’ll write that down for you.”
I frown. Twenty weeks of what? She’ll have knee pain for that long? I’m no doctor, but that doesn’t sound right.
“Let me get some discharge instructions printed for you, and you can go home,” he says. “Take it easy, and be sure to see your doctor as soon as possible.”
“Thank you,” Polly says as he leaves the room. She turns to me, and her green eyes suddenly look guarded. “I have to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
She blows out a breath and then bites her lower lip.
“Hey, it’s okay. What’s up?”
“Oh, Jesus, this is harder than I thought.”
I narrow my eyes on her. “Polly, I’m going to need you to say what you need to say, please.”
“I’m pregnant.”
I blink rapidly and feel all the blood drain from my face as she stares up at me.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah. I literally just found out this afternoon, and I was on my way out to the ranch to talk to you when the accident happened. I wasn’t keeping it from you, Ryan. I promise.”
“Okay.” I nod and take this in.
“I suspect it happened in Paris,” she continues. “I screwed up the timing of my pill because of the time change, and even missing it by like eight hours appears to be enough for your superhuman sperm to do their thing.”
I shove my hands into my pockets as I watch her face. I can’t tell how she’s feeling.
“Say something,” she finally says.
“How do you feel about this?” I ask her.
“I’m not thrilled,” she admits and then closes her eyes. “And I feel guilty about that. But, Ryan, we’re just starting, and I’m still building a business, and it’s just really bad timing. And by the look on your face, you’re not exactly elated about it.”
“I’m actually really happy,” I reply, “but I need to know what you feel. Let’s get you out of here and home, and then we can talk.”
“Okay.” She licks her lips and nods just as Jake comes strolling in with Chase right behind him.
“Do you need to ask her questions right now?” I ask him, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Or can you talk to her tomorrow?”
“I’m not here for that,” he says, shaking his head. “I’ll do a formal interview tomorrow. I wanted to stop in to make sure Polly’s okay.”
I smile at my brother and then down at the love of my life, lying in that bed.
“I’m going to be okay,” she assures him. “Thank you for stopping by.”
“That’s what brothers do,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “It’s what family does. You call any one of us if you need anything.”