Page 46 of Only for Love

“It’s okay, Emma,” Grayson interrupts my thoughts. “I’ll figure out a different way to work this out.”

“Um—” But the call ends before I can respond. Do I want him to call me later? Hell yes. But not really. My hands are trembling. Confusion will give me a migraine because… I’m also ten kinds of turned on right now. Shit, shoot, shit.

“What is going on with this rosy-cheek thing you have happening now?” Sarah has one eyebrow raised. “Everything okay?”

“I—” I’m stuck in my seat, my phone glued to my hand. Panic joyrides through my system, crashing and clipping every part of me that hurts along the way. “My face is rosy?”

“Sweetheart, if you have some piece of man-candy calling you, promising you dirty things that make your cheeks pink like that,andyou haven’t told me, we’re going to have to reevaluate the topics of our coffee break gossip sessions.”

My eyes drop back to my cell. Gray’s gone. He was just in my ear, and now he’s gone. I illuminate the screen. His number is there. I don’t know what to do with it. Save it? Delete it? What do I do with the last five minutes?

“Hey, space cadet.” Sarah leans farther into the office. “Copy room. It’s important. Post haste, move your caboose.” She tilts her head, studying me. “No joke. You okay?”

“I… don’t know.”

Her gaze drops pointedly to my phone. “Who was that?”

“Grayson Ford.”

Sarah’s mouth falls open. “Wait,Grayson-Grayson? I thought—he’s…alive?”

I can’t explain how I feel. “Grayson-Grayson. The love of my life is alive and just called to say, three years later, he was sorry. He sounded like a dick. With a voice… and he was a bossy jerk.”

“Bossy?”

“Demanding, maybe.”

“About?”

“Forgiveness.”

“Oh…” Sarah drops into an empty chair on the other side of my desk. “Well, holy jizzballs.”

I nod. “How did he even get my number?”

She scowls. “No idea. So… what did you say?”

I ignore her question and cringe. “He called me Ems.” Even now, that makes my stomach flutter.

“Emma,” she draws out, “what did you say?”

“Nothing that I should have.” I shrug, unable to defend my actions. There should have been name-calling or at least a verbal jab or two. And we had a major amount of things to catch up on… “He said he’s calling me again. Later.”

“So does he know about our girl?” Sarah has never met Grayson, but she’s wiped enough tears and heard my story a thousand times, enough to know the father of my baby doesn’t know he’s a daddy. “Emma? Shit, sweetheart, snap out of it.”

I chew my lip. “Iwanthim to call me later. How fucked up am I?” Totally, one hundred percent fucked up. But love makes me stupid; love hates smart decisions. It’s all about the feels. Hurts are a distant memory that I can’t admit exist. “Wait. Oh my God. Do you think he knows about Cally?”

Sarah’s eyes dart to my framed pictures on my desk. “Well—”

“Well?” I bounce from surprisingly, angrily aroused to ready to puke. “He deserves to know. But I’m terrified.”

“Why?”

“God, why not? He could want…” My head shakes. “Rights. Custody. Or worse, want nothing. I haven’t seen him in years. I know nothing about him except he’salive.”

She groans. “Well… wow. Alright, I don’t know what to say.”

I stand and push my hands against the desk, letting my head hang. I can do this. Go back to work. Survive a few hours. Forget about Grayson. Go home to my new house, unpack some boxes, and relax. Cally’s spending the night with my sister. Maybe I’ll answer the phone if Grayson calls.Ifhe calls. Which he won’t. Right?

My phone buzzes. The screen shows a text message.

Unknown number:I’ll fix what I fucked up. Prepare yourself, Ems, I’m coming for you and I want forgiveness.

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