Page 82 of Secret Baby for Dr. Grump

Thankfully, that appointment ends quickly because I can’t take it anymore.

“I’m leaving early. Tell them to call me if there’s an emergency.”

“But—”

“I’m sure you want to know as much as I do where the hell Liv went, Wanda.”

There goes my plan not to cross the line. But it shuts Wanda up, her eyes widening, then speculating, before worry creases her forehead and she finally nods at me. She hesitates, then?—

“She hasn’t been answering my calls. Please tell her to text me if she’s safe. I’m worried.”

I don’t know if it means that she figured me and Liv out, but my gut instinct tells me she’s a loyal friend and would want to hear the truth from Liv first. I nod and am off. It doesn’t help that Wanda’s last words ring in my mind and make me paranoid, wondering if the emergency involves bodily injuries or something worse.

The traffic drives me crazy and I’m beyond my calm state when I finally get to Brooklyn and stop in front of her apartment. I knock and call, expecting no one to answer and unsure if I should go check on Riley’s school next?—

The door opens. My body jolts in surprise, but my world straightens back on its axis when I find Olivia staring at me. She’s in jeans and a plain shirt—and she’s okay.

Unharmed. Uninjured. I let out a breath, feeling like a thorn has been lifted off my chest.

“Luke?”

I glare at her. “You worried Wanda. You worried me. We thought something happened to you.”

“Wanda?”

“She’s my temporary assistant. Because I was told you resigned.” Puzzled and still worried—and yes, feeling just a bit betrayed when she doesn’t react to my words, indicating she’s not surprised by this news, I take a deep breath. “And I’m supposed to be the first one to know these things?—”

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

I blink, the indignance halting and replaced with more confusion. More worry. “What? What are you talking about?”

She opens the door wider. I step forward, then stop when I realize it’s not to let me in.

“This weekend, I got into some thinking. And I realize things between us are getting too serious, and it’s starting to overwhelm me. I think we needed that space, Luke…and I think we need more of that space.”

What?

There’s a roaring in my ears and dread tightening my stomach. There’s a blur in my head, the words alien…then, clear as day in her expression. But I’m still so baffled.

“What are you saying, Liv?”

Silence.

“I’m saying I think it’s best if we don’t see each other for now. Other than you spending time with Riley, I mean.”

What?

My body jolts again, and the sensation is doubled this time. It’s also painful, connecting me to something boiling inside me since I first saw how okay she looked after worrying about her the last few hours: anger.

And in my anger, I lash out. Quietly.

“That’s not what you felt when I had you in bed last week.”

It’s the wrong thing to say. Something flashes in her eyes before she banks it down and shakes her head.

“That was sex. You’re good at sex, so of course, I end up getting things confused. But my mind’s clearer now.”

“Clearer about what?”

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