Not the situation.
Never that.
But the fact that when my world is falling apart, there are people on either side of me. How different it is from three weeks ago.
Three weeks.
Has it really only been three weeks since my dad’s surgery? Almost four weeks since the auction and Nico.
It feels like so much longer.
A month. I fell in love with this man in a month. It seems crazy to think about now. How it was all just sex at first. And that hasn’t stopped at all, as we fuck every chance we get.
But it’s more than that.
It’s more than just—
I sit up straighter.
A whole month. We’ve been doing it every chance we get.
And the whole time, I never…
My mouth dries.
“It’s stress,” I murmur to myself. “Just stress, right? It can do that.”
Nico leans closer. “What's that?"
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “Just… thinking.”
Stress or... I could be...
No.
I’m not.
I can’t be.
I force myself to breathe normally, even though it feels like I’m suddenly breathing through a straw.
My period is late.
Not by a little. By a lot.
I tried to explain it away. The stress. The schedule change. The terrible sleep. All of it makes sense. My body has been through the wringer. It’s not that big of a deal.
Except it is.
It’s a huge deal. Because it doesn't matter what I've gone through before, my period has always been consistent and on time. It's one of those things that I can always count on. But I've been so focused on my dad and this thing with Nico... I didn't even think about it.
And now that I’m thinking about it, my entire body flushes with heat that has nothing to do with the stuffy waiting room.
I’m in love with a mafioso. My dad might be dying of septic shock. And I might be pregnant.
My breath hitches.
I can't do this.
