My stomach heaved. I leapt from the bed and got to my bathroom just in time to throw up.
And before you say anything, I know what you’re thinking. Morning sickness, right? I’ll be honest. That’s what I thought too. My night of passion with Grant? That one night that was supposed to be our secret, that no one was ever going to find out about, that was never going to lead to any consequences. That night we’d decided not to use a condom because Grant thought it would be sexier. That night that he’d spilled his semen into me and I hadn’t even had the good sense to use the morning after pill. That night he’d told me to call him husband.
Yup. That night.
Maybe I’d been hoping for this all along. I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything any more. My life was falling to pieces all around me, and I’d just accepted a proposal from a man I wasn’t in love with. As I cleaned myself up and left the bathroom, I made a note to call my doctor. I needed a pregnancy test. Not exactly the ideal thing to be taking care of the day after being proposed to by another man, but I didn’t have a choice.
What would Rob say if he ever found out about this?
I showered and dressed, went downstairs, and who did I run into in the kitchen?
“Good morning, sunshine.”
“Good morning, Grant.”
“How are you today?”
“Great, Grant,” I said, a little more frostily than I should have. He was being perfectly nice, but I was kind of ticked off that he might have put his baby inside me without so much as a please or a thank you.
“Anything new?”
There was a mischievous look on his face. What was he hinting at? Had he heard me throwing up? Did he suspect I was pregnant with his baby? Was he taunting me for that? No! He couldn’t be. Grant was a lot of things, but he wasn’t cruel. Plus, he couldn’t have heard me throwing up. My room was on the opposite end of the mansion from his, a precaution my father had had the good sense to take seventeen years ago.
“Nothing new, Grant.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Because you know you could tell me anything, right?”
I looked at him. He was being genuine. I knew him well enough to know when he was teasing me, and this wasn’t one of those times. He was genuinely offering me his ear. Why? Had it crossed his mind too that I might be carrying his baby? Did he feel bad for the way things had gone down between us? He should have. We could have been a thing, he and I. We could have made a life together. If I wasn’t pregnant with his kid, we could fix that. I just had to imagine his enormous cock to know that we could easily fix that little issue.
But no. He didn’t want it.
I shoved past him to get milk from the fridge. I felt the powerful mass of his muscle beneath his white shirt. It made me long for him.
He reached out and touched my arm, gently, kindly. What was up with him? I’d done everything. I’d tried it all. I’d fucked him without a condom. I’d given him a chance to scare off Rob. I’d even called him from Club Viper and asked for his help. I know I wasn’t perfect in all of it. I hadn’t exactly been clear about what I wanted, but Grant had made up for it. He’d been clear about what he didn’t want, and he didn’t want me, no matter what I did.
I took a deep breath.
“You know what, Grant?”
“What, Lacey?”
“This isn’t official yet, so don’t tell anyone.”
“Tell them what?”
“Rob proposed to me last night.”
Grant’s face was blank. No reaction. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I thought there’d be at least some reaction. It was almost as if he wasn’t surprised by the news.
“So, I guess I’ll be marrying him soon,” I added.
“Did you set a date?” he said.
“Not yet. We just talked about it a little, last night.”
“And you’re certain it’s what you want?”
“As certain as I can be,” I said. I wasn’t sure what I meant by that.
He looked at me inquisitively, but I didn’t offer any explanation.
He smiled, but there seemed to be a sadness in his smile.
“I’m happy for you, Lacey.”
“Thank you, Grant,” I said.
I grabbed my cereal and hurried out of the kitchen. I didn’t want him to see me cry.
*
AFTER BREAKFAST, I THREW UP AGAIN. I called the doctor and made an appointment. I didn’t say what the appointment was for. I just knew I had to know what the situation was before I could think clearly about what I needed to do. How did I get myself into such a mess?