She blinked quickly, chewing the inside of one of her cheeks as she eyed me. “Um.” Her voice wavered. “We need to talk.”
“Okaaay,” I said slowly. “About what?”
She hesitated, twisting her hands together. I waited, my jaw starting to tighten.
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Tori
I’m pregnant.
I could hear the echo of those two words ricocheting through my thoughts. Kincaid stared at me.
His eyes were wide, and his shoulders were stiff. The silence between us stretched so long I thought I might crack inside.
“What?” he finally said, his voice low and tense.
I swallowed, anxiety spinning like a storm in my chest. “I’m pregnant,” I repeated. With my hands already twisted together, all I could do was tighten my grip, as if holding onto myself. “Um, and I’m telling you.”
I watched as his shoulders rose with a slow, measured breath. He let it out all at once, running both hands through his hair before dropping them to his sides. “How long have you known?”
“What do you mean?” I hedged.
He pressed his tongue into his cheek and pinched the bridge of his nose. When his hand dropped, his gaze locked with mine again. “I don’t know why, but something felt off between us. I’ve had this feeling for days. I was just wondering if this was what it was.”
I nodded slowly, my anxiety clamoring even more loudly inside. “I didn’t expect this,” I blurted. “I didn’t know what to do, and obviously…” My words trailed off as I paced a tight little circle before turning back to face him. “We used birth control,” I added lamely.
“I know,” he said. “It’s not foolproof. Obviously.”
His tone was sharper than I expected, sharp enough to feel as if it sliced the air between us.
“Kincaid, what the hell?” Anger flared in me now. “I just needed time to process. You’ve been gone.”
“Is that when you found out?”
“Yeah.” I exhaled shakily. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do because, as we’ve established, this was unexpected.”
“You could’ve talked to me,” he said, his voice low but firm.
“I’m talking to you now!” I threw both hands in the air and let them fall again. I paced in another tight circle, as if the motion could burn through the panic inside me. “Look, this whole thing—not just being pregnant, but everything—has been a surprise for me. I never, ever, planned to be serious with anyone. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. I don’t—” I stopped, swallowing through the tightness in my chest and throat. “I don’t trust anyone.”
“Anyone?” His voice lifted, sharp again.
I stopped pacing. “I trust my friends. I trust you, kind of. But when it comes to this? Commitment and all that? No. I don’t trust in that. I hope you don’t take that personally.”
He clasped the back of his neck, his head bowing for a second. When he lifted his gaze to mine again, pain flickered in his eyes. “So there’s no chance you’re going to trust me?” He didn’t sound angry anymore. He sounded hurt. “I’m just trying to clarify.”
“I trusted my father,” I whispered. “And, look what that got me.” My voice cracked. “Ten years of lies. Most of my childhood, honestly. I found out when I was sixteen. The affair had been going on since I was six.” My voice trembled, my hands shaking. “Shelly was like a second mom to me.” My eyes stung with tears, and I swung my gaze away from his.
“Tori,” he said softly. “I’m not your dad.”
“I know, I just?—”
“I would never do that to anyone. Ever.”
“You don’t know that?—”
