Page 73 of The P Arrangement

I wished he wouldn’t call it that.

“Pres, can we just—”

He swung me toward him until we faced each other. “Either we talk here or we talk at home.”

My friends watched me, waiting to see what I was going to do next.

“Fine. We’ll go to your house.”

Turning to Vivian and Rayne, I said, “I’ll talk to you later?”

“You’d better,” Vivian said.

“I need my purse,” I told Preston.

“I’ll grab it,” Rayne offered.

Cade put a hand on her arm. “No, I’ll get it. I know where we’re sitting.”

“Thanks, honey.” Rayne’s face was so full of love for Cade that I had to look away.

Thankfully, he was fast and brought my purse back in less than a minute. He cleared his throat. “I thought you might also want this.” He held out the marriage certificate.

Preston plucked it out of Cade’s hand, folded it up, and looked at me. “Let’s go.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

DELANEY

I followedbehind Preston as we drove to his house, and when I pulled up behind him, I noticed the fancy car in the driveway. It was the same one that had been there the night he brought me home from our separate dates. At the time, I hadn’t known it belonged to his mother because she got a new car about once a year.

When I got out of my vehicle, I slammed the door in frustration. After everything, I had to deal with my ex-mother-in-law.Actually, I guess she is my mother-in-law again.

Preston stepped out of his truck and caught me eyeing his mother’s car.

“I forgot she was coming over tonight. She’s already going to be pissed because I stopped home for two minutes to grab the marriage certificate and left her to wait. But I’m going to tell her we’ll reschedule.”

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. “Preston, we don’t have to do this tonight. I know we need to talk. We need to talk about what happened in Vegas and”—I had to look away from him—“the baby. If you don’t want to have anything to do—” My voice broke, and I had to stop before I finished my statement because the thought of Preston denying his own child hurt like a knife to my heart.

I couldn’t imagine Paxton going for visitations while his brother or sister stayed with me. I had no idea how I was ever going to explain that to our future child if it was what Preston decided on. I didn’t really think Preston would be so cruel, but he’d been so upset when I told him that I didn’t know what to think anymore.

Taking a deep breath to give myself a moment, I continued, “Anyway, like I said, we can talk it through maybe when everything isn’t so fresh. Right now, I need to sell my house and find a new place to live. Our new marriage and my pregnancy can wait. We have time.”

Preston’s footsteps sounded on the pavement, and when I let myself glance at him again, the expression on his face left me awestruck. He looked devastated.

When he reached me, he cupped my face and lowered his forehead to mine. “I guess we’re going to do this out here.” He lifted his head, his eyes full of conviction. “I made the mistake of letting you go last time because I thought it was the right thing to do. But I’ve been given the gift of being your husband again, and if you think I’m going to walk away, you are dead wrong. And you don’t need to find a new place to live because you’re moving back home. Here. With me. I am not losing you a second time.” All of a sudden, he went from looking determined to looking scared. “At least, I hope I don’t.”

Covering one of his hands with mine, I put the other on his chest, where his heart beat frantically. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“Your sister said I need to be real with you, and I know she’s right, but this is hard.”

“It’s okay. Take your time.”

“You know how serious Paxton’s birth was.”

“Mostly.”

I had been in my thirty-seventh week, and the elevator had been out at work. Normally, I didn’t mind the extra exercise, but at almost full-term, I was miserable. Not only could I barely breathe, but I couldn’t see my feet any longer, and as I was going up, I tripped and landed right on my pregnant belly.

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