Page 50 of Reuniting with Lucy

“Okay.”

He picked up her hand and stroked it. “You seem nervous about whatever it is you have to say. Just spit it out, and we’ll deal with it.” He was pretty sure what was coming next and reminded himself to stay calm.

“I’m pregnant.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lucy was relieved to have it out, but the longer he went without saying anything, the more nervous she became. Jack stilled, dropped her hand, and stood. He walked to the kitchen and back. The silence dragged out to an abnormal length, and sweat trickled down her spine.

He was processing. That was fine. That was expected. She would just wait.

Over the last two days, she’d run through dozens of scenarios of how he would react. It would be a shock for sure, but then what? Would he be excited or annoyed? Dismayed or incredulous?

When he finally spoke, it was like a knife in the back. “Did you do this on purpose?” He said it quietly and calmly, as if that would take the sting out of the allegation. As if the question wasn’t loaded with mistrust and accusation.

“What?”

“And how do you know it’s mine? Could it be your ex-fiancé’s?”

Now it was her turn to remain silent, afraid of what she might say if she opened her mouth. Anger and hurt vied for her top emotion. Clearly, this was not good news for him. She knew that had been a possibility—a probability actually—but didn’t think he’d lash out with an indictment of deceit. Before she could fully process those insults, he came at her with more.

“You said you couldn’t have kids,” he said. “You lied to me then?”

A tear slipped down her cheek. This was not going at all how she’d imagined. He thought she would lie to him. What did that say about their relationship and his feelings toward her if he assumed she was that kind of woman?

She pulled it together long enough to spit out answers to his questions.

“Wow.” She stood and approached him. “Let’s see. No, I didn’t do it on purpose. Yes, I know it’s yours. And no, I didn’t lie.”

He sighed. “The timing seems rather convenient. You find out I’m a millionaire, just as you happen to need a loan.”

“Huh,” Lucy said. “I did not think it could get worse.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation, and it’s one I can’t believe you’re making. In the last three minutes, you’ve accused me of lying, sleeping around, and getting pregnant to trap you for financial gain.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I’m not sure there’s much more you could say. This is what you think of me?” She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. She was fighting tears but also the urge to punch him in the face. “I didn’t lie to you, Jack. I really thought I couldn’t get pregnant. That’s what I’d been told by a doctor. And why do you think I need money? I’m fine, financially.”

“Some guy at the Halloween party said to tell you he wants the money you owe him. That you’ve owed him for two years. That doesn’t sound fine.”

Her brows knit in confusion, and she had to think for a second to figure out what he was talking about. She huffed out a sad laugh and shook her head. “You must mean Sam. Yes, I’m about to lose the farm over that. I owe him two dollars, Jack.Twodollars. It’s a joke between us. And you know what? Even if I were eyebrow deep in debt, I wouldn’t want one penny from you! You really think I give a shit about your money?”

He remained quiet, which was an answer in itself.

She froze, not trusting that she wouldn’t fall apart completely. “You should go.”

Instead of leaving, he kept up with the twenty questions. “How long have you known? When were you going to tell me?”

“For sure? Since yesterday. After your bombshell revelation of never wanting to marry again, I figured a baby ranked even farther down your list, so I planned to wait until I knew everything would work out.”

“What does that mean?”

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to carry the baby to term.”

“Can you?”

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