She smiled her prettiest smile. “I’m pregnant.”
Taylor had expected stunned silence from Bradley, and she got it, but the effect was interrupted by the ecstatic barking of the dog.
She glanced over her shoulder to see what had gotten Twinkie into such a state…and then froze.
Taylor hadn’t closed the front door all the way after Bradley’s arrival. Hadn’t heard Nick’s arrival.
And judging from the stunned look on his face, he’d heard every word.
Chapter 29
Nick’s eyes flicked from Taylor to Bradley and down to where Taylor’s hand rested on Bradley’s chest, his hands on her hips.
When his eyes came back to hers, surprise had turned into incredulous anger with a heavy side of betrayal.
No!
She lurched back from Bradley, but the damage was done.
Twinkie continued to run happy laps around the three of them, but the dog was the only happy one in the room.
Or rather, Taylor didn’t know how Bradley felt about the situation. Didn’t care enough to even glance at him.
“Nick—”
He hadn’t moved, one hand on the handle of his suitcase, the other around the strap of his laptop bag. He didn’t respond, but Bradley did.
“Is it mine?”
She whirled toward her ex in incredulous exasperation. “What? Seriously? No.”
The very thought of having Bradley’s child felt absurd. Having Nick’s child, though…that felt exactly right.
She turned back toward the only man who mattered, prepared to tell him that. But then she saw the look on his face.
Surprise, yes. Anger, definitely.
But also doubt.
Her mouth dropped open. “Nick. No. It’s not Bradley’s baby. I haven’t been with him in months.”
He looked at her. “The other day, when you asked if I’d been seeing anyone else, I said no. But I never asked you the question back.”
“I wasn’t!” she said, both outraged that she had to explain this to him and terrified by the cold detachment on his face.
“Taylor.” Bradley touched her arm. “Regardless, I’m here for you.”
“Oh, shut up, Bradley,” she snapped, pulling her arm away from. “Just…can you please leave? I’m sorry Jess dumped your ass, but if you thought I’ve been sitting here pining for you, you’re mistaken.”
He glanced at Nick, then her, and she could tell it was finally starting to sink in. “You’re serious. It’s him.”
It’s always been him.
Taylor nodded, unable to bring herself to look at Nick. She was still stinging that he thought for even a second that the baby might be Bradley’s. Not that she expected him to keep track of her menstrual cycle or anything, but he had to know that the math didn’t—
Taylor groaned out loud as it hit her. Bradley wasn’t the only ex wreaking havoc on this situation.
Kelsey had also had a hand in it.
Crap.
More determined now, she wrapped her fingers around Bradley’s forearm and dragged him toward the front door. “Bye, Bradley.”
Nick moved for the first time, stepping aside so she could shove her ex out into the hallway.
To Bradley’s credit, he knew when he was beaten. With one last dazed look at both of them, he shook his head and walked away. At least she was pretty sure he walked away. She’d already slammed the door, not really caring one way or the other.
She took a deep breath and turned to Nick, who was still gripping his bags as though he was preparing to leave at any moment.
Like hell he is.
“Nick.” She swallowed. “I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“No, I expect not,” he said, his voice low.
Her hand dropped to her stomach and she smiled. “We’re having a baby. The doctor confirmed it just yesterday.”
He didn’t smile back. “Thought you were on the pill.”
She swallowed. “I was. I am. I just…I’m so sorry. I’ve been distracted, I haven’t taken them as regularly as I should, I never imagined—”
“How soon until we can get a paternity test?” he interrupted.
She gasped in pain, and even Twinkie went still, as though understanding that her beloved male master had just crossed a very serious line.
“You don’t believe me.”
“What am I supposed to think, Taylor?” he asked. “I’m the chump who came home early to surprise his girlfriend, and I find her in the arms of her ex, telling him that she’s pregnant.”
“I was trying to get rid of him!”
Okay, out loud that sounded a little bit lame. But damn it, she wasn’t Kelsey. She would never try to pass off someone else’s kid as his—she’d never let any of them be uncertain for even one second about whose baby it was.
He was moving toward the door.
“No!” she said, furiously blocking his exit. “You don’t get to just leave because you’ve got demons on your shoulder.”
His eyes flared in anger. “I’ve got demons? You were practically kissing your ex when I got home.”
“This isn’t about Bradley. This is about the fact that you’re reliving the Hannah nightmare all over again. I’m sorry Kelsey let you think she was yours. I’m even more sorry that Hannah wasn’t yours, Nick.” She laid her hand on her stomach. “But this baby…this baby is yours. I promise you.”
He half sneered. “Even if it is, you don’t want it.”
So. Much. Pain.
“How can you say that to me?”
“You told me yourself. You don’t want to do the mom thing, remember?”
“That was…” She waved her hand helplessly, trying to find words. “That was before. Before I realized that the idea of having a baby with someone I love makes me feel entirely different about the situation.”
He went still at her use of the word love, but then he shook his head and tried to move around her.
She tried again, grabbing the front of his shirt. “Are you listening to me, you ridiculously stubborn jerk? I freaking love you, even though you’re being an ass.”
“Just…” Nick took a deep breath. “I need a bit, Taylor. This would be a shock even without the Bradley element.”
“The Bradley element meaning he was here, or the Bradley element in that you still think he could be the father?”
He didn’t answer, and that was answer enough.
Okay, then.
Taylor let her hand fall from his shirt, her head dropping forward. Defeated. Karen would be so disappointed in her. Never let them beat you.
Well, sorry, Karen. This one beat me. He made me love him, but he doesn’t love me back.
Nobody loved her back. Heck, even the dog would probably bound out the door after Nick.
“I’ll be in touch,” he said quietly.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice caustic. “I’m sure you will. Gotta provide that cheek swab for the DNA test, right?”
He just shook his head and walked out the door, closing it behind him with a quiet click.
Taylor heard a terrible sound and a split second later realized it had come from her. A ripping, gasping sound. Had she been more experienced with emotion, maybe she’d have known it for what it was—a sob. The kind that preceded a hot torrent of breathless tears.
She slumped against the door, her body shaking as she sank to the floor. Twinkie licked her face before curling up beside her.