Page 79 of Where the Little Birds Are (Little Bird Duet 2)

“Babe.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and pulls me into him for a hug. “I promise as soon as the interview is over we’ll come back here and watch a movie in whatever you want. Or, you know, don’t—”

“Don’t even start with me.”

He laughs and kisses the top of my head before drawing back. “Was worth a try. Are you ready? I already fed Penny and she has water. We’ll only be gone a few hours, so she should be fine for now, right?”

I murmur a right as he guides

us toward his front door. He helps me into a jacket as I slide into my black ballet flats that barely fit my swollen feet anymore. I just want to soak them in Epsom salt and devour a pizza, not go get interrogated by people who will almost definitely stray away from the movie questions.

When we’re in his car, he looks at me as he cranks the air conditioning. He’s gotten to know my hot flashes well, getting kicked a few times a night as I detangle myself from the blankets on his bed.

“Are you okay?”

No. But I nod because I will be.

We kept our silence for two months, enjoying time together and with our families. We worked toward this very moment because we knew it’d come. Eventually, we’d need to speak about what happened—his marriage, the affair, and our baby.

His marriage ended three weeks ago after an ugly divorce hearing. Lena got half his money after the judge pointed out the evidence of adultery, stating that Lena deserved her fair share since her “mental and emotional health” were impacted by his actions. Corbin wanted to fight the claims Lena made, but one look at me in that courtroom—a room I told him I had no place being given I was one of the reasons their marriage failed—and realized that it wasn’t worth it. I think Lena wanted him to battle her, and it was clear to see she wasn’t okay when he agreed on the judge’s terms without saying a word about it otherwise.

It bothers him though. All the money he worked for was his own, and now she has half of it padding her bank account. But neither one of us spoke a word of it on the way home from the courthouse because we knew that there was some justice paid in that room whether we like how she bent it in her favor or not. The pictures that surfaced of her in the cop car only helped her case, making the judge sympathize with her.

I hold my stomach, caressing it with my thumb and wondering if our baby can feel it. “I’m nervous people will hate me.”

“They’re not going to hate you,” he assures, reaching over and grabbing my hand as we pull out of his driveway and toward the locked gate surroundings his property. “If I’m being honest, people eat this kind of shit up. It’s ridiculous but true. Eddie has called me everyday trying to get me to do interviews with you about our relationships for weeks, especially once the divorce was finalized.”

“What?”

He just nods.

I’ll never understand why everyone is so consumed in other people’s business. It seems strange that the public wants to know the answers to questions that have been asked ever since the very first article about Corbin and me came out. And the video still circulating the internet admitting our past only sparked people’s interest.

Jamie had told me not to do any interviews until the tour started, so I agreed. If she hadn’t, I’m sure Corbin and I would have gotten convinced by Eddie to speak up sooner. I’m glad we didn’t though.

The past two months have been about us, our plans, and what the future holds. Since his marriage is no longer between us, we’ve taken it a day at a time. He’s mentioned me moving here, I’ve mentioned him moving back to New York. We disagree on baby names, talk about what’s healthy or not for me to eat, and argue about how many interviews on this tour I need to be on.

He says all.

I say not.

“There will be someone to try redirecting questions that stray too far from the movie,” he tells me, eyes focusing on the road. “I’m not saying a few won’t be hard to move away from, but it’ll work out. I’ve had experience with this, so I’ll do what I can to make you comfortable.”

But he can’t.

He’s used to this. I’m not. That’ll always be the difference between us. As soon as we step onto the lot they’re filming the interview, it’s his territory. I get emails from bloggers wanting me to answer questions for them but that’s the extent of it—what’s my favorite book, genre, and trope, and what am I writing next. What we’re about to face is nothing like this.

I look down at my stomach and groan.

“Are you nauseous?”

He quickly gets his answer when I empty my stomach into the purse he insisted I didn’t need to bring.

Chapter Twenty-Six

WKDP REPORTER: Mr. Callum, Ms. Thomas, this question is for you. There was a lot of speculation over whether you’d appear together for this interview since you opened up about your relationship in October. Can you comment on that?

CALLUM: We’re both here because Kinley wrote a story worth telling and deserved to get the credit she deserved for it. There’s no reason why we wouldn’t be doing this interview.

WKDP REPORTER: And can you comment on the relationship that has progressed since your divorce to Lena Dasani last month?

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