Who is she, and what is she doing here?
Has he hired her to sing for us or something?
“Hello, Rawley. Looks like I finally tracked you down. I guess you can only avoid someone’s calls for so long before they find you in person.” Her hand goes to her waist and she pulls back the side of her unbuttoned peacoat. Her eyes catch Rawley’s, she gives a cat-like grin.
His gaze falls from her face to her belly. I follow suit.
She must be at least six or seven months pregnant.
“Um, excuse me?” I lean forward, giving her a little wave. “And who are you?”
She turns, her hand going to her belly. She rubs little circles over it, extending her other hand to me. “I’m Tiffany, Rawley’s ex, and soon to be mother of his child. Pleasure to meet you.”
Heat flashes over my face and sweat prickles at my hairline. I take her hand, shaking it, my palms damp. No. This can’t be true. Is it? I’m speechless as I look from her to Rawley. “Pregnant?”
She turns to Rawley. “I heard she was smart, a doctor, right?” She turns back to me. “You don’t happen to know an OBGYN, do you? I’m relocating to the area and need a good one. The best.”
Rawley still hasn’t spoken, just runs his hand through his hair, staring at her belly in shock. His brows are drawn together in anger, his face contorted. I’ve never seen him like this before. “This isn’t possible.”
She waves her hand through the air. “You know modern-day birth control—it’s not one hundred percent effective, and in a night of drunken passion, it can be easy to forget to take it in the morning. Especially when the tryst was a heated, torrid night of break-up sex.” She looks to me. “You can’t even miss one pill. Isn’t that right, doc?”
My boyfriend is not proposing.
My boyfriend is having a baby.
With another woman.
The room starts to spin, my skin turning feverish. If I wasn’t a doctor, I might call for one to help me. I push my chair back, standing. “You two obviously have a lot to talk about. I think I’m going to go.” I feel faint, dizzy, and I have to grip the table to steady myself.
“Emmeline, no.” Rawley reaches out for me, but his hand doesn’t quite grasp me.
A hot flash comes over me, and I feel as if I might pass out. I have to get out of here, now. “I’ll meet you at your place.” I give him a look I know he can read. Don’t follow me.
I give Tiffany’s belly one long look and leave.
I manage to find my way to the elevator, my hands shaking as I push the down button.
Teetering on my heels, I make it through the crowded lobby and out of the hotel. The night air is a welcome caress against my flushed skin. I inhale deeply, trying to put myself back together.
His car is waiting out front. I climb inside, asking the driver to take me to Rawley’s.
The driver gives me a glance in the rearview mirror. “Everything alright, Miss Emmeline?”
Other than having what I thought was my going to be my boyfriend’s romantic proposal interrupted by his pregnant ex-girlfriend showing up? “I’m fine. Thanks.”
It seems like ages before I reach his apartment. My only consolation is Mr. Whiskers’ grumpy meow of greeting and Baskins’ tail thumping a welcome on the floor. I scoop up my cat and bury my face into his fur, collapsing on the couch.
My phone rings. Cat under my arm, I go to the bar where I’ve dropped my purse and dig it out with one hand. It’s Rawley. I hide the tears from my voice. Ugh, I shouldn’t have left so quickly. I didn’t even know what to do with myself.
“Hello?”
He lets out a sigh of relief. “Emmeline. Thank god you picked up. I wanted to come after you, but I could tell you needed space. Are you okay?”
“Not really.” I give a sniff. “What happened?”
He gives a long exhale of breath, and I can picture him running his hand through his hair. “She’s been calling me for weeks, but never leaving messages. I just ignored her and finally, a few days ago, I blocked her number. I guess she tracked me down tonight.”
Her timing was nothing short of disastrous. I wonder, from what he’s told me about her manipulative ways, if it wasn’t accidental. “And?”
“And…” his voice breaks. “Like you saw, she’s pregnant.”
“What happens now?”
“I’m just about to discuss that with her now, but I wanted to call you, first. I need to tell you, there is no way, no way that’s my baby. This is exactly how she plays things. I’m sorry, baby. I should’ve warned you about her.”
I’d heard things from Lexi, just a few things hinting that Darius had an ex who caused trouble. I should’ve paid more attention. “You can get a paternity test before the baby is born. It’s a simple blood test.”