“I’m not planning on it.” Mom gives me a pursed smile before she changes the subject. “You need to go to Holly.”

“Don’t worry about her. We’re staying with Mia and Adam today, and they know I’m staying an extra couple of hours after my shifts to visit you.”

She squeezes my hand. “You look tired. Please go home.”

“This is my last night shift for a couple of days. I’ll be fine.”

“Please Taylor. Go to your daughter.”

“No. Stop saying that.”

Mom stares at the ceiling for a moment, before she turns to me and says, “No matter what happens to me, or when it happens. I love you more than I could ever tell you.” I quickly nod my head. “But Taylor, whatever happens to me, please make me a promise.”

I sniffle, rubbing my index finger under my nose.

“You’re so much like me. But I don’t want you to end up like me.” She swallows, trying to wet her throat. “I don’t want you to spend your life alone. I did it with you when your father left me and I should never have waited for him to come back.” She pauses for another moment and turns to me. “Find someone who cares about you and Holly. Don’t judge all men by your father.”

“I’m fine,” I insist.

“Why don’t you send Holly’s DNA details to one of those genealogy websites? You never know. You might get a hit.”

I sigh. She doesn’t understand how much I’ve done to find Holly’s father. Including begging the auction house where I sold my virginity to hand over his details.

Obviously, they refused.

“No... No... No... Please!” I stare at the second pregnancy test stick and throw it in the trash.

“Who’s the father?” Mia asks as Lexi stands with an open mouth.

I push my fingers through my hair and shake my head. “I’ve only had sex once...” I stare at her, though not too well. My blurry vision is making that hard. “Once...”

“The man from the auction. I thought he wore a condom?” Lexi takes my hand and leads to me to a chair. “Sit.”

“He did. I thought the wetness was me.”

Mia’s face is ashen. “You’ll have to contact the club and get his details.”

“I’ll call them now.” Lexi grabs her cell. I hear her in the background asking for details. “They want to talk to you.”

“Sorry, but just like I told your friend, we can’t hand over any details. Everyone is entitled to their privacy within the confines of the club. You signed an agreement. Neither of you can contact the other unless you handed the details over yourself.”

“I’m pregnant...” I hesitate for a moment as my hand strokes over my belly.

“And he might be married.” The deep, unaffected voice says.

“He wasn’t.” My voice sounds desperate.

“How would you know that? You know nothing about him. I’m sorry, but it’s against our policy. Everyone’s details, including yours, are private.”

I turn and see Mia and Lexi’s shocked faces on the opposite side of the table as I disconnect the call with tears rolling down my cheeks.

They both gaze at me sorrowfully, knowing my child will follow in my footsteps.

“He doesn’t want to be found.” I take Mom’s hand, stroking my thumb over her fragile skin. “This is going to be hard for you to hear, but he left me alone. He claimed he was coming back for me, and I waited for one hour for him to do that. He claimed he was going to order food, but really he was running away from me.” I blurt out everything, not leaving out any details. “He lied to me. He probably wasn’t even a pilot.”

Her eyes coat with tears as she realizes how much I’ve hurt since that day. “Holly still has a right to know who her father is.” Her head nods and I sigh. “The paperwork is in my drawer.”

“Paperwork?”