Page 92 of Selfless

I just couldn’t seem to put two and two together all day until I was in the back of the Escalade while Milton drove us home from the hospital, and Vicki popped in my mind. Suddenly, the words Vicki had said to me in the bathroom at the wedding started to make sense. Only they didn’t. She had mentioned Bradley’s name, not Ryder’s … And she kept mentioning me drinking and stared at my stomach. Did she know something?

There was only one way to find out, and I needed to know. Very slowly, I lean over Ryder, careful not to touch him, and grab his phone off the nightstand. I unplug his charger and the cord falls to the floor with a soft thud.

I slide it to the right, looking at him while quickly going through his recent messages. I pray I don’t see they have been talking, but a part of me needs to know.

I see her name, and my heart stops. Opening it up, I let out a long breath. She’s been texting him, but he hasn’t been responding. Her messages all read the same.

I need to see you.

Please call me

I’m sorry, Ryder. Please talk to me.

Then the last one she was back to I need to see you.

I responded to it with a time and place.

I hold his phone to my chest as I wait for her response. This is gonna screw me in the long run, but I can’t think that far ahead right now.

His phone dings, and I bite my lower lip nervously as I look over at him. Still no movement. Very slowly, I pull his phone away from my chest and open her message.

Vicki: Can’t wait to see you :)

I hate how enthusiastic she is to see him. But then again, that’s what I was hoping for.

**

Ryder spent two days at home with me, and although it was nice that he cared about me, it also put me on edge. His phone went off nonstop yesterday, and every time, I wondered if it was Vicki. Is she reminding him of their lunch date? Thankfully, she never text him back.

I could tell this morning when he left that he didn’t want to. He thought about calling in again, and I had to assure him I was fine. But I really just wanted to run to the bathroom and puke. Morning sickness is a bitch.

Now I sit in a little coffee shop on the Upper West Side waiting for Vicki to show up. Ryder has been blowing up my phone all day to check on me, and although it’s sweet, it’s also annoying. I’ve needed silence to think about what I’m going to say, and with him messaging me, I’m not getting it.

I stand when I see her get out of the back of a black Town Car. She is dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, black silk blouse, and black pumps to match. It makes me sick how pretty she is. Too bad she’s an evil person. Not wanting to make a scene inside the coffee shop, I meet her outside. She comes to a stop when she looks up and sees me.

“What are you …” She trails off and then crosses her arms over her chest. “I should have known.”

“I need to talk to you,” I say sternly.

“I’m not doing this.” She spins around and starts to walk back to her car.

“I’m pregnant,” I call out.

She comes to a stop and turns back to face me, and a smile slowly spreads across her face in satisfaction. “You sound surprised.”

“I am,” I say honestly. “But you do not.”

She flips her brown hair over her shoulder. “I expected as much.”

It doesn’t make sense. Why would she think I am pregnant? “And what would make you think that?” I ask with an arch of my brow.

She takes a step toward me. “Have you told Ryder yet?”

I say nothing.

She laughs. “Yeah. I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to tell him. Since he’s going to leave you the moment he finds out.”

Shaking my head, I say, “Ryder isn’t that type of guy.”

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