Page 41 of Hendrix

Kaleidoscope eyes met mine and my heart gave a soft jolt.

“Jamie,” she croaked, staring at me as if she was seeing a mirage. “Why are you here?”

God, I loved it when she called me Jamie. The way she said it, with such emotion, made my heart flip over. I’d missed the words on her tongue, and I’d missed the way she conveyed she loved me every time it left her lips.

“Did you think I wouldn’t come for you?” I demanded softly. “I told you I’d always be here if you needed me. Why didn’t you call? I would’ve been here sooner.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I couldn’t... Things—well, they’re different...” Her voice trailed off, and she emitted an audible sigh, murmuring to herself, “This is awkward.”

“You never need to feel awkward around me, Freckles. You know that...” I lost my train of thought as I watched Anna slowly pull at the belt of her thick bathrobe, and the flash of her white, lacy nightie came into view.

Every instinct screamed at me to stomp over there and shove that robe back on her.

Anna loved her sexy nighties, and frankly, so did I. But I didn’t appreciate Breaker getting a look at them. I opened my mouth, about to order her to make herself fucking decent, when the robe dropped to the floor. Her teeth worried at her lip nervously while her eyes became glued to my face.

My gaze swept over her, eventually passing her midriff before going lower. “Babe, you need to put some clothes on. We gotta get gone.”

“Jamie,” she whispered, her tone pained as she slowly lifted her hands to cup her rounded stomach.

My eyes rested on her hands, and I finally noticed the prominent bump there. At first, it didn’t register. It just looked like Anna had put on a few pounds, something I didn’t give the first fuck about. It was only when I studied her more closely that the realization of what I was seeing hit me.

The knives that pierced my soul left me raw. It was so painful that it hurt to breathe.

My eyes met hers, and I knew by her sudden wince that she saw every fucked-up thing going on in my head. She’d always had the ability to see through my walls.

I knew Anna wanted to be a mother more than anything, but I wasn’t willing to bend and give her what she needed. She deserved to be a mom because I knew she’d be a great one, so I gave her that.

It was why I left her.

So why did I feel like I was about to throw up?

My lungs squeezed so tightly that I struggled to speak. But speak I did, because somebody had to state the big, glaring, obvious as fuck elephant in the room.

And state it I did...

“You’re pregnant?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

ANNA

Itilted my chin up defiantly and splayed my fingers protectively over my son. “I’m just over five months along.”

“It’shis,” Jamie muttered, his face twisting with a rawness that made my heart thud painfully.

The words hit me square in the chest. What kind of woman did he think I was? Of course it was my husband’s baby.

“Well, it’s not yours, is it?” I bit back sarcastically.

He had the good sense to back down. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he breathed. “It’s just a shock.”

“What’s a shock?” I retorted. “That a married woman gets pregnant by her husband? Is that somehow distasteful in your world?” I punched my hand to my hip. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you stick a fucking chastity belt on me and save my womb for the second coming of Christ? Maybe an immaculate conception would be more acceptable for your delicate sensibilities.”

Breaker snorted loudly.

Hendrix glanced at him, then back to me. The silence that ensued was so loud it made my ears ring. The air between us thickened, and he stared at me as if I’d somehow betrayed him, even though I hadn’t.

It was Jamie who chose this, so he had no right to look at me like I’d wronged him somehow.

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