Dameon
“Doubleshotlatte,”thewaitress announces, placing the steaming cup in front of me. I flick the sugar stick, tear it open, and pour it into my coffee.
“Thank you,” I say curtly, dismissing her.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” She bats her overly long, fake lashes. Her thick, painted-on black eyebrows and splotchy fake tan make her look like she could use a good scrub in the shower. When will women learn that most men prefer natural beauty?
“I’m good, thanks,” I say.
“Well, if you change your mind…” She winks and saunters back behind the cash register.
I sip my coffee and focus on what I’m going to say. I’ve being doing a lot of soul-searching these past few weeks. It’s killed me to have no contact with Hailee. Going cold turkey and cutting her out of my life was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’m glad she respected my wishes and didn’t contact me, but it stung at the same time. I was craving a fix of my human ball of sunshine. Dr. Avery said that I needed time and distance to calm down and look at things rationally. So, I took his advice. But damn, did I miss her. Badly.
“Hey.” Hailee slides into the chair opposite me, looking beautiful as always, her face fresh and the tips of her blonde hair still wet from the shower. Her sundress is short and cute, just like her.
“Morning.”
She smiles, but there’s a hint of sadness in her eyes, which are shadowed by dark circles that suggest sleepless nights.Welcome to the club.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
“Been better.” She shrugs.
Being in her presence is bittersweet. It hurts, yet at the same, I crave more.
“Don’t I know it,” I say. I feel sorry for her, but at the same time, she brought this upon herself. She did this to us. “You wanted to talk, so here I am. What is it that you wanted to say, Hailee?”
She takes a deep breath and places her palms on the table. “I amnotpregnant. You believe me, right?”
She looks into my eyes with such sincerity, how can I not believe her?
“Your stepfather wasoverjoyedabout the news,” I tell her.
“Wait, Mark told you that?” she asks.
“He came to see me that afternoon to share thewonderfulnews of your pregnancy, and to fill me in on how the two of you have been scheming behind my back. I thought he was lying at first, just trying to get under my skin. But when I found that pregnancy test, well…”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe him!” She looks ready to murder someone. “I have no clue how that pregnancy test ended up there, but it’s definitely not mine, or Beth’s.”
“Okay… I believe you.”
She sighs and mumbles “thank fuck” under her breath, which makes my lips twitch.
“Can I get you anything?” the waitress interrupts, glaring at Hailee.
“I’ll have a green tea, please.”
“Hold on, can you bring her a breakfast burger too?” I add.
Hailee pitches an eyebrow.
“You look like you need it,” I explain.
When the waitress returns with her pot of tea and breakfast, she inhales it like a seagull, and my lips twist to the side to smother my smile. I’ll always care for her, no matter what. But that pregnancy test is niggling at me. If it’s not Hailee’s, someone inside my home was setting her up.
“Let me explain about that slimy bastard, Mark,” Hailee says, wiping her mouth. “There has only ever been one piece of communication between us. And I can assure you, if I ever was pregnant, he’d be the last person on earth to know. I can’t stand that prick,” she adds. “But I did betray your trust, Dameon. And I’m so, so sorry. If I could take it back, I would. All I sent him was a photo of your calendar, outlining one of your meetings. There was no scheming behind your back, no spying, no grand plan to ruin you, certainly not on my part.”
“And what did you think he would do with that information?” I ask incredulously. Mark wasn’t going to sit idly on that intel and not use it to his advantage. She must have known that.
