Page 75 of His Secret Gift

“She got pregnant. Fucking Petunia.”

“Well, were they using the necessary precautions?” I’m trying to see who the blame—well, both of them are at fault for having sex—but if one of them, assumedly Petunia, poked holes in the condom or purposefully didn’t take birth control pill or something, that’s a different story.

“He told me that they did. So, you can imagine the shock when it came to light that she was having his child.”

Her bangs are also all out of order, so I try to sort them out for her with my fingers.

“How far along is she?”

Tears swell in her eyes again. “I don’t know. Far.”

“Aw, Cal.” I hug her to my side. “That has to be so tough.”

“He offered to leave her, but…”

I shake my head. “That wouldn’t be right.”

She sits up, and her puppy dog eyes break my heart. “No. But whenever I think of them being a happy little family, I just want to scream.”

“That’s fair. But that doesn’t mean you can change the situation.”

“I know.”

She sets her head on my shoulder again, and I hold her cheek. “It’ll get easier with time.”

“Will it? God, I hope so. Because this—”

“Is miserable.”

Once again, I glance up and in the trajectory where Jack and Harper walked away.

Chapter 23

Trying to Impress – Jack

Istill can’t believe she’s here and standing before me.

“Please, Jack.” She leans into my chest, but I

back away.

“No, Harper. No. This is crazy. How did you even know we were in Morocco?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does is that I rushed here to make amends with you. I miss you, and I —”

With a finger in her face, I demand, “Don’t you dare say it.” Her saying she loves me feels oddly like a knife being twisted in my back.

“But I do.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

Jenkins isn’t back yet, which I hope isn’t a bad sign, and Bryant’s bedroom is far enough away that I don’t think we’re disturbing him. But at any rate, I’m making sure not to raise my voice too much.

“Please, can’t we just try this again? You can’t deny that there’s still something electric between the two of us.”

Ugh.I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t still find her attractive. But when I remember the kind of person she is on the inside, she resembles the most grotesque person I’ve ever seen.

“Absolutely not.”

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