privacy.” Trina grabbed Autumn’s hand and tugged her to the door. “Let’s talk engagement party over coffee.”
Travis scooped up Hopper and Matt followed.
“I stole her thunder,” Cadence whispered. “I’m just one fuckup after another waiting to happen.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” Bradley clipped. “For you to feel like you killed our child by the choices you made then you knew…for what…a day? Days? A week? Yet,” his voice grew rough, “you didn’t think I had a right to know?”
“I found out two days before I returned home from vacation. I didn’t know what to do.” Her excuses seemed lame, and the anger radiating off the body that gave her so much comfort minutes ago, scorched her. On wobbly legs, she shifted to one of the stalls and leaned against its wall. “I planned to talk to Trina.”
“My sister gets priority over the father?” She hadn’t thought the pain in his tone could get worse. It did.
Heart pounding out of control, she sucked in a breath and held a hand to her chest as the ache pierced her heart, adding to the self-inflicted scars. “No.” She rested her head back, squeezed her eyes, and released a breath. I’ll get through this. I can do this. It’s off my chest now. He knows, and soon the whole happy family will. A few more minutes, and I’ll escape. Go to the nearest bar, drown my sorrows, and find some man to have some meaningless sex, and forget I exist.
“Look at me!” He growled, his presence surrounding her. The pain in his eyes would last her a lifetime. She would just keep her eyes shut and wait him out. Soon, he’d get tired of her foolishness, her deceit, and take off. “Open your eyes, Cadence.”
“You’ve grown balls. Big ones,” she said, going back to their previous conversation in hopes to rid the tension and bide her time from his anger until she left…for good.
“They’re not up for discussion. Now, open them!”
She did, and looked straight into his greenish-blues with strands of his sun-tipped hair dangerously close to falling into them. Her fingers itched to move the wavy locks out of his way. His eyes, while firm, held compassion and remorse. “It’s gonna take me some time to digest what you’ve told me.”
“I—”
He put a finger to her lips. “Let me finish.” When she nodded, he slid a hand over his face. “You’ve had two years to get used to all of this. I have to digest the excitement that I would have felt for becoming a father, and then deal with the grief of losing a child.”
“You didn’t lose your child.”
“The hell I didn’t!” He hissed out a breath. “Please don’t say anything. I’m not in the mood or of the mind to argue.” He braced a hand on a support beam beside her and leaned close. “Listen to me. I lost a baby just like you did. You carried him—” He inched back, his face darkening like a storm cloud. “Wait, you said the baby was a boy. There’s no way to know the gender that early.” His eyes closed and his jaw clenched. “The baby couldn’t have been mine. There’s no way to know you’re pregnant in less than a month. Why fuck with me like this?” His fist hitting the boarded wall she leaned against echoed his anger.
“Tell that to the doctor in Cancun then,” she sobbed. “Then explain to the doctor at the hospital who spouted out the news I lost my baby in front of my parents. Can you imagine hearing the news with them?”
“Clarify how you knew the sex.” When some of the tension lessened in his tight expression and shoulders, it gave her hope that he might understand.
“Instinct,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “In my heart, I believe our baby was a boy.”
Eyes that had filled with disgust now brightened, yet the specs of blue didn’t shine from his irises. The greenish-blue that resided in his eyes when content made him unique, irresistible. What Bradley meant to her tumbled through her mind. He was her best friend’s
Travis scooped up Hopper and Matt followed.
“I stole her thunder,” Cadence whispered. “I’m just one fuckup after another waiting to happen.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” Bradley clipped. “For you to feel like you killed our child by the choices you made then you knew…for what…a day? Days? A week? Yet,” his voice grew rough, “you didn’t think I had a right to know?”
“I found out two days before I returned home from vacation. I didn’t know what to do.” Her excuses seemed lame, and the anger radiating off the body that gave her so much comfort minutes ago, scorched her. On wobbly legs, she shifted to one of the stalls and leaned against its wall. “I planned to talk to Trina.”
“My sister gets priority over the father?” She hadn’t thought the pain in his tone could get worse. It did.
Heart pounding out of control, she sucked in a breath and held a hand to her chest as the ache pierced her heart, adding to the self-inflicted scars. “No.” She rested her head back, squeezed her eyes, and released a breath. I’ll get through this. I can do this. It’s off my chest now. He knows, and soon the whole happy family will. A few more minutes, and I’ll escape. Go to the nearest bar, drown my sorrows, and find some man to have some meaningless sex, and forget I exist.
“Look at me!” He growled, his presence surrounding her. The pain in his eyes would last her a lifetime. She would just keep her eyes shut and wait him out. Soon, he’d get tired of her foolishness, her deceit, and take off. “Open your eyes, Cadence.”
“You’ve grown balls. Big ones,” she said, going back to their previous conversation in hopes to rid the tension and bide her time from his anger until she left…for good.
“They’re not up for discussion. Now, open them!”
She did, and looked straight into his greenish-blues with strands of his sun-tipped hair dangerously close to falling into them. Her fingers itched to move the wavy locks out of his way. His eyes, while firm, held compassion and remorse. “It’s gonna take me some time to digest what you’ve told me.”
“I—”
He put a finger to her lips. “Let me finish.” When she nodded, he slid a hand over his face. “You’ve had two years to get used to all of this. I have to digest the excitement that I would have felt for becoming a father, and then deal with the grief of losing a child.”
“You didn’t lose your child.”
“The hell I didn’t!” He hissed out a breath. “Please don’t say anything. I’m not in the mood or of the mind to argue.” He braced a hand on a support beam beside her and leaned close. “Listen to me. I lost a baby just like you did. You carried him—” He inched back, his face darkening like a storm cloud. “Wait, you said the baby was a boy. There’s no way to know the gender that early.” His eyes closed and his jaw clenched. “The baby couldn’t have been mine. There’s no way to know you’re pregnant in less than a month. Why fuck with me like this?” His fist hitting the boarded wall she leaned against echoed his anger.
“Tell that to the doctor in Cancun then,” she sobbed. “Then explain to the doctor at the hospital who spouted out the news I lost my baby in front of my parents. Can you imagine hearing the news with them?”
“Clarify how you knew the sex.” When some of the tension lessened in his tight expression and shoulders, it gave her hope that he might understand.
“Instinct,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “In my heart, I believe our baby was a boy.”
Eyes that had filled with disgust now brightened, yet the specs of blue didn’t shine from his irises. The greenish-blue that resided in his eyes when content made him unique, irresistible. What Bradley meant to her tumbled through her mind. He was her best friend’s
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