Page 75 of Press Your Luck

Withers, Naomiwith a birth date.

My heart stopped in my chest. This could only mean one thing. Naomi was pregnant. Or maybe she had a tumor, but why would she carry a picture of a tumor? No. This photo only made sense if it was a baby.

For a moment I felt sick, thinking about fucking her when she was carrying a child inside her. Stunned, I made my way to the bathroom.

When she saw me, she turned and smiled, taking the brush from me. Her gaze drifted down to my groin where only a few moments ago, I was hard as a rock ready to take her again. Now my dick was shriveled.

She frowned as she looked up at me. "Is something wrong? A minute ago, it looked like you were ready to go again."

I held up the picture I'd been holding in my other hand. "What is this? Because it looks like one of those sonogram pictures of babies."

Her breath hitched, and her eyes turned to worry, confirming my suspicion.

"You're pregnant."

She nodded.

The world was spinning, tilting off its axis. I stumbled my way out toward the bed. I sank down on it, putting my elbows on my thighs and digging the heels of my hands into my eye sockets.

"I know this wasn't planned, but I'm going to keep them,” she said.

I couldn't wrap my brain around what was happening. Here I was, falling in love with Naomi, and she was pregnant. Was she really seeing Max and I was just a fling? Or maybe there was somebody else and I was just a fling. Based on what I knew about her, I wouldn't think she was the type of person to cheat, but what did I really know about her? Now all the reasons she'd told me we were wrong made sense. What she lied about was the reason.

I looked up at her. "Who's the father? Max?"

Her apologetic expression morphed into anger. “I told you there was nothing between Max and me. All that stuff in the media wasn't true."

If not Max, then who? It would be difficult to believe that Big Ed was the father, but again, I was beginning to realize I didn't know this woman at all. Maybe she was with Big Ed and he was acting like a dog all the time out of jealousy.

"Big Ed?"

"Why don’t you believe me? I told you I haven't been with them. I’ve only been with you."

I shot up from the bed, my own anger pulsing through me. I was glad for it, because the feeling of being used, of being a putz, sucked. "You have some nerve being indignant over my line of questioning when you're the one who’s been lying this whole time. If it's mine, why didn’t you tell me? Or were you going to wait until it was eleven years old and drop it on my doorstep?"

She flinched. "I would never do that."

"How do I know that?” God, my chest hurt. “How long have you known?"

She looked down, her fingers entwining in nervousness. "A few weeks." Her gaze lifted to mine. "I was going to tell you. I just hadn't found the right time yet."

My jaw was so tight it was a wonder it didn't break off. "Couldn't find the right time? Not last night when we were sitting and talking to celebrate your win? Not tonight?"

Her eyes took on a pleading stare. "I was distracted and nervous."

I may have been a little wild in my younger days, but I always thought that I was a good and decent man. But the fact that I now had two women whom I had impregnated not tell me they were pregnant made me wonder if I was defective. "What's wrong with me?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "There's nothing wrong with—"

"There must be something wrong with me. Jeannie, and now you, don't think I deserve to know about a baby? Why is that? Jeannie, I can sort of understand, considering we had only one night, but you, surely, you would know better. You have to have seen how hard I’ve been trying with Porter. I can be a good father."

She stepped forward, her arms reaching out for mine, but I stepped back, pushing them away.

"No, goddammit, I want to know why you don't think I should know about my baby."

"You do deserve to know, Pierce. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was going to tell you. Really. This wasn't planned, and it was a shock to me as well. I’ve been trying to grapple with how I'm going to raise three babies and still keep my career."

What the fuck did she just say? "Three?"

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