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“You know…I heard that having frequent heartburn means your baby has a lot of hair.”
“Well, it must be a wooly mammoth,” I said.
Monica laughed and sat up. “Do you want me to go get you some antacid?”
“No, I can go.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Remember what the doctor said.”
“I can walk, Monica,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Plus, some fresh air sounds nice.”
“Fine. Well, I’m going to pour another glass of wine and get back to the crib.”
She stood and held her hands out to help me up. I grabbed my purse from the kitchen counter and walked out into the hallway.
Outside, the night air was cool against my skin as I walked to the corner store. I grabbed a box of antacid from the shelf and stopped by the freezer aisle to grab a pint of cookie dough ice cream. I carried both to the front counter and waited in line. As I waited, my eyes skimmed the magazines. That was when I saw him.
Daniel’s face on the cover of one of the entertainment magazines. My stomach leaped to my throat as I carefully took it from the magazine rack. He wasn’t alone on the cover. He was with a woman. The same awful woman he had brought to my office. It looked like they were on vacation together, sitting together on a white-sand beach.
I ignored her for a moment and only looked at him. He looked handsome sitting on a beach chair, his skin tan and his toned body shirtless. My eyes then reluctantly glanced at the woman. Kiera, I think her name was. She looked like a freaking goddess sprawled out on the chair next to him with perfect beach waves in her hair and a teeny bikini only she could pull off.
The line in front of me moved forward slightly. I had time to flip through the pages to find the full story. The headline read:
A Pre-Honeymoon for the Lovebirds?
I swallowed hard as I kept reading.
It said that the two were spotted at the St. Regis Resort in Bora Bora enjoying a romantic getaway as rumors of their engagement swirled around them. They looked cozy on the beach as they enjoyed a bottle of champagne together.
I looked through the other pictures that surrounded the text of the article. They were all of the same day, on the beach, with a server pouring champagne. I didn’t see any pictures of them holding hands or kissing, but it didn’t mean that didn’t happen. Hell, they were in Bora Bora together.
“Next,” the cashier called, breaking my focus.
I quickly put the magazine back on the rack and handed him my items.
After I paid, I walked out to the sidewalk and felt like I was going to throw up or scream. Instead, I just started sobbing. People passed by me with curious expressions, but I didn’t care. I had just seen the father of my baby, the man I had fallen for, with another woman. I was crushed.
And I had no right to be upset. I was the one who pushed him away. Instead of talking things over, I lied to him in the worst way possible. I should have told him the truth. I should have told him how I felt when I had the chance.
Chapter 42
Daniel
When I got home from grabbing pizza at the corner joint a block away from my apartment, I saw I had several missed calls from Brody. Plus, one call from Kiera. I had left my place without my phone so I could completely clear my head. Now I had to come back to that. I rolled my eyes. Those were the two people I had the least interest in talking to.
Brody might not have known just exactly what he was doing by basically wrapping her in gift wrap and sending her halfway across the world, butsheknew exactly what she was doing in coming. I had made it clear that I didn’t want anything with her, but she was stubborn and she was too proud to ever give up that easy.
I turned off my phone and tossed it on my nightstand before climbing into bed. I was suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. The travel day and the drama with my brother had finally caught up with me. I closed my eyes and was asleep within minutes.
The next morning, I made a pot of coffee and began getting dressed for work. Even though I was not quite ready to face reality, I couldn’t stay on vacation forever. I had to man up and run my company. I had taken enough time off, both physically and mentally. It was time to get back on my game.
I rode the elevators down to the parking garage and saw Armand was waiting for me. He looked a little uneasy, but I wasn’t sure why.
“Hello, Armand,” I said.
“Hello, sir.” He nodded and opened the car door.
I slipped inside. I watched him take a seat up front and adjust the mirror so he could see me better. He looked like he had something to say.