Page 31 of Sealed in Ink

“There’s help if you need it.”

“What sort ofhelp?” I snap. “If this is positive, it’ll be the best news my husband and I ever had!”

She gawps at me as I take my bag and march from the store. I know I probably came across like a crazy lady, but I don’t want this to be a bad thing. I want to live in a world where Rust cares, where hecancare, where just the fact of my baby wouldn’t ruin his life.My baby… I’m already thinking like that as if I’m pregnant. I don’t even know yet.

Back in the gym, I go into the bathroom and tear open the pregnancy test. I can’t go on without knowing. This is the first chance I’ve had between packing and the flight. Or maybe, deep down, I didn’t want to know. But now, after seeing him, seeing those intense eyes and that don’t-give-a-damn stare, I know I have to find out.

I pee on the stick, then wait, wait, wait, stare, and wait. The future taunts me, telling Brad, his face turning pale, then red with rage as he roars at me,“Mom would be ashamed of you!”That would be the worst, the Brad betrayal and the Mom shame, all wrapped up in one.

A pit opens in my belly, getting bigger and bigger the longer I wait. That night was so warm, so safe, with the thunder crashing outside, but with our bodies pressed close, it didn’t matter. I’verelived it way too many times since then. The way he felt when he first pushed inside—big, uncomfortable—and then the balm of pure pleasure that washed through me a moment later.

The test is done. The results glare up at me. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad.

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

RUST

Marquis calls me into his office after the training session. It mainly was pad work with some cardio at the end. We’ll do a proper session this evening. Marquis sits behind his desk, shaking his head up at me.

“Now I really do not understand,” he says. “I thought you were missing your friend. Or you that you’d had a fight when you came home early, but the two of you seem good. Friendly. No bad blood.”

“No,” I say, swallowing, thinking of all the bad blood thatcouldbe spilled. “Is that why you dragged them out here? Because you thought we’d had a fight?”

“Something is on your mind.” He stands up, pointing his finger at me. He’s half my height, but he somehow makes it imposing. “You never talk, so I thought I’d find out. What is it, Rust?”

“It’s… nothing.”

“You paused.” He wags his finger some more. “You can’t pause suspiciously and expect me not to be curious.”

“I hope you paid for their airfare.”

“I did. Rust, this is thechampionship. Where are you? Come back to us, please.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I know what people say about me!” he snaps. “A drama queen, yes, but look at the results. Three championship fighters and a fourth—you—on the way.”

“You’ll see a different man later,” I tell him, leaving his office.

Brad and Mary are waiting for me in the lobby. Well, Brad is. He’s standing when I walk in with that grin on his face I recognize from years ago. For almost twenty years, we’ve known each other. “Shall we get some lunch? Marquis asked us to give you a ride, too.”

Before, I wouldn’t have questioned Mary sitting over there, withdrawn and shy. She was like that for much of her childhood, lurking in the background. But now, I want to grab her, kiss her, demand to know why she’s got that pout on her lips.

“Sure, Brad,” I say. “Let’s do it.”

The three of us walk outside. Mary walks to the back of the car and climbs in without a word.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her,” Brad mutters.

Ihave. I’ve gotten into her. I did it once, and I need to do it again so badly my balls are aching even now. It’s the lowest of the low. I shrug and climb into the passenger seat, doing my best not to look in the rearview. That lasts about a minute before I cave and glance.

She’s got her hands in her lap, biting her lip again. She couldn’t make the nerves any more obvious if she tried. There’sunmistakable sadness in her, clear pain. Is it simply being close to me, or is it that Maddie crap, too?

“Right, settle a debate,” Brad says, his voice forcibly upbeat. This is how he gets when trying to warm up the atmosphere, something I’ve never bothered to do. “We want to know. Were youreallyin a relationship with Maddie Maddox?”

From the back seat, my woman gasps.

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