Page 96 of Lost on Ice
“What?” Abbie gasps.
I nod, my stomach twisting with nausea as I recall the details of Cassandra’s ploy.
“She was never pregnant… hell, it turned out I never even slept with her. Not for lack of trying, apparently. She’d drugged me, and in that state, she couldn’t get it to stay up.”
“Oh my God.” She looks horrified, her jaw dropping.
“I swore I’d never let myself be duped like that again.” Releasing a long breath, I place her hand against my cheek. “I know you’d never do anything like that to me. You value me outside of what I can give you, and I know life with you—starting a family with you—would never be like the life I had growing up. Even if Lilah isn’t mine…”
“She is!” she exclaims, the words bursting out of her.
Wait.
Did she…?
I freeze and stare at her, stunned. “Wha…what?”
She swallows and nods. There’s a long moment where she seems like she’s trying to speak but can’t get the words out. Finally, she takes my hand, and she whispers, “Lilahisyours, Jake. She’s your daughter.”
I don’t say a word. I can’t seem to remember how to speak for a long moment. For several seconds, I can only stare at her, her words rattling around in my head.
“But I thought you said…”
“I did,” she whispers, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I got scared and lied. I wanted to take it back right away, but I didn’t know how to.”
I’m speechless and can only stare at her in shock as what she’s saying finally registers.
Lilah is mine.
She’s really mine.
Part of me had always suspected, but to have Abbie confirm it…
Joy explodes within me and I cup her face, pulling her in and kissing her with a laugh. Abbie kisses me back but then seems to snap out of her surprise and pulls back. “Wait,” she says, pushing her hand against my chest to hold me back. “I need to say something.”
I grit my teeth impatiently but sit back. “What is it?”
“You should be mad at me,” she declares. “I didn’t tell you about Lilah. I kept that from you all these years, and yeah, I was embarrassed because you always insisted we were just hooking up and felt nothing more for me, but I also didn’t want you to feel obligated to be with me…”
“I don’t care about any of that,” I tell her, my voice heavy with emotion. “Look, I get why you didn’t tell me. I ghosted you and treated you like you were just a hookup, but you were never just that. You were always so much more.”
“I was?” she murmurs. “I thought I was just a convenient lay in your mind. Until recently, anyway.”
“You did?” My heart twists at the admission.
“Yeah…” she hesitates a moment before continuing. “I tried so hard to be what you wanted back then. To seem cool and nonchalant about things because you were always that way. The truth is, though, I’ve loved you since high school, and it hurt whenever I thought what we were doing wasn’t a big deal to you, and I..”
“Look, I’m sorry. I was a goddamn idiot. But I hope I’m a little smarter now,” I laugh, “Because now I know the truth. I love you. You’re the only woman I ever want to be with. And I love Lilah. I want us to be a family, together. Always. Is that clear?”
Her smile is bright and her tears break free and start flowing down her cheeks.
“Crystal clear.”
This time, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss, as if to officially seal our new start. And I’ve never felt better.
Chapter Thirty-Two
JAKE
