Page 131 of The Promise Of You

I feel nauseated, my hold on him faltering as I see his gaze on her. He’s absorbed in the observation of Gisele, of her belly. He’s in shock, but there’s something more that I can’t put my finger on. Something that scares me more than I can handle.

I need to go.

“Yeah, it’s yours. You can touch it.” Gisele moves closer to him, one hand on her belly, the other extended to take his.

He recoils and steps back. “How’d you know it’s mine?”

She exhales softly, something pretty and sweet going through her eyes. Something just for Justin. “I’d been months with no man before you.” She giggles. “I mean, you remember. You even asked me how I was so… you know. In the bedroom.”

He says nothing. Doesn’t deny it.

She slides a glance my way. “You said you’d never had anyone like me.”

My heart pangs, my hands dampen.

He still doesn’t deny it.

“We had a great time, didn’t we,” she adds.

Still nothing from Justin.

My vision is blurring. “I’m gonna let you talk this out.”

Justin pulls me tighter against him. “Nothin’ to talk about without you.”

“I have that meeting with Scott. I should go get ready.”

“That right?” Justin asks.

Not really. I woke up to an email that said he’d be in the office all day, to just swing by whenever. “He emailed me last night,” I whisper. “I saw it just now.”

He does the thing where his mouth finds my head and kisses it softly. His heart is beating hard against my side.

“Where’re you staying?” he asks Gisele.

She blinks. “Um. I just got here.”

“So?” His tone is icy.

“So what,” she snaps back.

He takes a deep breath. “Here’s how it’s gonna go. We have shit to do,” his arm around me signifying he’s talking about me and him. “You go check yourself into a motel or B and B or wherever the hell you want. We’ll talk later.”

“I don’t need to check myself into no fancy place. All’s I need is my kid to have a father who cares.”

I feel Justin wince. “If I’m the father, I’ll care.”

“Oh, you’re the father. No doubt about that,” she says, looking him straight in the eye.

My head spins harder. I’m in dire need of a shower. Coffee. Something to clear my head. And normalcy. “So, can we just talk now? Get everything settled,” she adds.

“Noon. Come through the backdoor.” Justin lets go of me to go unlock the front door for Gisele.

She narrows his eyes on his back, and sadness clouds her gaze briefly before determination settles back in.

She click-clacks her way out.

Justin shuts the door on her, closes the space between us, and takes me in his arms. “I’m sorry.”

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