The room went quiet.
For a moment, Theo didn’t understand why. He had only been half-listening to the speech. But then he looked at Harper and saw that her face had drained of color. Confused, he replayed Tara’s last words in his mind.
Then he heard it.
Pregnancy.
Tara had said that Harper was pregnant. That was what that meant. And suddenly, all the pieces fell into place.
This was why Harper had been so distant lately. This was why she was treating him so awkwardly today. This explained everything.
Anger blazed through him.
Why hadn’t she told him this? What was she thinking? No matter what her plans were, no matter what was on her mind, he had a right to know. He should have been the first to know. He shouldn’t be finding this out in a drunken wedding speech made in front of dozens of people. How could she have done this? How was he supposed to process this information under the circumstances?
Harper looked as if she wanted the floor to swallow her up. Her arms were wrapped around her torso, her gaze fixed firmly on her feet. Even now, there was a part of Theo that wanted to take her in his arms and shield her from this moment.
But the part of him that was angry with her was much stronger and much louder. It was all he could do to keep from yelling at her and making this that much worse.
He had to get away.
He turned and ran from the room before the ugly words that were at the back of his mouth could fight their way forward. He didn’t want to tell her what he was thinking right now, and he didn’t want to speak to anybody else.
It wasn’t until he had burst through the door and out into the fairy-light-strewn courtyard that he slowed down and allowed his thoughts to catch up with him.
What did this mean? If she really was pregnant — and based on her reaction, he was sure that it was true — what did it mean for them? What did it mean forhim?
He was the father. He was sure of that. Of course, it was possible that that wasn’t true, and he couldn’t have explained why he felt so certain. Maybe he was being foolish, but he didn’t think so. There was something about the energy between the two of them that just made him feel confident.
But if that were the case, what did she want him to do? He had money. He was willing to help her out in any way she wanted. But did she want more than that? And if she did, why on earth wouldn’t she have asked him?
If she did ask him, what would he say? He had choices in this too, didn’t he?
He sank down onto a bench and buried his head in his hands.
“What are you doing out here?”
He looked up and saw his brother standing above him with his arms folded. Max glowered down at him. Theo was impressed. He had never seen his brother look like this before. Usually, when he looked at Max, he was reminded of the child Max had once been. But today, Max looked like a man.
“Is it true?” Max folded his arms across his chest.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Theo said. “First I’m hearing of it, if it is.”
“And this is how you respond? Running out here and leaving her alone in that room with all those people?”
Theo looked up at his brother. “Even if itistrue, what does it have to do withme?”
“Give me a break,” Max said. “Other people might not see through you, Theo, but I do. I’ve known you all my life. I know all your tells. I saw the way you looked when Tara said the word ‘pregnant’. I know you and Harper have been spending time together leading up to the wedding. And I’ve seen how awkward you’ve looked around each other all day. You slept with her.”
Theo looked down. He couldn’t deny it, of course. He also couldn’t bring himself to face his brother.
“You can’t just walk out on her,” Max said. “You can’t do to her what our father did to our mother.”
Theo felt as if someone had set his insides on fire. His head jerked up. “This is nothing like that.”
“Get back in there and talk to her,” Max insisted. “Harper deserves that from you. And you owe it to yourself as well. If you’re going to be a father, that isn’t something you can hidefrom. You’ve got to get in there and confront it head-on. It’s the only way forward.”
CHAPTER 23
