Skylar nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”
As we left the clinic, I didn’t know how to feel. Skylar had been strangely calm since finding out the news, but not in any recognizably positive or negative way, like he couldn’t quite decide how he felt about it either.
It was early evening now, and I thanked our luck that we reached the clinic before closing. A cool breeze blew, making Skylar shudder. I gave him my jacket even though we’d reached the car.
“So?” I asked. “Do you wanna talk about that?”
Skylar leaned against the car, looking tired. He also looked adorable in my jacket, which was a few sizes too big for him.
“Sure. But can we do it on the way home?” he asked.
I grinned and unlocked the car. “My place or yours?”
I’d meant it to be playful but Skylar bit his lip as he slumped into the passenger seat. “I don’t really want to go back to my apartment right now.”
“So I was right about you fighting with Kaden?” I guessed.
“It wasn’t a fight. He just said something that upset me.”
I wondered if it was about anything I discussed with Kaden that morning, but didn’t want to pry when it was clearly a sensitive issue.
When Skylar stayed quiet and didn’t elaborate, I said, “My place it is, then.”
13
Skylar
I thought the news might make me feel even more sick, but it didn’t.
But my reaction wasn’t pure relief, either.
Too many emotions battled for dominance in my mind, giving me an annoying headache on top of the physical fatigue. Was I glad I wasn’t pregnant with Axel’s baby? Yes. Was I also upset that I’d gone through that horrible experience with nothing to show for it? I’d be lying if I said no, but…
Therewasan undercurrent of undeniable relief. If my mistake with Axel created a baby, I would have loved that child fiercely. But my womb was empty. There was no life growing there now.
I felt vaguely disappointed, but also hopeful.
Maybe this could be the start of something bigger, and better,I thought.
I glanced at Rafael, walking a step ahead as he led me into his condo. The spotless floor and clean air of his building was the total opposite of Axel’s. There was no lingering cigarette smoke here. The only thing I smelled was the light fragrance of Rafael’s cologne and the musky, tantalizing scent of alpha.
Ofhim.
I bit my lip.
I entered the unit, thinking about how different it felt this time. Thinking about the first time I was here seemed so long ago. A lifetime ago.
Rafael definitely wasn’t the stranger who saved me that night anymore.
It was evening fully now. The deep blue sky was on full display behind Rafael’s floor-to-ceiling windows. If I craned my head I could see stars in the darkest part of the sky.
“How are you feeling?”
Rafael’s question made me turn.
He stood a few feet away, like he was giving me space. But with every passing moment, I wanted to close that chasm between us.
“Fine,” I said.
