Page 43

HARLOW

“He’s not coming back, is he?” Brooke asks from her end of the couch.

It’s been hours since I told Corey ran from the house. To begin with, I thought that maybe he just needed a breather and he’d be back. He’d just told me how much he’d missed me, how much he needed me, and yet he’s vanished.

“Doesn’t look that way, does it?”

“Why do you sound so … okay?”

I can’t help but laugh at her. Okay? She thinks I’m okay? Clearly, I’m a better actress than I ever gave myself credit for.

“Okay, now you’re just freaking me out,” she mutters.

“Nothing about my life is okay right now, B. But if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, and if I do that there’s a chance I’ll never stop.”

Her face falls, and I hate it. I hate being on the receiving end of her pity.

“Stop, or I’ll go back to hiding in my room. I need you to be … normal, if that’s at all possible.”

She sticks her tongue out at me. “I need a drink. You want one—fuck.”

“A glass of water would be great, thanks.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers with a wince as she leaves the room.

Lifting my cell from the cushion beside me, I check it for the millionth time, but he hasn’t been in touch. Fuck knows where he’s gone—half his clothes are still upstairs in my room. The only thing that disappeared with him was his shoes.

I want to call again. Send a text, even. But what’s the point? I’m not lowering myself to begging. If he cares about me like he claims to, if he has any interest in this baby, then he’ll come back. It’s whether or not I let him in that he should be worried about.

We spend the night lounging on the couch with pizza and ice cream, and Brooke does her best to try to distract me from my disastrous life.

But the ball of dread which seems to have taken up residence in my stomach, and the flowers and cards that cover every surface, are an unwelcome reminder of what I’m dealing with right now.

“Why’s my life so dramatic, B? Why can’t it be more like yours?”

“I wish I had the answer. At some point the tables will turn, I’m sure. You’ll run off into the sunset while I’m left here with some big drama that threatens to drag me under.”

“I wouldn’t leave you—you know that.”

“Maybe not, but you’ll have your baby, and Corey, hopefully. You deserve that sunset.”

I smile at her because while I can’t really argue, there’s no way I’m leaving her. She’s my sister. We might not always live in the same house, but we’ll always be connected.

“We’ll see. Knowing my luck, the bailiffs will turn up telling me something’s gone very wrong, and I’ll go from being a millionaire to poor and a single mom in a matter of minutes.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Nor should getting pregnant the first time I had sex after forever, but it did.”

“You can’t blame anyone but yourself for that one.”

“Fair point. I was drunk and Corey was …”

“Hot?”

“Yeah, that.”

I sigh, wishing that I’d gone about this morning differently.

“Did you at least explain about the money?”

“I did.”

Silence settles around us as we both stare at whatever it is on the TV.

“You should know, that was really fucking hot, listening to you both this morning.”

“Stop talking. Stop it right now.”

“What? I can’t help it. All the moaning, groaning, crying out his name.”

“Jesus. I need to buy you your own house.”

She laughs, reaching for her wine.

“What are you going to do?” She looks down at my belly.

“I have no idea.”

“You could move back home, bring your baby up in a place you love. Give him or her the memories you have and create some new ones.”

I sigh, thinking of my childhood home that’s been sitting empty since the day I was picked up and taken away.

It’s mine now, just like everything else my parents owned.

I never had it in me to sell it. I always had the idea that when I had a family that I could make it my home, like Brooke just described, but I’m not sure I want to now that the time is approaching.

Not that it’s anything like I imagined. I thought I’d be happily married and having a planned child, not a drunken accident—albeit a fun one.

The time drags on, but still, there’s no word from him.

It’s almost two hours later when the doorbell rings.

“Oh my God, is it him?” I ask Brooke who’s staring at me with wide eyes.

“Because I can see through walls,” she mutters. “Go and find out.”

I stop in front of the mirror in the hallway, smooth my hair down, and wipe under my eyes. I look like hell, but I haven’t exactly got the time to fix it.

Lifting my hand, I open the door.

My shoulders slump in disappointment the second I see who’s on the other side.

“Do you get the feeling she was expecting it to be someone else?” Fletch quips.

“I’m so sorry. It’s just … it’s complicated.”

“That man of yours still not pulled his head out of his ass?”

“Can we come in?” Reese asks, ignoring her other half.

“Of course.” I push the door wider and stand back.

Reese walks past and straight into the living room, Fletch following.

“He’ll figure his shit out. It just takes some of us longer than others,” Fletch assures me.

“Thanks,” I mutter, although I’m beginning to wonder if it might all just be too much for him.

“I’m so sorry to barge in on you like this. I just had a couple of questions about tomorrow night, if you don’t mind,” Reese says when I join them all in the living room.

“No, of course not. I’m so sorry I left everything to you.”

“It’s nothing. You’d done a fantastic job. There are only a couple of things left to finalize.”

Reese pulls her iPad out from her purse and powers it up. I sit down beside her so we can go through whatever it is.

“Do you want drinks?” Brooke asks, jumping up and making herself useful.

Diving into work was exactly what I needed. For the first time in almost two weeks, I was able to think about something other than my grief or my pregnancy. It was a welcome relief.

“What are you doing?” Brooke asks in shock after doing a double take when I join her in the kitchen the next afternoon. “I mean … you look incredible, but?—”

“I’m going to the ball,” I announce.

“Um … okay. Reese said you didn’t need to though, right?”

“I think I need it. I put so much work into this. I want to see it all come together. See all my hours pay off.”

“Okay, yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Give me thirty minutes and I’ll come with you.”

I lift a brow. “You can be ready for a gala in thirty minutes?”

“Okay, forty … forty-five tops.”

“I’m going to go now—I want to check all the details, make sure everything is as it should be. You’ve got a ticket, so just turn up tonight as a guest and find me once you’re inside. You’d be bored.”

“You’re right. I could never look good enough for all your wealthy and famous guests in only forty-five minutes.”

“Brooke, you’re gorgeous just as you are. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

Her eyes widen.

“You just haven’t found the right one yet.”

Thankfully, my cell alerts me that my car is outside before Brooke can cause me any harm.

Lifting up the front of my full-length, navy evening dress, I make my way toward the front door.

It feels weird, taking a step outside, but at the same time it feels good. I inhale a deep lungful of fresh air and take a moment to center myself. This is what my aunt would want: for me to see this event through and to hold my head high and continue with my life.

I rub my hand over my belly. She’d have loved to meet this one. But clearly it wasn’t meant to be. Much like Corey and I might not be. Only time will tell.

But I can do this.

As I take one step after another, my confidence grows, and a little happiness begins to creep its way in.

My knee bounces on the ride to the venue, nerves fluttering in my belly. But all of that is washed away when I step inside and see my plans in real life.

The rooms look exactly like I’d pictured in my mind, and I can’t help but gasp as I walk into the main room to find the tables laid up as I imagined with the black, white and silver centerpieces looking incredible and drawing everyone’s eyes to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the room that showcase the ocean beyond.

Reese did an incredible job bringing this to life.

“Is it as you hoped it would be?” the woman herself asks, appearing around a corner, looking like a total knock-out in a floor-length red dress.

“And then some. It’s incredible.”

“I’m glad you approve.”

“I can’t thank you enough for all this.”

“You’re more than welcome.”

I look behind her, waiting for Fletch to emerge and knock me on my ass. “Fletch not with you?”

“He’s coming later. He had an errand to run last-minute. Come on, we need to make sure the kitchen’s on schedule.”

With everything running like clockwork, Reese, Mags and I make our way to the entrance to greet our guests as they arrive.

Their limos and expensive cars file around the entrance before the couple of paparazzi snap photos of them.

Reese is cool as a cucumber as she greets everyone enthusiastically, no matter if they’re lifelong Vipers season ticket holders, or A-list celebrities we’ve managed to entice to spend the night parting with their well hard-earned cash.

I feel like a hot mess who needs to go and compose herself by the time the stream of people lessens and we’re able to move from the entrance.

“That guest list. You did good, girl.”

“Your boyfriend and the team sure helped. Did you notice how many are women?”

Reese shakes her head, a knowing smile on her face. “I’ll allow them to look—for the cause, you know. But there’s only one bed he’ll be in tonight.” She winks, and I laugh—until my own reality chooses that moment to slam into me. I’ll be going home and climbing into an empty and cold bed.

Reese must see my mood change, because she reaches out to touch my arm. “Still no word?” Brooke couldn’t keep her mouth shut yesterday as she explained that Corey was once again MIA. I was just grateful she managed to keep the reason for it under wraps. For now, at least.

“Nothing.”

“Everything’s going to be okay. I’ve got a good feeling.”

“I’m glad one of us does. Come on, we’ve got rich people to schmooze.”

Reese links her arm through mine, and we make our way to the grand room where everyone is loitering with glasses of champagne and scotch to start their evening.

I do a lap of the guests and get pulled into a couple of conversations about how incredible this event is, helping stoke my confidence a little before Reese catches up with me once more.

“You ready?”

I glance at the little stage set up off to one side of the room, and my stomach drops.

I’ve never been any good at public speaking, and I’m not sure right now will be any different. But this is my baby, and I refuse to send her up there to start proceedings because I’m too chickenshit.

“Yes,” I say, blowing out a calming breath. “I’ve got this.”

Opening my purse, I pull out the notes I wrote weeks ago. I’ve memorized the words, but having the piece of paper in my hand helps to ground me slightly.

As I climb up on stage, I think of my aunt. She should have been here tonight, and I know that she would have been cheering me on right now, probably already on her third glass of champagne and working the room, trying to talk to every person here.

A pang of pain shoots through me, but when I look up from the makeshift stage, my eyes lock with Brooke’s, her parents standing to the side of her with smiles on their faces.

“You got this,” she mouths in support, and I nod back at her.

Stepping up to the microphone, I tap the top, and a fuzzy noise erupts from the speakers around the room.

“G-Good evening. Firstly, I’d like to thank you for agreeing to spend your evening with us as we raise vital funds for the LA Vipers Foundation …

” The more I say, the more I relax, and I soon find my grip on the paper in my hand lessening as I get into my flow, talking about all the things we’re doing to support the young athletes in our community.

I’ve just about finished explaining how this evening’s silent auction will work when the door at the opposite side of the room opens.

I don’t think anything of it, assuming it’ll be a member of the hotel staff tasked with helping us tonight, but when Fletch steps into the room looking like sin in his tux, my words falter.

Things are only made worse when he’s followed by none other than Corey, who’s also dressed perfectly for the evening.

Holy shit.

I’m pretty sure I don’t say that out loud, but I can’t be sure.

His eyes hold mine as I finish what I was saying. I have no idea if it comes out making any sense—I’m too lost in the intensity in his eyes to focus on the words. I just have to hope that I’ve rehearsed it enough times that muscle memory takes over.

I thank everyone and step down from the stage as a round of applause sounds out. I’m not entirely sure my speech deserves it, but I appreciate the gesture as I make my way toward the back of the room.

People must see the determination on my face, because a couple move out of my way so that I have a clear path to Corey.

I come to a stop right in front of him. My heart pounds in my chest, and my hands tremble. I have no idea if I’m angry at him for taking off like he did, or just relieved to see him.

My emotions war as he stares into my eyes. The rest of the room fades to nothing as I wait to hear what he’s got to say for himself.

Fletch squeezes his shoulder before stepping away from us and disappearing from my vision.

“Can we talk?”