Page 154 of Veil of Lies

“I’m here if you need me, OK? Just call me. Anytime. I’ll even drive up and get you if it all goes tits up.”

“Promise?”

“Yes. You got this. Be brave!”

I ended the call. She was right. It was time to pull my big girl pants on. Whatever happened, I would deal.

Chapter 116

Stella

I pulled on a tee and shorts. It was hard to believe just a short time ago, I was delirious with happiness. Sandwiched between my boys and high on orgasms. Now it felt like the whole world had tilted on its axis; everything that was previously up was down. All the things I thought I knew no longer made sense.

Harley glanced up as I stepped through the sliding doors on to the deck. He smiled and held out a beer. “We’ve been waiting for you to wake up before eating. Guess we wore you out, huh!” he joked.

I fidgeted nervously. Normally I would have rushed over to sit in his lap, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Not when I wasn’t sure whether they would want me once I broke the happy news. Or not happy, depending on the outcome.

Quinn and Brax broke off their conversation and stared at me when the tension became too obvious.

“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked, one eyebrow raised. Of all of them, he was the one I figured would read me the best. “Are you sick?” His eyes narrowed with concern as he quickly scanned my body then relaxed slightly when he saw nothing amiss.

“So yeah, I need to find a 24-hour pharmacy,” I said, pulling my poker face on. I hated hiding shit from them but until I knew for sure, I didn’t dare say anything. Either to get their hopes up…or freak them out completely.

“What for?” As ever, Harley had zero filter.

“Girl’s stuff,” I replied with a bright smile, deliberately vague, hoping they’d assume I got my period.

“Ah, right.” Harley grinned. “There’s one on the strip, a couple of miles away. We passed it the other night. We’ve all been drinking but I can call an Uber and go with you?”

“Yeah, call an Uber but it’s OK, you don’t need to come with me. I’ll be straight back.”

Brax had gone back to messing with the grill and while I sensed Quinn wasn’t convinced I was OK, he didn’t push it. Harley quickly ordered an Uber.

“Five minutes,” he told me.

I dashed back inside and grabbed my purse, phone, and some sliders. All being well, I’d get in, get out, and be back in no time at all. Then all I had to do was take the test and figure out what the fuck I was going to do if it was positive.

???

The skin on my bare arms prickled in the cool air-conditioning. I rubbed them and shivered as I quickly scooted up and down the aisles, hunting for the pregnancy test kits. The young woman on the counter probably would have helped me, but I didn’t feel like drawing any more attention to my predicament than necessary.

Muffled giggling caused me to look up. A couple wandered down my aisle, heading in my direction. She was draped around him as they chatted. I spotted the large box of condoms in his hand and smirked to myself. At least they weren’t going to end up like me.

Then I made the mistake of looking up as they drew closer and froze. The man’s eyes caught mine and he stopped dead.

“Estella?” I wasn’t sure who was more surprised: him or me. Although, given the Hamptons was his favorite summer hunting ground, it wasn’t a stretch to believe we’d bump into each other at some point. His family had a beach house a few miles from here and they spent every August there.

“The one and only. Small world, eh?” I tried smiling but it came off as more of a rictus. His face was slightly green under the clinical lighting. Whether it was guilt at how he betrayed me was hard to tell.

“How are you?” he asked, putting some space between him and his female companion. She looked at me with a disgruntled expression, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. I could almost hear her outraged thoughts.

One minute she thought she was getting laid - not that great, let’s be honest - and the next, her man had inexplicably lost interest. Funny how guilt was not such a great aphrodisiac.

I would have laughed if the sight of him didn’t make me want to vomit.

“Life’s a peach, Brody. I mean, you did such a great job of doxxing me, I can’t go anywhere these days without people recognizing me.”

“Look, Estella, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He raked his fingers through his hair, all artful blond highlights supposed to resemble a natural sun-kissed look. Sadly, it looked brassy and fake. Just like him.

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