Page 80 of Love By The Falls

We walk silently the last few steps to the restaurant and the usual hostess greets us at the door. “Mr.Consuelos. Great to see you again. Will you be wanting your private room?”

“Yes, Helen. Thank you.”

She takes Charlotte’s jacket, and we walk to the back toward the private room. The table seats four, but it’s cozy enough in the room not to feel lost. I pull out a chair for Charlotte. “Thanks.”

“Should I bring out the usual appetizers?” asks Helen.

I turn to Charlotte. “Do you like spanakopita?”

“I do.”

Helen nods and leaves the room.

Charlotte watches her go and then her eyes meet mine. “I’ve been looking for you,” she says, and my chest tightens. Despite the possessiveness in that statement, I like the sound of it coming from her. I clear my throat. “You have?”

She nods.

“I thought we decided it was only a vacation fling. Being ‘Opposite Charlotte’ you called it.”

“Yes, we did.”

If she’s brave enough to admit she wanted to see me, then I would do the same. “I picked up the phone several times to hire a private investigator to track you down, but stopped, respecting that you didn’t want to keep in touch. So, what changed? Why did you want to find me?”

She fiddles with the corner of the napkin on the table, then looks up. Her eyes are warm and dark. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

I lean forward. “Okay.”

She presses her hands together and stares up at the ceiling while releasing a loud breath. “I’m so nervous.”

I don’t understand what she could be nervous about. “Don’t be nervous. Just say it.”

“Caleb…”

“Yes.”

She closes her eyes. “I’m pregnant.”

I smile at her joke. “Don’t worry. I gained a few pounds since the trip, too.”

She opens her eyes and looks into mine. Her lips turn down and her brow furrows.

Suddenly, a whoosh goes through my head and my ears ring. Alarm bells go off and I lean back, trying to back away from the implication that struck me.

“Wait—you are joking, right?”

“No,” she breathes harshly. “I’m pregnant and you’re the father.”

What?!

Jesus.

Is she serious?

What the fuck?

I don’t understand.

She said it was impossible.

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