Page 30 of Big Bossy Billionaire

Serena exhaled. “I don’t hate you, Meg. Do I wish you’d been smarter about it? Sure. Do I wish I had heard about it from you and not Killian? Obviously. But I also know that you’re not going to make the same mistake again.”

“I won’t. I don’t even know why I did it the first time.”

Except that being with Killian made me feel different.

Like I wasn’t just going through the motions of living.

He brought every part of me to life, and I wasn’t sure I was going to forget that.

But I knew I had to.

If I had any chance of focusing all of my energy on my career and salvaging the friendship with Serena. Before I could say anything else, Serena’s phone rang again, and she fished it out of her pocket. She flashed me an apologetic smile and pressed the phone to her ear.

As soon as she stepped out into the hallway, I turned my attention back to the suitcase, and my smile fell. Having lived in New York my whole life, I wasn’t sure I was ready for anything else. But I also knew how important this was for me, to grow and to continue to prove my value to the company.

Miami was going to be a fresh start, away from Killian.

And like it or not, it was exactly what I needed to start over.

Serena returned to the doorway, an apologetic look on her face. “I’ve got to go. Work emergency. I’ll call you in the morning before you leave, and we’ll talk again when you land, okay?”

I pulled Serena into a hug and lingered. “Are you sure we’re okay?”

Serena chuckled and pulled back. “Yeah, don’t worry.”

Once my front door clicked shut behind her, I darted into my bathroom, fell to the floor and emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet. When I was done, I pushed myself up to my feet, gripped my sink and breathed through my mouth. Then I gurgled some mouthwash and used a towel to wipe my mouth.

It was the third day in a row I’d gotten sick.

Slowly, I glanced up into the mirror and when I met my reflection, my eyes widened in realization and horror. Hastily, I took my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my calendar. My heart was thumping wildly against my chest as I scrolled through my contacts and found the number for the pharmacy nearby. When the doorbell rang, I snatched away the bag with the pregnancy test through the slit in the door and wordlessly handed over the money.

This cannot be happening. This is not happening.

In a daze, I took the test and turned it over. While I waited, I paced the entire length of my room and chewed on my fingernails. Having a baby was the last thing I needed, especially considering I was about to relocate to a different city in a different state altogether.

And I didn’t know the first thing about being a mom.

Whoa, one step at a time, Meg. No need to panic, wait for the result first, then freak out.

Except I knew.

When my timer went off, I stepped into the bathroom, and my fingers trembled as I picked up the test. I swallowed, turned it over and held it up to the light. My heart thudded in my chest as I stared at the positive result in my hand.

I was carrying Killian Holt’s baby.

Ok now I can panic.

And I had no idea what I was meant to do about that.

For a while I stared at the test, my mind going a million miles a minute until my phone chirped. I stumbled back out into my room, reached for my phone and scrolled through my contacts. I stopped at the number of a health clinic a few blocks away, I hesitated.

When I fell asleep that night, I kept seeing myself holding a crying baby while Killian smirked from a distance.

The next morning, I scooped Skittles up into my arms, holding him like a baby, like I always did. He was my baby. A fur baby, maybe. But my baby.

Oh man, what am I going to do? I am not ready to be a mom.

I placed Skittles in his carrier. Then I wheeled my suitcases out and left them by the door. I resisted the urge to refresh the health clinics webpage for the umpteenth time that day and instead cast a quick glance around the empty apartment, a hollow ache settling in the pit of my chest. A short while later, when the elevator door pinged open, Killian was waiting for me in the lobby, dressed in his usual expensive suit and signature smile.

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