Page 69 of Play for Keeps

She remained standing in Ty’s house, her eyes locked on him. He was shocked into stillness, his fingers frozen in a classic horror movie curl. His stillness scared her. This wasn’t the calm, happy Ty she’d come to know. This stillness had a sinister feel.

She needed to break the spell, do something, anything, to disrupt the horrible tableau they seemed to be trapped in. Stark panic drew Ty’s handsome features tight. Every line and groove screamed the need for help. Her help.

“Ty,” she whispered urgently enough to jolt him into looking at her.

His eyes met hers, but they were clouded with confusion. Raising her hand to eye level, she ignored the wheedling calls for attention coming from the now-forgotten phone. Taking a cautious step toward him, she popped up one finger. Then another. At the third, she raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“Is it possible?” she asked with a quiet calm that was the polar opposite of the upheaval roiling inside her.

“Huh?”

She closed the rest of the space between them, gently resting her hand on his chest to reassure him. His heart thrummed against her palm. Holding his gaze, she leaned in close. “Think back. You haven’t seen her in more than two months, right?”

He blinked, and she decided to take his nonanswer as a yes. His blank expression set hope and wariness to war in her chest.

“Ask her how far along she is,” she prompted.

Ty cocked his head as if she’d suddenly started speaking Hungarian. “What?”

This was her turf—a problem. Something that could be spun, if not fixed. “How pregnant is she? People don’t have to wait three months or more to find out if they are anymore.” Anyone who watched daytime programming knew medical testing had advanced enough that she could pee on a stick within days of missing her period. “If you haven’t been with her since things blew up, then we’re looking at more than two months. Three if things were rocky between the two of you before she actually left.”

“Tyrell!” Mari’s shrill demand burst the bubble.

They both looked at the abandoned phone. Mari’s contact picture beamed up at them from the floor.

Millie lunged past him to retrieve the phone. “Ask her.”

She gripped the case tightly enough to disguise the tremors running through her. Adrenaline. Fear. And yes, a spark. Millie loved a challenge. If Mari thought she could get Ty back by playing the pregnancy card again, she’d have a bigger fight on her hands this time.

Ty took the phone from her and held it in his palm between them. “How pregnant?”

“Who is that? Who’s there? What do you mean, how?” Mari asked, exasperated. “The usual way.”

Millie rolled her eyes, then nodded and circled her hand, prompting him to press her.

“How many months?” he clarified.

“Three,” Mari answered without hesitation.

Her heart somersaulted in her chest, but Millie held steady. For her own sake as much as his. She couldn’t fall apart. Wouldn’t. At least not as long as she could focus on fixing him. She stared hard into his eyes, searching for the truth. All she found was a man who appeared to be completely lost. And more than a bit worried.

Choking down her pride, she tapped the screen to mute the phone. “Don’t say anything now. Tell her you need to think and you’ll call her back.”

“Call her back?”

“Give yourself a few minutes to process. She’s trying to psych you out. Hit you hard and knock you off-kilter.”

“Psych me out?”

“Get you to admit something, agree to anything.” She gave his arm a gentle squeeze, then shook him to be sure she had his attention. “Take some time. Think it through.”

“Ty, we need to get some things settled,” Mari insisted.

“No. Not now,” Millie said firmly. He gazed down at her, his heart in his eyes. “You’ll call her back.” She relieved him of the phone and ended the call without allowing one more word.

They stood facing one another, eyes locked, breathing perfectly in sync, their bodies swaying in the maelstrom of emotion swirling around them.

“You’re okay.” The words came to her reflexively. Ty blinked, then swallowed as if they were precisely the medicine he needed. Smiling a reassuring smile, she slipped the phone into his pocket and gave it a pat. “These shorts are a crime against mankind.”

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