Page 16 of Heartthrob

“I won’t,” I assure Andy. I already have things packed and ready for the most part.

“Remodeling your place, dear?”

I turn to look at Angel. “Um, yes.”

“Is it a full overhaul or just a little nipping and tucking, so to speak, on your place? Oh, I have a great idea,” She turns her eyes to Linc. “You could stay at Linc’s place.”

Well that doesn’t make any sense. I look around bewildered but notice that Linc is in conversation with Andy. “Um, that’s the place we’re remodeling so…,”

Angel looks stricken, “I’m sorry. You are remodeling his house? The beach house?”

I nod with a little smile, “I couldn’t get past all that white. I kept feeling like I was going to leave a mess everywhere so Linc told me to fix whatever I wanted to.”

She looks at me with blinking eyes but I don’t think she’s processing what I am saying.

“You…spend time…at the beach house?”

“I live there. With Linc.” Oh crap! She acts like she might have caught me in a lie or something. I told Linc this wouldn’t be a good idea. I told him no one would believe this was real.

“You and Linc live together?”

“Yes.” I say it slowly not wanting to fuck up more than I already have.

“You two…sleep in the same room together?”

I nod. “In the same bed.”

Maybe all of this ‘practice’ we’ve been doing - which usually includes Linc between my legs - will pay off and I won’t look like I am lying my ass off. Not that anything I’ve said so far has been a lie.

“You sleep in the same bed as Linc?”

She says it loud enough that Linc and Andy stop talking to one another and start paying attention to our conversation.

“After you two fuck does he get up and leave or stay in the same bed with you? All night?”

“That is none of your business, Angelina. And you need to calm down and keep your voice down.”

She looks between the two of us before going on, “Does he wear a condom?”

I blush and look under my eyelashes at Linc. Angel seems to take this as a positive affirmation. “Oh my God!”

Linc looks pissed. I look over at Linc and feel my heart sink in my stomach. A queasy feeling rises up in my mouth making me want to vomit. I fucked up. I fucked all of this up for him and now there’s no way to fix it. I’m going to let this man down when he has given me so much. When he wouldn’t let the police take me away when I broke into his house. The house I’m now remodeling because I told him I didn’t like to sit on the couch because I was afraid I would get it dirty. I have to do something.

“He…said we…didn’t need to use one.”

God, that doesn’t sound convincing at all. I’ve fucked this up. My hand lays on my stomach to try to battle the queasy feeling. Angel follows my hands and turns white but it’s not her that says the next thing that knocks the breath out of me.

“Shit, are you all already pregnant?” Andy is also looking at where my hand rests on my stomach and I realize how they might have gotten the wrong impression. I quickly move my hands away and open my mouth to deny the idea that I am carrying Linc Striker’s baby. “That’s why you needed the prenatal vitamins. Oh man, you guys must have gotten pregnant the first time the two of you…yep, I’m shutting my mouth now.”

But it’s already too late. The vocal growl that emanates out of Linc wasn’t fast enough for me to not hear the truth. So many emotions tumble through me at once. The utter exhaustion catches up with me at the same time my heart is pounding and confusion clouds my mind.

“You’ve been…giving me prenatal vitamins every morning?” I turn worried, scared eyes toward him. “That’s what I’ve been taking every morning?”

He looks between me and Angel before finally frowning at both of us. “Yeah, okay. When the time finally came I wanted everything to be okay.”

“Wait! You’re trying to get her pregnant?”

Angel has been overheard by one of the few press reporters in the crowd. Cameras flash and I hear mutters whispering through the entire room. “Did someone just say Linc and his hot girlfriend are trying to start a family?”

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