He’ll remind me that we’re nothing and that he can’t possibly have a child. He’ll ask me my plans and no matter what I say, he’ll disapprove of them.
He frowns. “Nydia?” He says her name so slowly, I wonder if he’s having a stroke.
Instead of calling 9-1-1, I answer, “Yeah, she asked me to get a couple because…” I trail my gaze and voice. If there’s something I learned from the Cantú siblings is that being a little dramatic makes Iskander so uncomfortable he deflects the conversation.
“Why do you have them?”
I give him a look that says,duh-she-was busy. “You might remember her wedding.”
He studies me for a moment before exhaling with relief.
Ding, ding, ding! I gave the perfect answer and performance.If this were a show, I’d get an Emmy. Best Impromptu Performance by a Non-Actress.
“Good, I hope you know that we—” He presses his lips together while breathing a couple of times. “We know where we stand, right?”
“At a hotel in Silver Lake, enjoying a weekend before you leave permanently for New York.” I don’t even know if that’s true, but I’ll bullshit my way through this one.
“Obviously. I didn’t mean physically. I meant… you and me. We’re not—”
“Please,” I huff, waving my hand dismissively. “We had our fun while it lasted.”
“Ch-children…” His breathing is almost shallow.
There’s a cracking sound coming from my chest. It’s not exactly my heart breaking because I’m madly in love with him. Nope. It’s disappointment because if I’m pregnant, my poor child has already been rejected.
“You’re an amazing woman—”
“Iskander, stop,” I order. “We’re adults. If I were pregnant, it wouldn’t be your problem. I’d just deal with it.”
We stare at each other for several seconds before he nods. “Let’s hurry. We’ll drive to Seattle. I can leave you at the ferry terminal so you can go home. I’ll head to New York immediately.”
The coldness in his voice doesn’t surprise me, but it stings. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him I might be carrying his baby, but we don’t need anything from him.
We.
Don’t.
Need.
Him.
But I don’t see the point of getting into a fight. I have to go back and work for his family, at least until I figure out what I’m going to do with my future.
“Siobhan, I just want to make sure that we don’t confuse this.”
I laugh, waving a hand as if saying forget it. “You’re reading too much into this. I’m aware that you’re leaving. We were never an item,just two people fucking.”
He flinches but shakes his head and gives me that killer smirk that usually makes my panties wet—not today. “Well, if I’m ever in Luna Harbor—”
“Come and say hi.” I smile at him, pretending everything is alright in our world.
He smiles back, either relieved there’s nothing between us or just because he’s too fucking polite.
It’s okay that it’s over, I repeat to myself. I just have to figure out what’s next for me.
ChapterSeventeen
Siobhan