Forty Day Fiancé (Sassy in the City 3)

She nodded and reached for my hand. “Help me up, please. By the way, your brother made quite the impression on Isla. She spent ten minutes ranting about how horrid he is.”

“I think the feeling was mutual.” I hauled her off the bed.

“They are both a couple of charmers.” Felicia blew out a breath and reached up with a shaky hand to smooth her hair back. “I guess we can talk about the elephant in the room later?”

“The baby?” I asked. “Yes, but in case you need reassurance, I’m very happy. I know the timing is terrible, but I’m excited to start a family with you.”

She nodded but didn’t respond.

I wanted to tell her that I loved her but when I tried to make eye contact she glanced away.

Yep. Bad fucking timing all the way around.

A bad feeling kicked me in the gut.

But I ignored it and went back to our party.

Seventeen

By the end of the night, I was exhausted. Like the kind of fatigue where walking across the room feels like it might kill you. I wasn’t sure if it was being pregnant or the party or the stress of impending deportment, but I felt like total ass. Any one of those alone would have been enough to droop my sails, but the trio together was like being hit by a truck.

Without bothering to put them away (which would normally drive me bonkers) I kicked off my Louboutins and reached behind me to unzip my dress. I couldn’t reach the damn zipper. “Michael!” I yelled, in a burst of frustration.

He appeared in the doorway of my closet in a towel, as if he’d been about to step into the shower. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking at me like he wasn’t sure if he should grab me or call 911.

“Nothing. I can’t get this dress off.” I dropped my hands. “I’m going to scream if I can’t be in bed in the next three minutes

.”

He walked into the closet and unzipped the dress. He held my hand while I stepped out of it. “Should I hang it up?” he asked.

“I don’t give a shit, honestly.” Initially I’d been happy about the baby, about the townhouse, but as the night wore on I had to admit I’d been expecting some kind of speech or declaration of his love from Michael.

We had a week before my visa expired and I’d got it in my head that this would be the night we discussed if this was going to stick or not. I’d thought he would either say something publicly or we could have a conversation about it without him knowing about the baby. I didn’t want him to be with me solely because of a pregnancy. But the devious bastard had somehow spotted the test. Not that I’d hid it particularly well in my panicked state, but still.

He was going to push to marry me now, I knew that. Yet I still had no clue how he actually felt about me. Plus, there was a little concern that kept popping up in my head.

“How do you think I got pregnant?” I asked as I pulled open a drawer and pulled out an oversized T-shirt. I wanted to sleep in cotton.

He gave me a grin. “Want me to show you? I can give you a hands-on demonstration.”

“I’d rather sleep for a week straight but thanks for the kind offer.”

Michael’s towel knot slipped and he held it together with his fist. “If you were feeling better, I’d think you made my towel slip with your mind. You are a witch, remember?”

I wasn’t in the mood for witty banter. “I’m serious. How did I get pregnant? We used condoms.”

“They’re not foolproof.”

“You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?” I asked, just needing to address the issue straightaway.

“What?” To his credit, he looked astonished. “Why the fuck would you ask that? No, of course not.”

“Your mother told me at lunch I should check the condoms to make sure you hadn’t poked holes in them. She said that’s how much you want a baby.”

His nostrils flared. He rubbed his jaw. His eyes were angry. “My mother has no business talking about my sex life. Though I doubt she was actually serious. It sounds like she was joking. But why would you think for one second I would do something that manipulative and fucking psycho?”

He was angrier than I expected. “I don’t know. Maybe because you’ve made it very clear from the beginning what you want from me is a baby.” I pulled the shirt on over my head.