Page 2 of Giving It to the Man-Whore

Chapter One

Present day

Mel stared at the stick again. She’d purchased nearly three hundred dollars in pregnancy test kits, and each one was saying the same damn thing. She’d told Penny at Saint and Natasha’s wedding, but she didn’t want this.

There was no way she could go through with this. Tears filled her eyes as each one she read told her that she was in fact pregnant. She’d taken another three hundred dollars’ worth of tests just last week, and they had all said the same. She was pregnant.

It wasn’t even the same pee either, so she had to believe the sticks now.

Sitting back in a heap, she felt tears spring to her eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Not now, not ever.

Her stomach chose that moment to turn. She grabbed the toilet seat and threw up everything she’d eaten that day. Her cravings were already going through the roof, and what she’d eaten was twenty doughnuts. Yes, she was craving sugar like she couldn’t believe.

She flushed the toilet and grabbed some tissue, wiping her mouth before throwing that down the toilet. There’s no way she could tell Pea.

What was she going to do?

Glancing at the time, she groaned. He could be coming home any minute.

Ever since they had promised to give their relationship a real go, Pea had been home by seven nearly every single night. He brought her flowers, chocolates, jewelry. The gifts were beautiful, but he didn’t seem to realize that she didn’t need them.

Gathering up the pregnancy sticks, she placed them in a small box she had kept, and once she was sure all evidence was gone, she went and tossed them into the trash outside.

The fresh air felt good on her clammy skin.

Closing her eyes, she basked in the cool air, not wanting to go inside for fear of being sick again.

“Are you okay?” a very masculine voice asked.

She turned to see Big Ricky standing in her driveway. There was no sign of a car, and she frowned. “Yeah, I’m fine. What’s going on?”

“I was just walking around in the neighborhood. I was passing through.”

“Oh. Would you like to come in for some coffee?” she asked.

She knew that Big Ricky was part of some mafia gang, the Lorenzo family, and he’d been placed in their small town for some reason. Pea had gone into a lot of detail, and like all the times before, she’d zoned out.

The less she knew about club business the better it was for her. She didn’t need to know the workings of the club. Even after all this time, she didn’t really care for it. She was loyal to them though. She’d never turn into a rat. Entering her home, she took a second to make sure she wasn’t going to vomit, and then proceeded to the kitchen.

Big Ricky was a large man, tall and muscular, and he had that sophisticated air about him, which at times was quite disconcerting.

She filled the kettle and put it on the stove to begin heating up.

Normally she had a coffee machine with it filled, but since being pregnant, she’d found that vomiting was too much. The stench of coffee always setting her off, so she’d gone to the making it for those that wanted it.

The smell was acrid and horrible, but if she was making for one person, at least the whole house didn’t stink of the stuff.

“What brings you around here?” she asked. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

She made sure not to breathe as she handed him the cup of coffee.

“I was just out for a walk. I like to do that, walk.”

“I bet you scare the crap out of anyone that sees you.” She went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of filtered, chilled water.

“Yes, I do scare the crap out of everyone.”

“It’s probably because they know you’re a mob boss,” she said, taking a seat at the counter across from him. Her stomach was all over the place, and she left to grab some salted crackers. Taking a seat, she began to nibble on them.

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