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“I do miss cuddling with you, though.”

“Me too.”Abby got down on her hands and knees and retrieved her panties.“Finally!”she said.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said as she slipped them on.

“I better go, honey,” he said.“I need to go read to the animals in our zoo.”

When they hung up, Abby clicked on the text from Greg.

Hey Kelsey, I missed talking to you today.Let’s find a time to meet again in person.I can come there if that works for you.

Abby held her finger over the keypad for a moment.Greg, you were the perfect distraction I needed from my real life—one I could easily continue.She shook her head.But it’s not worth the risk.I’d be giving up too much.She found Greg in her list of contacts, blocked him, and deleted his number.

CHAPTER 32

Carla

Getting pregnant with a third child was not part of Carla’s plan.Brian had promised to get a vasectomy, but that had turned out to be another one of the things he didn’t follow through on.She didn’t tell him about the pregnancy because she knew he’d only bet more money and say it was for their growing family.

When they left New York, Morgan and Charlie were still so young, so Carla hoped they wouldn’t remember much from this time in their lives.Someday, they’d have lots of questions about their father, and when that time came, she’d tell them that he passed away.To Carla, that part of her life would be dead anyway.

After she married Brian, she should have been smarter about staying financially

independent.Before she got married, she had always worked and saved money.At a young age, she taught herself to type fast, so at fourteen, she worked for a neighbor doing medical transcribing.When she was sixteen, she got a job selling costume jewelry in a department store.And all through college, she worked on campus in the admissions office.

If Carla had learned anything from watching her mother scrimp and save when her father divorced her, Carla might have stashed more money away.By the time Carla left Brian, she had gotten together enough money for the first and last month’s rent for an apartment and even had job interviews set up in Los Angeles.

Carla had been so busy getting the girls settled and passing the California real estate exam that she almost forgot she was pregnant.She’d gained less weight with this pregnancy because she was running around town with her clients, so at nine months, she didn’t look more than seven months pregnant.

Carla had recently entered her first million-dollar sale into escrow and was walking through the property preparing it for the inspector when she felt a contraction.She ignored it because it was just one of many she’d felt for the last couple of days.She knew what labor felt like and was sure this wasn’t it.

The inspector, Stan, a tall, lanky man who looked like he could have been a fitness instructor, arrived.When Carla shook his hand, she noticed his grip was firm, yet his palm was soft.Since she’d been pregnant, all her senses had been heightened.Stan wore jeans that flattered his physique and a plain T-shirt that was so white, she wanted to ask how much bleach he used to keep it looking that way.She didn’t see a wedding ring on his finger or a tan line.

The sun’s reflection through the windows brought out gold specks in his chocolate eyes.He smiled at her as he took in her pregnant belly.

“Is this your first kid?”

“No, my third, but it’s my first without my husband in the picture.”

“Really,” he said.“You look so young.”Carla thought he got closer to her, but she wasn’t sure if she imagined it.“You have that glow about you,” he said.

Carla wasn’t one to blush, but she felt her cheeks get warm.She smiled at him, and then suddenly, she felt a wetness in her pants.

I haven’t been turned on like this in a long time, but I don’t remember peeing a little when I was,she thought.After another second, a whoosh of water poured through her leggings.Stan looked down at the floor and then moved quickly backward.

“Oh, my God, my water broke,” Carla said, pulling her legs together, hoping that would hold something in, but she knew from having Morgan and Charlie that it wasn’t going to work.And it didn’t.

This would have to happen when I meet a cute guy who finds me attractive, even when I’m carrying another human being inside me.

“I’m sorry, Stan, but I think I should go,” Carla said.

“You shouldn’t drive like this.Do you have someone who can take you to the hospital?”

“I’ll call my friend Ginny.Finish your inspection; I wouldn’t want my giving birth to get in the way of the Wilson’s escrow.”

“Are you sure?”he asked.“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you like this.”