Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
All that rage and then…nothing.
Until now. This one quiet passive-aggressive retort.
And she could tell he regretted even revealing that much, because his palm went to his nape and he squeezed, before turning toward the leather easy chair in the sitting room—his one contribution to the decor in their house—and throwing himself into it.
His sprawl was as messy and out of place in the pristine room as the chair.
His hands were folded over of the flat plane of his stomach.
“Why did you look like you were about to cry when I first walked in?” he asked.
“I don’t…” She bit back the word cry as she recalled that he had seen her at her most vulnerable and would know that claim to be a lie. “It’s good news. Fern is pregnant.”
“Who?” He looked utterly bewildered for a few moments, while Kenny stared at him in disbelief. His confusion cleared up almost instantly and he grimaced. “Sorry, jet lag. Niall’s wife?” Niall was her oldest brother. “I thought that whole thing was a business arrangement. Who’s the father?”
“Niall says he is.”
“Didn’t they marry like a minute ago?”
“A couple of weeks ago, yes.”
“And she’s pregnant already?”
“She was pregnant when they married,” she said, thumbnail picking at the rounded edge of her phone’s screen protector. Another text popped up on screen while she was looking down at it. Gideon—the youngest of her three older brothers—was ribbing Niall about the pretend marriage being a little more real than he’d let on. Nox, their other brother, hadn’t said anything beyond congratulations.
“Ah.” The soft sound was Smith’s only response to Kenny’s words. His eyes were too observant, too all-knowing and she hated that he appeared to see more than she was willing to reveal.
He remained silent for another beat before asking, “And this makes you sad?”
“It’s good news. I mean, I think Niall is conflicted about it, but a baby is always a—um—a blessing. Right?” God, she sounded trite. And all that forced cheer. She was a monster. She shouldn’t need to fake happiness at the thought of a niece or nephew, she should be excited. Genuinely thrilled. Not wading through this complicated morass of negative emotions.
“It may well be good news, but you’re not happy.”
“No, I’m happy.” Liar. “I am. It’s just a lot to wrap my head around. Their marriage is supposed to end in three years’ time. So it complicates things.”
“And your reaction isn’t about what happened to us? And our baby?”
“We didn’t have a baby,” she reminded him and the concern that had warmed his eyes was instantly leeched away by ice.
For a very brief, revealing moment she caught another glimpse of the fury behind the permafrost in his eyes.
The muscles in his jaw popped as he clenched his teeth and shook his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, dislodging the glasses and leaving them slightly askew when he moved his hand to rake his fingers through his already messy hair.
His deep sigh was rife with irritation and impatience.
“I can’t do this right now. I’m fucking exhausted.”
Do what?
She barely stopped herself from asking, instinctively recognizing that that was not a conversation she was ready to have.
Chapter
One
Present Day
Day 556
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Kenny offered tentatively, while Smith dragged a comb through his wet hair and splashed some aftershave onto his freshly shaved face. He grimaced a little at the burn and met her gaze in the mirror.
“Hmm?” She found it gratifying how Smith would always give her his full attention when she had something to say. She became his sole focus. Sometimes, she found that intensity a little overwhelming. But she always appreciated it.
This wasn’t the ideal time for this discussion, as they were preparing to go to her dad’s welcome dinner at Gideon’s place. He was visiting for the holidays.
“I think we should try for a baby.”
She’d given the idea a great deal of consideration, weighing the pros and cons. And since it seemed like Smith didn’t want a divorce after all, Kenny started to feel like maybe they could give this a proper go.
His face went slack, his shock evident in the immediate waxy paleness of his healthily tanned skin. He turned around to face her, folding his arms across his lovely bare chest.
She’d always appreciated what a fine specimen of masculinity Smith was. He wasn’t overly ripped. Everything was lean, long, hard, and beautifully proportioned. He had a tennis player’s body. Which made sense since it was his favorite form of exercise.
“Uh…what?” Smith was never lost for words, always urbane, with a ready response to any given situation. But right now he seemed speechless, and that threw Kenny. She’d grown accustomed to his steady temperament. Very few things seemed to frazzle him.
Ever.
Only he looked pretty frazzled right now.
Odd.
Kenny went over her statement. There was nothing confusing or misleading about her words. She’d expected them to be on the same page about this. After all, they were heading into their second year of marriage, they’d established a harmonious domestic routine, they were compatible in every way. She was at a point in her career where she could take a year or two off. And if they weren’t going to divorce, if this marriage was going to be permanent, then surely the next logical step was a child?