“Wait….” The lingering hangover made it difficult to process what she’d just said. “No… that’s not…. He wasn’t.”
“Ohmigod!” she laughed hysterically. “This is great! Youactually thought helikedyou? Let me guess. You thought there was a connection between the two of you? That it was something special, that youmeantsomething to him?”
When she phrased it like that, I started to feel just as pathetic as she was insinuating. Uncertainty and insecurity began to creep in.
“Let me tell you something, sweetie. You. Are. Not. Special. I mean, I get it, I do. The man isunbelievablein bed, but you were nothing more than some chick willing to spread her legs and keep him entertained for a few hours. I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t even remember your name.”
“That’s… that’s not true,” I whispered lamely, blinking back the sudden burn behind my eyes.
“Oh, but it is,” she said with false pity. “As a matter of fact, his instructions to me just ten minutes ago were ‘There’s a brunette in my bed. Make sure she’s gone in the next ten minutes.’ That sound like an everlasting connection to you?”
I was absolutely mortified. For the first time in my life, I’d slept with a man just hours after meeting him, and not only did he lie to me about who he was, but he sent someone else to kick me out of his home first thing in the morning. I wassuchan idiot.
Ignoring the smug, condescending look on Kimber’s face, I jumped from the bed and dressed frantically, doing my best to keep the sheet in place as I slid my dress and panties back on. As soon as I was covered I threw the sheet aside, stood, and prepared to look for my shoes, only to find she already had them in her hands and was holding them out for me.
Snatching them away, I slid them on my feet, grabbed my tiny purse from the bedside table, and started out the bedroom door.
Her voice followed me down the hall, each nasty word from her mouth a piercing barb against my skin. “There’s a cabwaiting outside for you. And no need to worry your pretty little head, the driver’s already been paid. Standard procedure for one-night stands and groupie hookups.”
I ran like the Devil himself was chasing at my heels, nearly face-planting on the tile floor at the bottom of the stairs. I didn’t once bother to look at my surroundings; instead, I got my footing and hightailed it out the front door.
It was only once the cab started down the long, circular drive that I allowed myself to cry.
But only for a minute. That asshole didn’t deserve any more than that.
Three monthslater
“You have to call him.”
“I’m not calling him,” I managed to say through the dry heaves.
“Gwen! You have to!”
I stopped hugging the toilet bowl and scooted back until I was resting against the side of the bathtub, the offending stick that started the puke-fest laying on the bathroom floor right beside me. I curled my lip at it like it had personally offended me.
Reaching for the cold, wet washcloth Corrine held out to me, I closed my eyes and placed it on my forehead while working to calm my pounding heart. “Corrie, even if I wanted to call him—which I absolutelydon’t—I wouldn’t have the first goddamn clue how to reach him. I was a one-night stand, remember? The dickhead didn’t even have the decency to walkme out the morning after. He sent his snarling pit bull to do it for him.”
“I’ve got it!” she yelped, making me jump in fright. “Be right back!”
I sat on the floor while I waited, staring up at the old water stains on the ceiling above our tub/shower combo, wondering, once again, how I’d gotten so lucky in the best friend department.
She’d been by my side the past few weeks while I woke up every morning, sick as a dog, barely able to hold anything down. She’d fretted over me, insisting I go to the doctor because she was convinced I had some sort of virus. She’d held my hand in the pharmacy while we looked through the shelves of pregnancy tests. If it hadn’t been for her taking the reins, I probably would have still been standing there, frozen in a state of shock and horror.
“Here!” She ran back into the bathroom, waving her phone in the air. “I struck out with Declan Forrester the night of the party, but Ididhave a rather steamy make-out sesh with one of the sound tech guys. He’s been texting me nonstop ever since. Bet he’d have Garrett’s number.”
I chewed on my bottom lip as I stared at her phone like I was scared it would grow teeth and bite me. After running out of the mansion in Clyde Hill that fateful morning, I’d been determined to put the entire horrifying experience behind me. I was happy to pretend it had never happened, and I’d done everything in my power to avoid any and all mention of Civil Corruption and Garrett Wilder. I’d done pretty damn well up until this morning.
“I don’t know…,” I muttered.
“Babe, you know I’m totally on your side, but you can’t keep this from him. You’re pregnant with Garrett Wilder’s baby. Youhaveto tell him.”
I looked down at my still-flat belly and placed my palm against it in a protective gesture. It hadn’t really hit me until that very moment, but once it did it was like being run over by a semi. I was pregnant. I had another life growing inside of me. And as much as I hated admitting it, I didn’t want to do it alone.
“Okay,” I finally relented, looking up at my best friend. “Call the guy. See what he can do.”
“On it.” Corrine leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You know,” she paused, waiting for me to look up at her. “Lydia would be beside herself with excitement.” Corrine gave me a small, sweet smile as the mention of my mother’s name filled my eyes with tears. “She’d want you to be excited too, honey. A baby isn’t a bad thing.”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
