Page 66 of Kiss Me Ever After
The bed clothes were rumpled and untidy, much like normal, and Lennon’s clothes from the previous evening were in a ball in the corner. The vest top she normally wore for bed lay on the pillow. I couldn’t resist grabbing it and bringing it to my face to remind myself of her perfume. It would probably be considered creepy if I took it.
Whatever.
I stuffed it into the rucksack I’d originally brought with me, along with some clean underwear and clothes. For a moment, I debated whether to take everything, but I was sure it wouldn’t be long before I was back here, before things were back to normal between us and we were making plans for the future. I wanted to make the most of what little time we had left together.
I just had to deal with Candace first.
* * *
Several hourslater my optimism had evaporated.
She completely blanked me in the cafe, although I didn’t make matters easy for her either. I couldn’t look at her, embroiled as I was in a crazy situation I didn’t know how to handle.
Candace chewed my ear off about dates, trimesters, baby classes, shopping, the whole baby shebang. It went in one ear and out the other.
Lennon watched our table intently, trying to make it look like she wasn’t.
After a while, she disappeared into the staff room.
“Let’s get out of here,” I suggested.
“Why? They’ve got fantastic cake.”
I put a hand to my mouth. “I’m not feeling all that great, to be honest. Drank a bit too much last night and I could do with some air.”
She reached over the table to clutch my other hand, but I pulled it away abruptly. “Don’t worry, I totally understand. If I can get past ten o’clock without puking my guts up, it’s a miracle. Why don’t you go, and I’ll settle the bill?”
Her last statement took me by surprise. I didn’t remember Candace ever paying for anything when we were together.
But the chance to escape was too tempting to make anything of it.
“Thanks.” I stood up, pushed my chair back and headed outside, gulping in deep breaths.
A few minutes later, Candace joined me. We walked to the park and found a bench near the children’s playground.
My gaze fixated on a young couple, around our age, who were pushing a baby on the swings.In a few months, that could be me.
I swallowed hard against the lump which had formed in my throat. “Candace, this baby.”
She dove into her handbag and pulled out the ultrasound she’d shown me last night. “I know. Isn’t this the craziest thing ever?”
My brow furrowed as I thought back over her dates. She said she was five months pregnant, which would put conception around May time. While I wouldn’t bet my kidneys on it, I wasn’t completely sure we’d been together. This thing between me and Candace had always been on and off. I couldn’t be certain we’d been on back then. The other thing that bugged me was the whole protection issue. Ialwayswore a condom. Always. No excuses, no matter what. Candace was calling it an accident, but my gut told me otherwise. I had to call her out on it.
“You’re right,” I conceded. “It is crazy. Because we were always so careful.”
Her grey eyes stared innocently at me. “Not always. Like I said last night, accidents can happen. God, anyone would think you want to do a DNA test.”
I racked my brain trying to think when it could have gone wrong. Nothing sprang to mind. “Kind of convenient though, for you to tell me on Amber’s birthday when I was with mygirlfriend.”
Candace shrugged. “Seemed like a good time, the whole gang was together, and I thought I’d add to the celebrations.” She didn’t meet my gaze as she spoke, which set alarm bells ringing even louder.
She had never been a part of the gang.
“Why did it take you so long to tell me?” I wondered aloud. “I mean, five months is a long time to keep me in the dark. It’s not as if you haven’t had the opportunity. For fuck’s sake, you were at a party with me less than a month ago.”
She hung her head. “It didn’t feel like the right time. I wanted to tell you one-on-one.”
“So you waited until Amber’s birthday and spilled the news in front of all my friends and my girlfriend instead? Hardly the intimate reveal you wanted.” I pressed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. “You had my number, Candace. You know where I live. You could have told me before. Why didn’t you?” Defeated, I let my hands drop into my lap. I needed to see her face while she tried to come up with yet another excuse.
