One Foolish Night (Eternal Bachelors Club #4)

“How would you know that?”


“He said so himself. We talked about his sister, and how it hadn’t been a good idea that she got pregnant so early in her relationship with Quentin, and that it ruined everything between them. Trust me, Paul doesn’t want kids. Besides, we’re not even having a relationship.”

Sabrina rolled her eyes. “What do you call it then? You’re sleeping with him.”

“Well, that’s just . . . ”

“That’s just what?” her friend probed.

“It happened, okay? A weak moment. Have you never had a weak moment?” Holly thrust her chin up.

“Of course I have. And I married my weak moment.” Sabrina smirked.

“Well, I guess I’m just not that lucky. So, can we get back to the point? How am I going to convince him that he’s not the father?”

“Is that really what you want to do?”

“There is no other solution.” A tear welled from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

“Then you have to make sure he doesn’t figure out how far along you are. Tell him it was some guy you met after him. And hope he’s gullible enough to believe you. Now you’d better fix your face so nobody sees that something is wrong. Okay?”

Holly nodded. “Okay.” She sniffed. “And not a word to Daniel. You didn’t tell him I was pregnant, did you?”

“Not a word.” Sabrina turned the doorknob. “I’ll see you out there. And for the record: I think you should tell Paul the truth. But you’re my friend, so I’ll support you no matter what you decide.”

When the door shut behind Sabrina, Holly heard clapping from outside and realized that Paul’s parents must have finished their speech. Any minute now, Paul would try to find her.

In the small bathroom, she pressed a cold washcloth over her eyes, trying to make sure they wouldn’t puff up. She didn’t want anybody to know that she’d been crying. It took a few minutes to compose herself and practice the answer she would give Paul: She was seven weeks pregnant and the guy was somebody she’d met on a trip. Not entirely untrue—after all, she’d met Paul on a trip. And seven weeks wasn’t so far off from ten. It could practically be a rounding error.

Holly filled her lungs with a deep breath, opened the door to the pool house, and stepped outside.

“Well, hello again,” a male voice said.

Holly looked to the side and recognized the man as the same one she’d passed on the steps earlier. He appeared even more inebriated than before.

“Hi,” she said curtly, then turned in the other direction, wanting to rejoin Sabrina.

She had taken only a few steps toward the pool, when suddenly she felt a hand on her forearm, pulling her back abruptly. Holly spun around, and in the same instant jerked her arm back to free herself and found herself face to face with the drunk man.

“That’s not very friendly,” he claimed, his face red.

“I’d suggest you leave and sleep it off.” Holly’s eyes darted to the side, where she saw several people talking a short distance away.

“Yeah, how about you and I leave and have us a private party?”

Annoyance quickly turned to anger. She hated guys who couldn’t take no for an answer. Intent on letting Paul know he should have this man removed from the party before he caused any more trouble, she turned away.

“I’ll pay your going rate, of course,” she heard him say, his voice louder than before.

Shock shot through her and made her heart stop for a moment.

When she glanced back at him, she saw something flicker in his eyes. The satisfaction of having found her out? She couldn’t tell. “How dare you insult me like this? I’ll have you tossed out on your ass!”

“Is that a way to talk to a former client?”

Former client? Holly’s stomach lurched and this time she knew it wasn’t due to the pregnancy. This man was a former client? She made a quick assessment, when realization settled in: He did look vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t place him. But he clearly recognized her.

“You have me mistaken for somebody else,” she insisted, and tried to sidestep him.

He surprised her by blocking her. Despite his drunken state, he was still alert enough to be a danger to her. Holly stepped back to try to escape, but he pushed her toward the pool house.

“Oh, no, there’s no mistake.” He reached for her hair. “I wouldn’t forget somebody like you. Not after paying such an exorbitant amount for you.”

“I want you to leave now. Quietly. Or I’m going to call for help.”

He chuckled maliciously and came closer, making her take another step back toward the pool house. “Are you? I doubt that very much. Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re here incognito, and I doubt you’d like all these nice people at this party to know that you’re a hooker.”