Dirty, Reckless Love (Boys of Jackson Harbor 3)
She slides the pictures back to me. “I’m sorry my brother’s been such an idiot. I think he’ll turn around when he learns about this.”
“I hope so.”
“Where’s he staying?”
I shrug. I’ve been trying not to think about that. “With Molly, I assume.”
She shakes her head. “Molly went back to New York yesterday.”
“Well, I slept at home last night and never heard him come in.”
Ava’s phone buzzes, and she frowns down at it. “Crap.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“My dad still isn’t home,” she says. “Jill texted to tell me she went to the station to file a missing person report.”
I bite my lip. My problems are pretty big, but not missing person big. “I’m sorry. Did he and Jill have a fight or anything?”
She taps out a quick reply before meeting my eyes. “She doesn’t fight, but I honestly don’t think they’ve had a good relationship for a long time now. Molly and I were hoping she’d leave him.”
“Doesn’t make this any less stressful, though.”
She shrugs. “I’m sure he’ll show up. I mean, his boat isn’t at the marina, so he’s probably out on it somewhere, forgetting that the entire world doesn’t revolve around him and he needs to check in sometimes.” She reaches across the table and takes my hand. “Let’s talk about you. What’s next?”
No matter how scared I am of what comes next, I have to face it head-on. “Next, I tell Colton I’m pregnant.” And that I slept with Levi.
I climb out of my bathtub and check my phone. Still no word from Colton.
“It might just be you and me, kiddo,” I whisper to my belly. I grab my robe off the hook on the wall and shove my arms through the sleeves as I walk out into the living room.
Colton is sitting on my sofa.
“When are you due?” His voice cracks. He’s holding my ultrasound pictures—the little stack of thin paper cradled in both hands, as if the images are as fragile as the child itself.
“The middle of January.” I pull the tie on my robe tighter.
When I got home from my appointment, I decided to run a hot bath and left my purse and the black-and-white images on the coffee table. He must have come home while I was in the tub.
Home. Is this his home anymore?
He lifts his eyes to meet mine, and the pain there makes guilt slice through me. “How could you keep this a secret?”
I open my mouth to say, How could you cheat on me? But I bite back the words. If we fight, we’ll never have the conversation we need to have. “When I first found out I was pregnant, I thought you were about to propose.” I lower myself onto the couch—beside him, but not too close. “I didn’t want to mess it up by telling you. I know it’s stupid, but I wanted the proposal without you knowing about the baby.” It’s the truth, but hearing myself say it out loud makes me feel childish. I should have told Colton weeks ago.
He drags a hand over his face. “That’s not stupid. Not at all. I’m sorry.” He traces the picture with shaking hands. “Christ, I’m so sorry.”
I press a hand against the ache in my chest. It’s no use hoping he might tell me he’d been planning that proposal. We both know he wasn’t. “But instead of proposing, you were pulling away. You and Molly—”
His head snaps up. “There is no me and Molly. There’s never been anything between us. I had a crush on her when we were kids, but she’s my stepsister and that’s it.”
“She’s more than that. She’s the mother of your child. And even if you weren’t sleeping together, don’t sit there and insult me by telling me there’s nothing between you. You two have been involved. Maybe just emotionally, but what you have is s
omething deeper than anything you and I have shared lately.” I swallow, clinging to my courage when it wants to leave me. “That’s not going to go away just because I’m pregnant.”
His lips part as he studies the picture. “I’m pretty sure this changes everything, El.” He lifts his head. “Everything that matters, at least.”
“Everything that matters has already changed between us. I wasn’t sure why or exactly when, but now I think it changed when you found out about Noah. You changed when you found out about Noah.”