Page 67 of Fumbled Love

“You know nothing!” I hissed. “And if you even think about going after Kinley, I will make you regret the day you were born.”

With those parting words, I turned and stormed away from her.

Our friendship was officially over.

CHAPTER24

KINLEY

I leaned my head back,thinking of how I’d spent the entire week missing him and trying to come up with ways to make this long-distance relationship work. I really thought he cared about me. Yet, as I stared at the screen in front of me, I felt like a fool.

Apparently, when I declined his invitation, he neglected to tell me he was extending it to someone else if I said no.

The images on my laptop were now burned in my brain like a bad nightmare, and the headlines only seemed to get worse as I scrolled through them.

Mav Cross Blindsided by Baby Drama.

Love Triangle Off the Field.

Sacked With a Baby.

The photos showed us outside my ob-gyn office, and another was taken the day we spent in the park. There was a side-by-side photo; one half showed a very flattering picture of Della on his arm at the fundraiser, while the one next to it was a grainy image of us saying goodbye at the airport. It was the most unattractive picture of me I’d ever seen. My mascara was running down my face, my hair was a matted mess from rolling around in the wet snow, and my puffy coat made me look fat. Just great.

My eyes stung with tears at how good Maverick and Della looked together. She was stunning and everything I wasn’t, and I hated her for it. And with every second that ticked by, my imagination went further and further into a place I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find my way out of.

I ignored my phone ringing on the coffee table. It had been ringing off the damn hook since the rumors had started spreading all over the internet.

“Maybe there’s an explanation.” I glanced up into Taylor’s sympathy-filled eyes.

I wanted to believe there was, but the images of the two of them together over the last several years and her comments only proved there was more to their relationship than he led me to believe.

He glossed over it, convincing me they were just friends. No wonder why she was so frosty to me when we met. It made me wonder what else he was keeping from me. God, I was so stupid.

“Can I get you anything?” Chad asked, turning the TV off. He had unplugged the cable and set the TV to stream Netflix. It didn’t matter what he put on to distract me. I couldn’t focus on anything other than the chaos in my head. I even left work early because I couldn’t concentrate on my damn job. I sent two emails to the wrong people, screwed up on a marketing proposal that was past due, and kicked the copy machine because it was too slow. After my fifth meltdown for the day, they sent me home.

“No.” I stared across the room and adjusted the blanket across my lap. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. I should have seen this coming.”

“There is no way you could have predicted this.” Chad stared down at me. His words were meant to console me, but they had the opposite effect.

My eyes traveled over the words in front of me. I was being dragged across the coals. “I knew there would be a bit of backlash but calling me a liar and suggesting I abort my baby,” I shook my head, “this is exactly why I wanted to stay out of the spotlight.”

He grabbed my MacBook off my lap and slammed the lid closed. “Do not listen to that shit. You don’t deserve to stay hidden like a dirty little secret. What you need is that motherfucker to defend you.”

“Chad,” Taylor admonished. “This is not helpful.”

“What do you want me to say?” He threw his hands up. “Because from where I’m standing, the guy cares more about his image than he does about protecting her.”

“That’s not true.” I shot him a glance. “I insisted on this, and he would never want anything like this to happen.”

“Then why the fuck is he allowing them to do this to you? Where is his statement?” He cursed under his breath and stared at me like he couldn’t believe I was coming to Maverick’s defense.

There was a knock at my door, and all three of us exchanged a glance. I knew it was him before Chad even had a chance to swing the door open.

Once he came into view, my breath hitched at the sight of him. His eyes locked on mine, refusing to break away. The look of misery on his face gutted me. Taylor watched me closely, but Chad hadn’t stopped glaring at Maverick since he opened the door.

He came like I knew he would, and I’ve spent the last day waiting and dreading it. I’ve been ignoring his text messages and sending his calls to voicemail like the coward I was. It was silly of me to think I could buy myself some time and gather enough strength to face him. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be strong enough when it came to him.

He stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. There was a beat of awkward silence as his gaze stayed heavily on mine. Heartbreak and despair couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt.

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