Page 67 of Love By The Falls

“No. Goodbye.”

I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at the home screen. “He hung up on me.”

“Ugh. Give me the phone.” I place the phone in her extended hand. “We should have rehearsed this. But, don’t worry. I’ve got it.”

“Caleb Consuelos’s office, please,” she says to the receptionist.

She nods when the phone rings.

“Caleb Consuelos’s office. How can I help you?”

“Hi. This is Ms. Summers. I’m calling to speak to Mr. Consuelos regarding an upcoming appointment.”

“Which appointment is that, ma’am?”

“I… uh… the one scheduled for tomorrow.”

“There’s nothing in his schedule for tomorrow.”

“Look, I just need–”

Her mouth hangs open as she stares at the phone. “He hung up on me, too.”

I exhale and run my hands through my hair. “Should we try again tomorrow? Come up with something more believable?”

Sage shakes her head. Her mouth is tight and her eyes are hard. “No. We are going down there today.”

“What?!”

My heart hammers in my chest

“We know where he is and I won’t let some assistant on a power trip stop me.”

“Are you serious?”

“Do you want to talk to Caleb or not?”

I stare at Sage’s phone, resting on her lap. Caleb’s photo is still on it. His familiar face makes my stomach clench and the memories of our time together come flooding back. It was one of the happiest times of my life. Besides, the decent thing to do would be to tell Caleb that I’m pregnant. He deserves to know, and he can decide how much he wants to be a part of his child’s life. He made it clear he didn’t want to be a father, but I must still give him the choice. Even if the fear of being rejected again makes me a little nervous.

“Yeah. I need to talk to him. He should know what’s going on.”

“Great. You pack a bag, and I’ll tell Jane that Charlie’s sleeping over tonight. Oh, and you might need to take Monday off, too. Who knows how he’ll react when he finds out he’s about to be a daddy?”

My stomach sinks and I wrap my arms around it. “Yeah. Who knows how he’ll react?”

Sage grabs my hand. “Don’t look so scared. I’m sure he’ll be good about it.”

“What makes you so sure?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Just a hunch.”

I inhale deeply and resign myself to it. “Well then, let’s go and find out once and for all.”

Sage smiles and claps her hands. “That’s the spirit!”

17

Charlotte

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