Page 3 of Unsure in Love

“Which is why you have to do it!”

I massaged the bridge of my nose. “Whatever, just think about it a little more first, Wild Child. A tattoo is a big decision.”

She grinned, and I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”

“So this is what falling in love does to you?” I murmured. “It makes you crazy?”

“In the best way!” April beamed. “Cassandra, you have to—”

“If this is another one of your I-need-to-open-myself-to-love speeches, save it.”

Between her and Lucy, they were driving me nuts with their new take on the subject. They were driving us all nuts. I even heard Tessa tell April to shut up last week as she went on about opening our minds and hearts to find romance. When Tessa got testy, it was serious because she was the sweetest out of all of us.

Sighing, April plopped down onto one of my adjustable chairs and I bit back a groan. “You’re staying? Don’t you have to go to work… or whatever?”

Her eyes narrowed. “No. Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Avoiding her gaze, I slammed my appointment book shut. “Of course not.” That was exactly what I was doing.

“What’s with you, Cass? You’ve been MIA for weeks.”

“How? You see me all the time.”

“I mean, you haven’t been to sisters’ night in two weeks.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I shrugged. I felt awful about that. The five of us tried to get together to hang out whenever we could. We’d been doing it for years and usually, I loved it. Recently, not so much. Whenever I was with them, I came close to blabbing my secret out of guilt. Well, secrets now. Last month, another was added to the list.

“I’ve been busy. I run the only tattoo parlor in town. I have lots of clients.”

April eyed me with suspicion. “I always know when you’re bullshitting me.”

Heaving a sigh, I spun around to get her off my case with a flippant remark. However, my very sensitive stomach protested and a wave of nausea swamped me.

April frowned. “Are you alright? You look a little pale.”

“Uh… yeah. I’m fine. Just give me a minute.” I took off toward the back, hoping I didn’t hurl up the lunch I forced down an hour ago. When I made it through the backdoor and was out of my sister’s sight, I dashed to the bathroom.

Luckily, I kept down the contents of my stomach. Taking several deep breaths, I peered at myself in the mirror. My skin was pasty, my hair was disheveled, and my eyes were dull. I looked horrible. It was mostly from stress, but the huge surprise from my one-night stand had a lot to do with it too. With my palm on my stomach, I groaned. “Why do they call it morning sickness when it attacks at all times of the day?”

Gazing at my abdomen in the mirror, I knew I had about another month ‌before I could no longer keep my pregnancy a secret. Soon everyone would know I got knocked up after my sister’s wedding by one of the groomsmen. I was too embarrassed to come clean just yet.

“Everyone will find out except my baby’s daddy,” I grumbled.

Our time together ended on an awkward note. To this day, I regret how I handled things. I’d just been so frightened by the things he made me feel. Now, embarrassment and too much pride refused to let me reach out to Damian... ever.

2

CASS

Four months earlier…

Guilt ate away at me, so I sat in a bar and drank, hoping to forget my troubling thoughts. I was drowning my sorrows instead of basking in the afterglow of a joyous occasion.

My sister’s wedding was earlier. I was happy Lucy and her husband, Nic, had finally gotten hitched. They might as well have since they’ve been best friends forever. I was probably the biggest skeptic about romance, but as jaded as I was, I could see that those two belonged together.

I felt bad for not enjoying the day like the rest of my family. I’d just gone through the motions. I smiled when I had to, laughed when it was appropriate, and chatted when spoken to. But all I kept thinking the entire time I was with my family was that they’d kill me if they knew what I’d done.

There were things my sisters didn’t know about me and that was fine. We didn’t need to share everything, but one secret that I kept was potentially damaging to all of us. Sighing, I sipped my drink and sputtered. Grimacing, I eyed the bartender accusingly.

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