Time froze. The world disappeared. Merit’s mind went blank except for the two words repeating in his head, over and over, louder and louder. But before he could form a coherent thought, all the color drained from her face.
He frowned with concern. “Whoa, are you—”
She swayed on her feet and stumbled a step to the side. When she started to tip, he lunged forward to catch her before she collapsed on the flagstone entryway. His heart thumped hard against his ribs as he held her petite frame against his chest. She felt small and fragile in his arms, and still her fruity, floral perfume that haunted his memories registered on his senses.
“Mae? Talk to me. You okay?” Alarm raised his voice an octave as his pulse raced fast enough to steal his breath.
She lifted a shaky hand to her temple. “Dizzy spell,” she whispered. “I just…need to sit…”
He swept her up into his arms and turned for the door.
Her small palm flattened against his bare chest. “Put me down. I can walk.”
Ignoring the weak order, he carried her inside, kicking the door shut on the way to the couch in his living room. She didn’t protest again until he gently laid her on the leather cushion and grabbed a pillow to put under her head.
“Merit—”
“Shh.” He kept her from sitting up. “I’m going to get you some water. Just lay here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
He hurried around the partial wall into the kitchen to pull a glass down from the cupboard. Setting it on the counter, he took a second to brace his hands on the edge, then hung his head while sucking a huge gulp of air into his tight lungs. The oxygen kick-started his brain and brought everything back into focus—
“I’m pregnant.”
Sharp, shocking, terrifying focus.
Merit straightened as his breath shortened all over again. He raised his arms to fist his hands in his hair, his clenched fingers pulling hard at his scalp as he stared at the water dispenser on his stainless steel refrigerator.
Holy fuck.
Was it his?
Dumb question. She would not have come to tell him she was pregnant if it wasn’t his—would she? A tiny spark of hope lit. Maybe she just needed to tell someone, and he was an impartial party to test out his reaction.
Keep dreaming, dipshit. She’d tell Honor, not you.
He jerked his hands down and spun around. Honor was pregnant, too. Did she know about Mae? If so, she hadn’t said one word about it at brunch.
On the heels of that thought, another hit him hard. Had the two of them planned this somehow? Or Mae, at the least? Outrage carried him forward a couple steps, but he caught himself and backtracked to fill the glass with water while he concentrated on taking measured, calming breaths. He had to make sure she was okay first.
When he returned to the living room, Mae was sitting up, her elbows braced on her knees, head in her hands. She straightened as he moved in front of her and held out the glass.
Her hand trembled slightly when she took it from him. “Thank you.”
“Yep.”
At his clipped response, her gaze met his for a brief moment. She looked away as she took a sip.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You sure? I can call someone if you need me to. An ambulance or—”
“No,” she quickly denied. “I’m fine. I’ve had a couple spells since, um, since I found out, but it passes. Usually I can feel it coming on and sit down. This one came on faster than usual, that’s all.”
He nodded, moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her, then shot back to his feet to pace across the floor. When he reached the fireplace hearth, he pivoted on the ball of his foot and paced back. He tried to figure out exactly what to say while he made another trip back and forth.
“Will you please stop that?”
The slight irritation in her voice made him halt and pivot to face her. Taking in her pale features as she sat on his black leather couch, he was struck again by how delicate she appeared. He’d never guess she was the CEO of a successful women’s construction company.
What more proof did he need that appearances could be so damn deceiving?
She took another sip of water, then reached to set the glass on the coffee table next to his empty to-go cup. She stilled for a moment, then swallowed hard as she sat back to rub her palms on her bare thighs.
He vividly recalled how soft the skin of her inner thighs felt against his lips.
“Merit,” she began, “I don’t expect—”
“Is it mine?” In his desperation to keep from thinking about her enthusiastic responses to his hands and tongue two months ago, the question just popped out.
Her spine stiffened and her gaze jerked up to lock with his. After a weighted moment of silence, she raised her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me right now?”
He ignored a stab of guilt as he lifted his shoulders.
She crossed her arms. “Tell me, Merit, why the hell else would I be here if it wasn’t yours?”
Yup. He’d already known that was a dumb question, damn it. So on to the next. “We used protection.”
Okay, so it was actually a statement, but the question was implied. Or it would’ve been if it hadn’t sounded like an accusation.
“Clearly, it didn’t work,” she snapped.
“Clearly.” He didn’t remember a condom breaking, but then again, he hadn’t looked, either. He started to pace toward the fireplace again, then swung around. “Did you plan this?”
A look of incredulity shot her eyebrows skyward as color flooded back into her cheeks. “Did I plan to get pregnant from a one night stand with my best friend’s younger, womanizing brother-in-law? No. Definitely not.”
His jaw clenched at the womanizing dig. And the younger. He was pretty sure there were only a couple years between them. “So you and Honor didn’t decide being pregnant together would be fun?”
“Of course not,” she bit out. “There is nothing fun about this situation. Single motherhood is hard enough with one child, you think I wanted to add another?”
His whole body stiffened. “You don’t want it?”
The idea of becoming a father scared the shit out of him, but the thought of her not having the baby squeezed his chest so hard it hurt.
The reaction caught him totally by surprise, and his heart thumped while he waited for her answer.
Her expression darkened as she stared at him for a long moment. “That is not what I said. You asked if I planned this. I didn’t. I wouldn’t have chosen this outcome, but since I made the choice to have sex, I will take responsibility for the consequences. I am having the baby, and I will love it as much as I love Ian.”
Relief left him slightly weak in the knees.
Her gaze flicked toward the coffee table, then returned to his, hard and shuttered. “I don’t expect anything from you. I don’t want anything from you. I’m only here because I felt you had the right to know.”
“You don’t expect anything from me? Last I checked it takes two to make a baby.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not exactly the step up and be a dad kind of guy, now are you?”
He reared back as if she’d slapped him. Holy shit, she really had a low opinion of him, didn’t she? Guess he could see why she’d ghosted him after the wedding.
Just as fast, anger swelled. She didn’t know him well enough to make such a harsh judgment. And where had she gotten her information from? Honor? Asher? Pain lanced through his chest as he considered his own brother might hold the same low estimation of his character.
The peal of the doorbell made him flinch, and he jerked his gaze toward the door.
When he didn’t move to answer, Mae rose to her feet. “Go ahead. I’ve said all I needed to say.”
“I haven’t.” He strode forward, pointing a finger at her as he passed. “Wait right there. We’re not done.”
Not by a long shot.
His glare kept her at the couch, and he rubbed an agitated hand over his bare chest as he crossed the room. His sweaty T-shirt was on the kitchen counter, but he didn’t bother with the detour. He took a deep breath as he opened the door to get rid of whoever was on the other side. His forced smile froze when he met Lyssa’s sultry brown gaze.
“Well, hello there, Handsome.”
Fuck. He’d forgotten all about her.