He shook his head. “She played me. Hard.”
“How’d you find out about the lies?”
“I confronted Carson and got a whole different side of the story. He never abused her. She’s seriously messed up in the head.”
“She seriously wanted you back.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t make any sense, but it doesn’t matter anymore either. Lesson learned.”
Zahara was impressed he’d gone to such lengths to get the real story. Even more impressed
he’d handled the fallout with such dignity. He could have really smeared Lila, but he’d stayed professional.
A moment of silence filled the space. The sound of the waves filtered in.
“Look—” she started.
“Listen—” he said at the same time.
They both laughed.
He gestured to her. “You first.”
“We need to get on the same page about the baby.”
“Agreed.”
“I found a great doctor, and I’m going to have the baby at UCLA Medical Center.”
“Fantastic.”
“Because I have no idea how this is all going to work afterward, I’d like to keep the baby with me for the first few months.”
He nodded emphatically. “Absolutely.”
She paused, confused. She hadn’t been expecting agreement. She’d been expecting argument. “I guess I just want to play things by ear. I want you to have time. I just don’t know when that should start yet.”
“I’m totally okay with that.”
“Then, I guess that’s all I have,” she said. “Your turn.”
“I didn’t think you could get any more beautiful, but you look fucking amazing.”
She smiled and looked down at her big breasts and mounded belly. “I feel a little whale-ish. Everyone loves to tell me how much worse it will get.”
He looked like one of those kids who’d just landed in Hollywood, all dreamy eyed. “I can’t wait.”
“Well, there’s one of us.”
He sobered. “I know I’ve said it before, but I couldn’t feel worse about getting you released from the film. I handled that so, so badly, and I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to stop working. I just wanted to do the right thing by you.”
She’d listened to every message he’d left over the last two months. Sober, drunk, exhausted, he’d said as much in a dozen different ways. But she hadn’t been brave enough to call him back.
“It’s still hard to admit,” she told him, “but it worked out for the best. And for what it’s worth, in my heart, I knew you weren’t trying to hurt me. I could have handled it all better too.”
“Newbies, right?”
She laughed. “Totally.”