Page 178 of Bleeding Hearts Duet

Chapter Thirty-Four

Brighton

Something was up with Ryland, and I didn’t like it one bit. Now here we stood, the familiar pull of lies and secrets threatening to burst the perfect bubble we’d created.

“What kind of business trip?” I pushed.

He looked frustrated with my questions, but I didn’t care.

“I’m pregnant now,” I said. Yeah, I was playing that card. “You can’t just go running all over the country without telling me where you’re going to be.”

“Brighton,” he sighed and pulled me into his arms. “Believe me, this is the last thing I want to do. I want to be here, buried deep inside of you, but I can’t.”

“Tell me where you’re going,” I insisted. “You’re my husband now. We’re not supposed to have any secrets.”

He looked guilty, and it only made me more suspicious.

“If I tell you, you’re going to assume the worst,” he said.

“I won’t,” I promised. “Just tell me.”

He zipped up his suitcase and sighed. “I have to go to Chicago.”

“Oh.”

Instantly, I had a million questions running through my mind. He was right. I was assuming the worst, and I hated that. I didn’t want to.

“For business,” I clarified.

“Yes.” He looked away. “It’s just some old, unresolved issues. Some checks that need to be cashed, things like that.”

I didn’t know the nature of Ryland’s business so I couldn’t say one way or another if he was lying. But I highly suspected he wasn’t telling me the full truth. I knew his dad worked out of Chicago, and they often flew back and forth from California to Illinois. I hoped that maybe it had something to do with that. But I promised Ryland I was going to trust him, and that’s exactly what I needed to do.

“Okay.” I frowned. “And you’ll come back as soon as you can?”

“The minute I can,” he agreed. “I’m out of there.”

He bent down and kissed my belly and then back up to kiss my lips. “Take care of our baby, baby.”

I smiled in spite of myself. “Come back to me. Soon.”

“Always,” he promised.

***

Before Ryland left, he’d asked Nicole to come up and stay with me. I didn’t need babysitting, but I was glad she was there. It had been a while since we’d spent time together with just the two of us. We ordered takeout and took up residence on the sofa, watching nothing but romance movies for six hours straight. Even still, we were both on edge, and I knew what my reasons were, but not hers.

Finally, I reached for the remote and paused the TV. “What’s up, Nicole?”

“Huh?” she blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’re all nervous and fidgety,” I said. “I can always tell.”

“Well, so are you,” she grumbled. “Geez, neither one of us can relax.”

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” I volunteered.

She let her head fall back against the sofa and blew the hair out of her eyes. “Okay.”

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