Page 23 of Falling for You

“Fuck’s sake,” he mumbles, and I sigh.

“Why don’t you just answer it? It could be an emergency,” I encourage, and he gives me a ‘really’ look, but I shrug because you never know, and he grabs his phone.

His marriage has hit the rocks severely. He’s not happy—everyone can see it—but he’s trying to stick to his vows because a small part of him has feelings for his wife. I just don’t think it’s love, though.

We all know why he married her now, and he’s just trying to stick to his word until he finally throws in the towel or that’s what he wants us to believe.

“Yes, Xanthe,” he answers coldly, and I wince as her voice carries through the receiver with nothing but anger.

“You left me,”she screeches, “all for a woman your brother has become obsessed with!” I nod because there is no denying that, making Dyl smirk my way, but his smirk soon dies when Xanthe snaps, “The bitch clearly used him for a one-night stand. How dare you abandon me like that when we were supposed to discuss us, discuss our baby!”

I raise a brow at Dylan because, hello, what fucking baby, but he shakes his head at me and then snaps at his wife, “There is no baby!”

I hear her chuckle and say, “Well, actually, I’m three days late.”

My eyes widen as my mouth drops open, but he just smirks and replies, “Considering you and I haven’t fucked in three months and the time we did before that I wore two condoms, it’s impossible for you to be pregnant unless you want to admit something to me?”

Admit, as in confirm she’s cheating to get pregnant, knowing she can’t go to a fertility clinic for a donor because the charge will go straight to my brother.

I don’t hear her reply, but Dylan hangs up and shakes his head.

“What you going to do?” I ask him, knowing full well if she is pregnant, he’ll have to wait until she’s further along to do a DNA test before he can file for divorce without losing half of the hard-earned shit he got before he married her.

“I can bet you anything right now she’s calling clinics to see if they can fit her in for an abortion,” he admits, and I sigh. He shrugs, “If she is pregnant, she’ll try her hardest to get rid of it, so she doesn’t lose her bank account, but it means I’ll have proof that she’s been cheating, and if she isn’t well, I’ll just have to wait it out a little longer while monitoring my accounts.”

Fuck, okay so he isn’t abiding by his vows, he wants out.

He gives me a sad smile and admits, “A small part of me believed I could have fallen in love with her, but her mind gamesand greed for more kept my eyes open to who she really is, a jersey chaser after a cushy lifestyle. Her lying to me to begin with about being pregnant was already the nail in the coffin after it was confirmed she lied after we were married.”

“I’m sorry, big brother,” I say, and he shrugs again and states, “It’s alright, and honestly, I’ll bounce back because my one, she’s out there somewhere. Now, let’s devise a plan to find Penelope because, brother, you’ve only got four months left to find her. We both know Dad means it when he says he’ll section you.”

I snort and take a sip of my beer because he probably will. I mutter, “he’ll have to catch me first,” Dylan laughs as my phone rings, but I ignore it, knowing it is most likely Elena wanting to ream me out for running out on the deal.

The woman around the coaches stays professional. Still, her little trips to my apartment trying to get into my private elevator have all been logged along with every message for dinner or lunch in a nonprofessional way, and every time she’s tried to corner me in the arena gym or come onto me in the locker rooms.

The woman is going to be fired soon, and I can’t fucking wait; the only reason why it’s taken me so long is that I was the idiot who fucked her twice when drunk.

“We’ll find her, Taylor,” Dylan repeats when he sees me lost in my own head, I nod, hoping he’s right.

I didn’t want a woman, fuck, I didn’t want to settle down, and then she barreled into my life for one night, changing everything. It’s been months, and not one woman in the bar or at a game has gotten my interest. That one night with Penelope changed everything for me, and fuck me if I’m not scared, because I am.

The feelings are consuming me, the longer it takes to find her, the harder I’m finding it to concentrate, and I just pray it doesn’t affect my game.

Chapter 9

Penelope – One Month Later

“Come on,” I mutter as the phone rings, I bite my nails in anticipation, but frustration pulls when the phone keeps ringing, and I snap, “Answer the fricking phone, you stupid, mean she-witch!”

It’s four in the afternoon, I’m on maternity leave, bored out of my mind, sitting on my couch, crossed legged, which is not easy, being nearly nine months pregnant and I’m pretty sure I’m stuck while trying to yet again for the millionth time this week to get a hold of Taylors' agent Elena, the jealous she-witch, while his game is on the TV but on mute because, yes, I’ve been watching his games and keeping track with how his team is the top pick to win the Stanley Cup again.

Dad came through after disowning me and sent an official letter to Taylor’s lawyer, but I didn’t hear anything back, nota fricking thing. If my dad did, well, he’s kept to his word and disowned me. I’m having a baby out of wedlock and, even worse, not with the man who drew up a contract for my hand in marriage to bring the law firms together, so I’ve spent the past seven months trying my hardest to get in touch with Taylor only to be blacklisted by Elena every chance I get, including from the bar I met him at, all while being alone, so goddamn alone.

I’ve had the odd call from my sister but within minutes after she calls the line goes dead and I know it’s most likely her husband making me feel even worse each time.

As soon as my dad disowned me, my sister and mother had to follow suit because money usually comes before me, and the Andrews are partners in my dad’s firm. The paperwork was being put forward around the time that I announced I was pregnant where they were hoping I’d agree to the marriage contract they’ve been trying to shove down my throat. I understand he could have lost a lot of money by siding with me but I’m his daughter and that marriage contract was not my idea, it was not something I wanted.

For years I have been told I was to marry who they chose, and for years I rebelled against them. He knows this and yet when I needed my sister the most, he took her away from me, he took my mother from me, God, he took him from me.

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