Page 48 of Risk

Then again, it actually might not be him.

The buzzer goes off again.

Sighing, I get up and walk over and press the call button. “What?” I hope it is him; otherwise, I just snapped at some other poor soul.

“Missy. It’s Kaden.”

He didn’t call me Beautiful. I don’t know why, but that just pisses me off even more. He should be here, groveling.

“Why are you here?”

“I want to talk.”

“Uh, we already did that, and it didn’t go so well.”

“I know, I know. I handled it badly. Really fucking badly—”

“Ha! No fucking kidding. A chimpanzee would have handled it better.”

“I want to do better this time,” he continues like I didn’t just throw him some snark. “It just threw me off-balance. Of all the things I expected you to say, it wasn’t that. And I…” He sighs, and I can just imagine him pushing his fingers through his hair, like he does when he’s thinking. “I knee-jerk reacted, and I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry. Can you give me another chance to get it right? Please.”

I stare at the wall like it holds all the answers.

I know I have to give him another chance, and I know we need to talk properly. Whether either of us likes it or not, we’re about to be connected for the rest of our lives—well, if he wants to be involved, that is, and I’m guessing by the fact that he’s turned up here, he probably does want to be involved in our baby’s life. Butall of that aside, he acted like a jackass, so I’m allowed to drag this out. Punish him a bit.

So, I stay silent.

“Please, Missy,” he says, and the words are like a hit to the heart.

I let out a sigh. Then, I press the buzzer, letting him up.

I could have my apartment door open and ready for him to come in, but because I’m feeling hurt, I’m acting childish, and, yes, I should know better, but I don’t care right now. I make him knock on the door, and then I take my sweet time going to open it.

When I open the door, I noticed that his hair is all messed up. I was right when I thought he was dragging his hand through it. Stepping aside, I let him in.

Kaden gives me a wary glance as he passes by me, walking into my apartment. He should be wary; I’m a pregnant woman with hormones that rebound like a rubber ball, and I’m still annoyed. Not as mad as I was before he got here. Him showing up has lessened the anger a touch, but he hasn’t opened his mouth yet, so it’s still early.

The size of him makes my room feel so much smaller.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I go and sit down on my sofa, right in the middle, leaving no room for him to sit on there. I don’t want him close to me at all right now.

He grabs the chair from my desk, turns it toward me, and lowers his big body into it. His gaze is still wary, and his body language reeks of nerves.

In all the years we’ve known each other, Kaden has never seen me angry. It’s not often that I do get mad. I know that life is too short to spend it being mad, but this moment in time definitely warrants my annoyance. And honestly, I’m mad that I’m mad. I know that sounds bananas, but it’s how I feel. This is a scary but happy time for me. Now that I’ve made my decision, I’mhappy about having this baby. And I know he’s not there yet—he might never be. He literally just found out about the pregnancy, whereas I’ve had a while to come to terms with it…

Shit. I’m being too hard on him. Yes, he shouldn’t have said what he said, with the wholeis it mine, but if I had been in his shoes, maybe the shock of it would have had me saying stupid crap too.

He exhales a breath, bringing my eyes to him. He leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, rubbing his hands together anxiously.

“Kaden…” I start, but he jumps in.

“I handled that badly. I shouldn’t have asked if the baby was mine because I know you wouldn’t have been there, telling me, if you weren’t a hundred percent sure.”

“Thank you for acknowledging that. It hurt me when you said it, but I guess I do understand that you were in shock.”

“Yeah.” He pushes his fingers through his hair, exhaling another breath. “I just…we used protection.”

“Apparently, it doesn’t work all the time.”

---