Page 102 of A Good Book

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.

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