Page 13 of Titus (Big Hot Alphas 2)

It’s been less than a week since I took the pregnancy test. There was nothing faint about the two lines that appeared, but still, I remained in denial at first. The wordsI’m pregnantkept repeating in my head, over and over and over, and yet I couldn’t believe it was actually true.

I spent several sleepless nights trying to imagine myself mothering a child, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t picture it. I couldn’t imagine ending the pregnancy, either, though. That feltjustas impossible.

Finally, I made up my mind that I was going to have to do the heart-wrenching thing—give the baby up for adoption, give my little one to a family who could provide what I was unable to. I simply wasn’t equipped for raising a kid.

And right now, I’m not equipped to see Titus again.

“Can we talk?” he says.

I take in the sight of him. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see him again. I know he told me he was going to come back, but I didn’t believe him. Guys say shit they don’t mean all the time.

But here he is. Standing before me. Holding flowers. Looking just as hot as he did the first time. As I look at him, an ache blooms between my thighs. Shit. I can’t get distracted by that. It doesn’t matter how delicious he might look. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place.

“I’m working,” I say stiffly.

“When’s your shift over?”

“In an hour.”

“Okay. I’ll wait.” Titus glances around the café to see what booths are empty.

But the idea of him sitting here makes my chest constrict.

“Can you…sorry, but can you not wait here?”

Disappointment and confusion etches onto his face. I’m sure he just wants to know why I’m acting this way, why I’m not happier to see him. But I can’t explain it all right now.

“Okay,” says Titus. “I’ll come back in an hour.”

Titus walks out of the café, flowers still in hand, and I get back to work. I try to act like everything’s normal, keeping a smile on my face for customers, but all I want to do is slide into one of the booths and lay my head down on the table and shut out the world.

But I go on.

An hour later, my shift is up, and I’m bracing myself for facing Titus again. While I wait for him to show up, I sit down across from Joe, who looks up from his sketchbook with a smile.

“I saw your friend came back,” he says.

I sigh. “You noticed, huh?”

“A man that size is hard to miss, my dear.”

I let out a half-laugh. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

“You aren’t happy to see him again?”

“It’s complicated, Joe.”

“Complicated how?”

I know that Joe is eventually going to figure it out—once I start to show, it’s not like I’ll be able to hide the baby belly for long. But I can’t bring myself to tell him yet. What if he’s disappointed in me? What if he thinks less of me?

“I just…I didn’t think he’d come back,” I tell Joe. “I’d already accepted that he was just passing through town.”

“Ah. I see.” Joe takes a sip from his coffee cup. “Well, if you want someone to scare the guy away…”

I laugh. “You’re sweet. But no. I can handle this myself.”

“My offer still stands.”

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