Page 58 of Sebastian

“She’s late and thinks she might be pregnant.”

The color drains from her face as she gasps in shock. His expression shifts from concern to disbelief.

“You’re joking, right?” Paolo’s voice wavers with incredulity.

I shake my head, my panic mounting with every passing second.

“I wish I were joking, but no. She crashed the party to tell me.”

He rubs his temples, deep in thought, while Taylor watches me, her eyes filled with concern.

“Are you sure?”

“No, I’m not. She’s not even sure. She hasn’t taken a pregnancy test yet.”

Paolo releases a heavy sigh, tension emanating from him the same as it is me.

“Alright, we need to figure this out. You can’t jump to conclusions if she hasn’t taken a test yet. And she can’t stay here. It’ll only complicate things,” Paolo reiterates everything I already thought.

“I know. She approached me when I was with Chloe, and Chloe ran off. I can’t be a father. You know that man. I’m freaking out.”

The room is heating up, causing rivets of sweat to glide down my back. Panic sweeps through my body, making it harder to breathe, and I loosen my tie. Taylor steps toward me with a concerned expression.

“Why don’t you have a seat? You don’t look so well.” Her hand rests on my arm, guiding me to the leather couch in front of the fireplace. “Take a few deep breaths.”

“I need a drink. Can you get me another scotch?” I mutter, wanting to drown my sorrows in the amber liquid. Taylor glances between Paolo and me, but neither moves to leave the room to get that drink.

“Can I say something here?”

“Sure.”

I shrug, needing advice from either of them to stop my panic from getting worse.

“Don’t you find it odd that she showed up unannounced without knowing for certain?”

Taylor’s eyes narrow as she divulges her suspicions. If my mind wasn’t completely shattered over the bombshell, I might have picked apart Veronica’s logic like Taylor is.

“I don’t know. She said she wanted to do it together. She felt sad and lonely,” I defend, sitting on the edge of the Chesterfield couch while Paolo stuffs his hands in his pockets and listens.

“If it’s mine, shouldn’t I be there?”I ask, my gaze bouncing from her to him.

“That’s a bit unusual, Seb. It’s a delicate matter, and she knows it—” Paolo starts but is interrupted by Taylor.

“The timing is, well, suspicious,” she finishes, her face and tone full of skepticism. “Not to get too personal, but how long ago was the break-up?”

I don’t care about Taylor getting personal with me. I know these two are sickly in love with each other, and if it will help me figure out this mess, by all means, dig around in my unsavory sexual escapades.

“After Cabo. We got into this big fight at the resort about . . .”

The reason for the fight is not prudent. She got mad about me being too smashed to go to dinner and didn’t want to order room service while I slept off my hangover. She bought some special outfits that she wanted to be seen in and to give off the image of us being a perfect couple.

“Anyway, last month.”

“And you hadn’t, ya know, been intimate with her since?” Paolo chooses his words carefully so as not to offend Taylor. If it were me and him, he would have just asked me outright when the last time I fucked her was.

“No, not a chance. No retreads.”

“What’s a retread?” Taylor asks, both of us looking at Paolo. He frowns while shaking his head. She must get the idea as shecontinues, “I agree with Paolo. This could be a ploy to get you back if retreads mean no second chances.”

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