Page 130 of The Promise Of You

I clear my throat nervously. “I mean, he didn’t know you were coming today, did he?”

“You gonna be funny like that all day?”

“W-what?”

“Just get him, will ya? Please? He needs to face his responsibilities.”

I fight closing my eyes. Taking a moment to myself. “Sure, sure. I’ll go tell him you’re here,” I say, pointing to the ceiling. “Gisele, right?”

“Right.”

“I’m Chloe.” She doesn’t say anything, so I extend my hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

She looks at my extended hand like she’s unfamiliar with the custom, and finally gives me a limp shake, saying “Uh, honey. No. You’re not pleased to meet me. You’re pissed.”

Well, she got that right, but really?

“I’m not—” I start lying.

Her eyes soften. “He cheat on you a lot?”

My heart bangs hard in my ribcage. “What—what are you talking about?”

She points at her belly, then says, “How long you been together?”

I blink and start stupidly counting in my head. Then I stop. I’m not doing this. I’m not stooping this low. We haven’t been together long, Justin slept with her before me, and shit happens. I’ll be the bigger person. “Not that long,” I say.

“He’ll cheat. My bet is, he already did. More’n once. Men like him who need different pussy every week, they never get stuck on one woman. Never.”

I swallow, not knowing what to say, just trying to process.

“You work here?” she asks.

I stupidly point to the side wall. “I run the restaurant next door.” Words fall out of my mouth without my brain having a say, it seems.

She nods. “That’s how come you’re in his bed. ’Stead of some random hookup place.” She leans back in her chair and extends her legs. “Never told me he had a woman at home.” She huffs. “Men.”

“I don’t think…” I start, feeling the need to defend Justin.

“Honey, don’t beat yourself up. Us women need to stick together, yeah?”

“Stick together about what?” Justin’s voice comes from the back. In a few long strides he’s by my side, wet, messy hair, faded jeans, pulling his tight T-shirt over his pecs. He curls his arm around my waist and pulls me to him, drops a feather kiss on my temple. “Everything all right, Clo?” He hasn’t looked at the blonde yet.

Correction.

He hasn’t looked at the mother of his child yet. I tense under his touch although I don’t want to. Everything is about to change between us.

Everything already has.

Gisele stands. “Hey,” she purrs, a hand on his forearm, the one that’s not roped around me.

Justin frowns. Then his eyebrows shoot apart. “Jezebel? What are you doing here? How’d you find me?” His fingers dig into my waist, pulling me closer to him.

“It’s Gisele,” she answers with pursed lips. “And if you’d answer your phone, I wouldn’t have to interrupt…” Her hand waves between the two of us. “…whatever’s going on here.”

He snatches me even tighter to him, and I crane my neck back to take in his face as recognition hits him first, then as his eyes travel down to her belly. “What do you want?”

“Introduce you to your baby.”

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