Page 113 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

My lips press together before I can stop them. Guilt burns in my chest.

“You’re not serious.” She groans, dragging both hands down her face like she’s physically trying to wipe away my stupidity. “Oh my god. You’ve been sleeping withthree guysand you didn’t even wrap it?”

“I…they pull out.”

“When?”

My lips press together again.

She slaps a hand over her face, groaning into it again. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I really don’t need this right now,” I snap, pushing up off the floor.

The room around me spins for a dizzying moment, forcing me to grab onto the doorway to steady myself.

Pregnant.

It’s too ridiculous to even think about, let alone entertain.

I can’t be pregnant. Even if I?—

My head shakes, ridding the thought instantly.

“Well, you need to take a test. Just to be sure,” she fires back, following me to my tiny office.

Oh, god. I can’t do this.

My stomach rolls again, the truth landing in my gut like two stones slamming into each other.

Not just from the possibility of it being true, but at the sheer stupidity of it being possible in the first place.

I can’t believe I’ve been that careless, or reckless, to think I’m above something like this happening.

Actionsalwayshave consequences.

“Holly.”

I snatch my purse off of my desk and shove past her. “Come on.”

We close the bakery early, both of us silent as I lock the door.

The short walk to the pharmacy feels like trudging toward a verdict I already know is coming.

My boots crunch over patches of half-melted snow while the prickly wind chill slices against my cheeks.

Every step causes my chest to tighten a little more, the air quickly becoming too hard to pull into my lungs.

Through it all, there’s one single, looping thought that won’t quit: if itispositive…

Whose is it?

At the pharmacy, I don’t even bother scanning all the options.

My eyes dart to the first box within reach.

The cardboard feels too light in my grip when I lift it from the shelf and bring it up to the front counter.

How can something this flimsy be able to decide my entire future in less than five minutes?