Page 104 of Dirty Boss

And all of a sudden, there were two lines where there had been none before. I stared at them in denial, looked up to stare at my shell-shocked face in the mirror, then tucked the pregnancy test into the bathroom trash can and walked out into the apartment’s main living area.

My blood pumped so hard my face tingled.

I was pregnant with Vaughn’s child, and I had no idea what to do about it.

FORTY

ALBA

Elena sat backin her chair, tapping the end of her pen on her chin. She looked me up and down, and it took all my muscle memory not to fidget. She was as intimidating as anyone I’d met at a white tie affair, and I’d just asked her for a huge favor.

“I need coverage for the brunch crowd on Sunday. You can do a shift, and then we’ll talk.”

“Thank you!” The words burst out of me, and I forced myself to take a breath. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”

“Mmhmm,” she replied, turning to mark my name down on this week’s schedule. “Be here at seven a.m.”

“No problem.” I turned toward the door, relief making my knees weak.

“And Alba?”

I met her dark gaze. “Yes?”

She glanced down at my midsection, giving me a small smile. “Congratulations.”

She was the first person I’d told, so it was the first time I heard the word. I swallowed thickly, then dipped my chin. “Thank you. For everything.”

“If you talk back to customers the way you did before, I won’t hesitate to take you off the schedule again. Baby or not.”

“Understood.” A broad smile spread across my face, and I darted out of the office before she could change her mind.

It wasn’t my dream job, but it would give me a lifeline. I said goodbye to the cooks and made my way outside, lifting my face to the spring sunshine.

I still didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if it was possible to make it on my own. I didn’t know how to talk to Vaughn when even thinking about him made my chest feel tighter.

But I had a job. That was a start.

Elena didn’t treatme like I was made of glass. After my second double shift in a row during my third week back at work, I stumbled through my apartment doorway and collapsed on the couch. My feet were killing me, but Deena had gifted me a foot spa bath after listening to me complain about it every day for three weeks. As my head lolled on the couch, still nauseous even though it was evening, the sight of that little tub sitting next to the couch was my salvation. I smiled, hauled myself off the couch, filled it with water, and then soaked my feet and fell asleep where I sat.

I turnedsideways in the mirror, running my hand over my lower stomach. If my pants hadn’t been a touch harder to button this morning, I might have thought I was imagining the slight swell of my belly. I bit my lip, heart thumping. There was no way I could do this on my own.

I had no choice but to do it on my own.

I would do it on my own.

The sonographer tappedher keyboard and angled the ultrasound wand, the clear jelly warming on my skin with every passing minute. The whooshing sound of a tiny, fast heartbeat echoed in the room.

“Do you want to find out the sex?” she asked, moving the wand so the black-and-white image on the screen sped to a new view.

My heart clogged up my throat. “Yes,” I whispered. “I’d like to know.”

Sweat drenched my back,my front, my underarms, and my unmentionables. Summer had blasted into the city, mugging us all with humidity and heat. I pushed open my apartment door and propped it open, then turned to drag in my latest purchase.

The bassinet was used, but it was serviceable. It was a soft gray with a thin white mattress, and the woman who’d sold it to me had thrown in a few sleep sacks she no longer needed. I hauled the whole thing to my home office—soon to be nursery—and tucked it into the corner.

It was still early to be buying things—I was barely out of my first trimester—but I hadn’t been able to pass up the deal. With most of my time spent at Carmine’s to save up what I could in what little time I had, I knew I couldn’t afford to wait until the last minute.

After I’d guzzled a glass of water, I tiptoed back into the room and picked up one of the sleep sacks. It was soft green, with darker green leaves dotted over the fabric. It looked impossiblytiny. I carefully folded it, put it back on the pile of baby things, and then closed the door and went to get ready for work.