Page 72 of The Close-Up
“Laura’s water just broke.”
“Oh my god...isn’t that kind of soon? I mean, if she just found out she’s pregnant and we broke up, like, not even three months ago...”
Brody’s face twists. And then it dawns on me. Laura didn’t just find out she was pregnant, like he said. He lied about that part—probably to make himself sound less like a dickbag. His current girlfriend must be toward the end of her pregnancy to be going into labor...which means that she was well into her pregnancy when he was still in a relationship with me.
My chest cracks in half at the realization. Not because I’m heartbroken at losing Brody—but because he didn’t have the decency to end things with me when he should have. Because he strung me along for months while at the same time seeing a woman who was pregnant with his child. There I was, coasting in our relationship, clueless about the horrible secret my partner was keeping from me.
“Naomi, I’m so sorry—”
I hold up a hand. “Shut the hell up.”
Brody’s eyes dart around the room, probably because my shrill tone has caught the attention of the people around us.
His phone buzzes again. He frowns at his phone screen. “I really need to go.”
“Then go,” I say, my voice breaking.
He stumbles back a few steps, then turns to sprint out of the room.
Someone comes up behind me and gently puts their hand on my arm.
“Naomi.” Simon’s calm, soothing voice sounds behind me. “What’s the matter? What happened?”
He spins me around, his golden brown eyes bright with concern. All that dismissiveness that has riddled our every interaction this past week has evaporated. The kindness in his tone, the worry in his eyes, the gentle way he holds my arms shows me that he’s there for me—he’s my friend again.
I open my mouth, but all that comes out is a cry. All I can do is shake my head.
Simon grabs my camera bag and slings it over his shoulder. Then he wraps his free arm around me, leading me out of the room. “Let’s go sit down somewhere, okay?”
I stumble with him, grateful for his support.
Under the dim overhead lighting, my glass of bourbon on the rocks shines. Looking up at Simon, I take in his expression. His forehead is wrinkled to high heaven and he hasn’t blinked since I told him about what Brody did.
“That’s just...holy fucking shit,” he mutters before downing the last of his Scotch. He signals the waiter at the hotel bar and asks for another.
“My thoughts exactly,” I mumble before taking a drink from my glass. I wince at the burn.
Simon frowns at me in concern. “You sure you don’t want something lighter?”
I narrow my gaze at him. “I just found out my ex got another woman pregnant while we were together. You’re lucky I’m not downing moonshine right now.”
He nods his understanding. And then he reaches over and pats my arm with his hand. “I’m so, so sorry, Naomi.”
“Me too,” I say quietly. “Brody and I weren’t going to go the distance. I knew that. I just wish he would have ended things if he was so unhappy. I hate... I hate thinking that the end of our relationship was so incredibly fucked up. And I had no clue. Maybe if I had paid more attention...”
“Hey. Don’t for one second feel bad about any of this. None of this has anything to do with you. Brody is apparently the kind of guy who could lie to his partner while having a secret pregnant girlfriend on the side. That’s one thousand percent his fault—those are his own issues that led to this. Absolutely none of it has anything to do with you. Do you understand?”
There’s a new sort of conviction in Simon’s voice when he speaks. It’s in his stare too. It’s like he cares so much about me and my feelings in this moment and he’s trying with everything inside of him to get me to believe him.
And just like that, my head stops swirling. I stop doubting myself. I believe every word he says.
I let a small smile slip. “Thanks.” But then another awful thought crashes into my head. “Fuck. I’m going to have to get an STD test. If he was brash enough to do that to me, who knows what else he got up to.”
Simon’s face falls. He gives my arm another soft squeeze. “It’ll all be fine. I promise.”
He moves his hand from my arm, then squeezes my hand. It’s the perfect calm and comforting move.
“Brody won’t be welcome in any of my seminars anymore.”
