Page 47 of Sinful Blaze

“Fair.” Hazel sagely nods and slurps down the last of her cocktail. “Bitch is dumb as shit. And honestly? I’ve never seen the Tweedles display any great intelligence, either. So you should be fine.”

I’m not so sure. I poke at the ice in my glass with the straw. “Yeah, but I’m hitting my fifth month of pregnancy. I’m not showing much now, but give it a few weeks and I’ll balloon up like a whale.”

She stares at me. Silent. For an eternity. Then: “It’s that hot Russian guy, isn’t it? The one who helped you burn the painting?”

I feel my cheeks suddenly heat. Her eyes widen and I know I’m found out.

“No. No way!”

“It was a one-time thing,” I protest.

“Um, no. No, it was not.” Hazel signals the bartender for another Long Island and gives me her biggest shit-eating grin. “I mean, I know you had some loaded guy after your panties with all those flowers and smoothies and shit, but damn. He is after you in the best way. Lock that shit down!”

“I hardly know him! We’re just trying to figure this whole thing out. One step at a time.”

“Seems to me he’s figured it out just fine. What’s holding you back?” Again, her eyes widen, but for an entirely different reason. “Oh, shit. What does Conrad think of all this?”

My blood drains from my face. “He knows nothing.”

“He has to know something. He was there that night, too.”

“Even if he does know something, he’s not taking the fucking hint.” And, as if he’s cued up somewhere with headphones honed into our conversation, my phone lights up with Conrad’s name. I point at it. “See? He’s pathetic. I want nothing to do with him and he won’t stop blowing my phone up.”

“Obviously. He wants what he can’t have. And he clearly saw your mega-upgrade.” She waggles her brows and dives into her new drink. “Talk about a dick punch to his ego.”

“Yeah, well, like I said, it was a one-time thing. I wouldn’t count Pasha as an upgrade because we’re not actually together.”

“I wouldn’t discount him, either. You and I both know Conrad wouldn’t be showering you with gifts and attention if the roles were reversed. And he actually does know you. So what does that say about this so-called stranger who’s putting in all the effort?”

I really don’t want to think about the answer. Because every time I do, my head starts swimming and my heart starts getting more and more hopeful for a reality that just doesn’t exist.

At least, I don’t think it exists.

I mean… I’ve got a veritable greenhouse of roses in my office.

Ten thousand calories’ worth of healthy-as-hell smoothies in my system.

And that moment we shared at the OB-GYN…

None of which ever happened with Conrad. He always treated me like some obligation. At the time, I was so starved for affection and attention that I savored whatever scraps he threw my way.

I’ve come to realize that I was over Conrad long before I found out he’d been cheating on me. Was I hurt by the betrayal? Of course. But with it came a sense of relief, one that wouldn’t have existed if I’d still been head over heels for him.

Sometimes, it takes a swift kick in the ass to do the right thing. Apparently, I needed to be kicked out of my own home to leave a relationship I should have abandoned ages ago.

And now, I have Pasha. Not like, have have, but he’s… around. He’s treating me with a considerable amount of respect compared to Conrad.

And yeah, he’s kinda hot.

I just can’t count him as a “new guy” when I don’t even know how long his dedication to all this baby stuff will last.

“Just don’t tell Conrad about the baby, okay?”

“Right, because he and I hang out so much,” Haze drawls. “Of course I’m not going to tell him, Daph! I can barely stand breathing the same oxygen as him. But keep in mind, if your parents know…”

Shit. “You don’t think my mother would tell him, do you?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her. But if she thinks it would chase him away, then probably not.”

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