16
ETHAN
Iwas halfway through reviewing a quarterly report when my phone vibrated beside my keyboard. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then I saw Callie’s name flash across the screen. My breath stalled in my chest.
I grabbed the phone so fast I nearly knocked over my coffee. The preview of her message made my pulse slam against my ribs.
I opened it, and the world dropped out from under me. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The words blurred as my vision stung, but I kept reading them over and over, as if my brain refused to believe they were real.
She was pregnant.
A ragged sound tore out of me. I pushed away from my desk, standing because sitting felt impossible with my chest caving in on itself.
I hadn’t been there when my wife found out she was carrying my baby. She’d been alone in a shitty hotel bathroom. Because of me.
My stomach twisted so violently I had to brace a hand on the edge of the desk. Guilt hit first, followed by a swell of overwhelming love that couldn’t be contained.
My hands shook as I typed.
Me
Callie, please. Let me see you. Anywhere. Anytime. Just tell me where and when.
I stared at the message after I sent it, my jaw clenched and my heart hammering hard. Every second she didn’t reply felt like a punishment I’d earned a thousand times over.
Then three dots finally appeared.
I held perfectly still, barely breathing until her reply came.
Callie
We can meet in the lobby of my hotel. Fifteen minutes.
Relief hit so fast my knees almost buckled. She was giving me a chance. Maybe the smallest one in existence, but I’d take it.
I grabbed my jacket, my keys, anything I needed to get out the door. Then I typed the only thing I could manage as I ran for the elevator.
Me
Send me the address. I’ll be there.
It took me fourteen minutes to make the drive. The hotel was nothing like the places I’d taken Callie before. The lobby furniture was worn, failing under the weight of too many bodies and too many years.
I stood near the far wall, clutching my phone like it was the only thing keeping me upright. Then the elevator dinged. WhenCallie stepped out, I felt like I took my first full breath since she walked out.
With dark circles under her eyes, she looked exhausted, but she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Her hand drifted toward her stomach in a small, protective gesture that nearly brought me to my knees.
“Callie,” I breathed.
She stopped a few feet from me. “You wanted to talk.”
“I wanted to apologize.” I gestured toward the nearest couch. “And explain. But I don’t even know where to start.”
She perched on the edge of the couch and crossed her arms over her chest. “Start wherever you need to.”
I nodded, swallowing hard before I forced myself to look her in the eyes. “Everything that happened, it wasn’t just me dropping the ball. There was more to it all than Sophie confessing her feelings to me the night of the gala. I told you that part already. But it wasn’t just that.”
“I was glad you shared that with me.” She pressed her lips into a firm line before confessing, “I actually overheard part of your conversation with her on the terrace during the gala. You told her you were glad she said it, and I was terrified of what might come next, so I left.”
