Page 11 of Reed

Great, just great. He’s freaking out.

A flurry of activity from behind him sees him being pushed forward, but it’s almost like he isn’t aware of his surroundings. Even when my son barrels toward the table with a bunch of his friends, he somehow remains frozen in place during the chaos, staring at me as if seeing through me.

“Mom, can we go on the Helter Skelter?” Bryce pleads.

“Please, can we?” Leroy adds with his hands in a praying gesture.

“Mom?”

“Can we? Can we?” Julian bounces up and down, knocking the box to the floor in his excitement. Any other time, I would ask them to calm down, but I can’t think straight.

The walls feel like they’re narrowing in on me, but the boys remain oblivious to the man staring daggers in my direction, and all I want to do is get them out of here so I can have a sensible conversation with him.

I bend down to grab my purse, then remember I gave all my change to the soft toy stall this morning. “Shit,” I mumble, and chew on my lip. “Go find Terra and tell her I asked if I could borrow ten bucks.”

The boys take off like their asses are on fire.

“Tell her that I’ll pay her back later,” I shout in their direction, and the door slams behind them, with no acknowledgment of my words.

Red-hot anger radiates from the man opposite me, and I swallow back the nervousness creeping up my spine. I’ve faced off in a courtroom with men like him and have never felt as intimidated as I do now, and I hate it. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not weak.

I blow out a deep breath, lift my chin, and say, “I’m pregnant and the baby’s yours.”

CHAPTERTHREE

REED

She juts out her chin,defiance flashing in those bright-green eyes of hers. “I’m pregnant and the baby’s yours.”

The loud chuckle that reverberates from my chest when I throw my head back is full of humor I don’t feel inside. It’s sarcastic and vicious, and judging by the way she flinches, it cuts her to the core.

Good.

I hope she sees the disgust on my face as my seething eyes lock with hers. Previously, it was full of heat and want, but now all I want to do is spit venom in her direction and deliver some truths I’m sure she can’t handle, especially after ruining what could have been a perfectly good day. Nope, the universe intends on fucking with me, it seems. Because the woman I’ve been pining after like a damn idiot is nothing more than a gold digger after all, and if she thinks she can play me, she can think again.

“You’re kidding me, right?” With a laugh playing on my lips, I shake my head at all the unjust in the world.

Her eyes widen and her lips part, but she doesn’t say a damn word. She appears as shocked as I was only moments ago, but we both know it’s all part of an act, and I refuse to give her any more of my time.

I lean over the table and ignore the way her familiar peach scent wraps around me. Even that pisses me off. “You’ve clearly seen an opportunity in me.”

Her breath hitches when I lean closer.

“Look at you, in this shithole, and look at me.” I step back to give her space, then hold my hands out. “You’re clearly a liar, an opportunist.” My voice becomes louder, my anger spilling over at her lies. “Lawyer, my ass,” I spit out as the realization she is, indeed, a gold digger becomes more and more apparent with each passing second. A gold digger with a brood of kids. I grimace. “If you think for one minute, I’m dumb enough to think that”—I point at her stomach—“is mine, then you’re insane.”

Her nostrils flare, and I continue with my cruel tirade, determined to hit home the truth as hurt practically bleeds from her eyes. “You’re a whore, sweetheart, nothing more, nothing less. I made one mistake of not paying for the reassurance of not having to deal with shit like this.” I motion toward her bump again; if it’s even real. “I won’t make the same mistake again,” I snipe out.

The clicking of heels approaches me, but it’s drowned out by the rage thumping in my chest, banging to unleash further pain on her like she is on me.

When two sets of hands roam over my chest, I puff it out, especially when tears fill the woman’s eyes, ensuring that if my words didn’t hit home, the fact she thinks I moved on so easily should.

If only that were fucking true.

Bringing one set of fingers to my lips, I gift them with a kiss, despite wanting to push them as far away as possible, but I refuse to back down now. She needs to see she means nothing, that her lies will be buried alongside this building when I tear it to the ground, which leaves me more determined than ever to close this deal.

“Have a good day.” I glance around the warehouse. “Come Monday, this place will be mine, and everything in it, just a memory.” I wink and ignore the sharp gasp of air that leaves her when I turn and walk away.

Disappointment that she conned me so epically riddles me as I head toward the SUV, but I refuse to acknowledge it further. The green-eyed beauty who tortures my thoughts can remain just that, a memory. One I never want to relive, not after knowing the truth, and the way she’s tarnished that night makes me despise her all the more for it.

---