The thought of him having a new “friend” while knowing I was pregnant with his baby threatened to crush my soul. So I didn’t go there. I couldn’t.
I cleared my throat. “Have you heard from Julianne?”
“Oh. Wow. So this is how you’re playing it.”
I grinned. “Or we can agree not to talk about Ben or Julianne.”
“That’s not really fair, Gabby. Julianne is not pregnant with my child.”
“Are you sure?”
“Not funny.”
I giggled. “It’s totally funny. I appreciate you checking in on me. If I crave rainbow sherbet, I’ll let you know.”
“My mom once mentioned having pregnancy cravings for things she never liked before getting pregnant. Maybe what you need is a half gallon of rocky road.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Nice try.”
“Well, if you change your mind …”
There was a knock at my door.
“I gotta go. And I won’t change—” I opened the door.
“Gabby?” Matt said my name.
“I’ll call you later,” I murmured, releasing the phone.
Ben lunged to catch it and stepped past me to hang it up. I slowly turned, backing into the door to close it. He blurred behind the tears in my eyes.
“I’m pregnant,” I whispered, and a sob immediately followed. I hadn’t realized how strong I’d been, subconsciously holding myself together because no one else was going to do it. And him being there meant I could tell everyone else. The secret was killing me.
I didn’t know if Ben understood what I said, but he nodded anyway and pulled me into his arms before my knees gave out.
He was there.
It didn’t feel real. And I was scared to move or even breathe because I feared it was a dream.
After the initial shock wore off, and I felt certain it wasn’t a dream, a pang of anger hit me, and I stiffened before extricating myself from his all-consuming embrace. His gaze dropped to my stomach, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I had a barely detectable bump that was impossible to see unless I had my stomach exposed, and even then, I just looked a little bloated.
“How’s Laurel?”
I never hated that he was deaf. In fact, I bled with empathy for him. The tragedy of it lived deep in my heart, but I never resented or hated it. However, I did in that moment because I wanted him to hear my voice. I didn’t want to write down my words and let him imagine that I wasn’t livid.
I was.
I nudged him away from my desk and flipped my notebook to a blank page.
How’s Laurel? Is she pretty? I hope you use a condom with her. I don’t think you can afford two babies with your job in the meat department.
Ben’s gaze returned to mine, and the corners of his eyes twitched with a slight flinch.
I channeled all of my anger to fight my tears, but I had too many hormones in my body to completely mask how badly he hurt me.
“She’s just a friend.”
“I was your—” I balled my fists.Gah!I needed to yell and scream at him.