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As far as his ht He liked it here; he liked the quiet; he loved the people he worked with But the news she’d dropped on hi The girl out front was a non-issue

"You’ve got ured out, huh?"

"No! I really don’t I really don’t know anything about you" She gave a crooked sot us into trouble"

"I’ll clue you in a little" He drew a deep breath that burned his lungs "I had a shitty childhood I never knew my real dad much, and my stepdad once cracked a beer bottle on h his eyebrow "I always vowed any kid of row up in a situation like that I can knoith you as a mom, he or she won’t My mom…she loved me, but she was as scared of him as I was You…I know as much about you as you do about me, but I can already tell you’re fearless You wouldn’t stand for so like that But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be involved It doesn’t mean I can walk aash my hands of the situation I want to be around"

"You can," she said "You can be around God, Ian I’m sorry"

"I didn’t tell you that so you could pity me I told you so you could understand" He didn’t knohy it happened at that particular moment, but her beauty stole his breath Her skin seehts cast a halo on her silky hair I her in a few ave an aching leap He wanted more than to be around He wanted to be there Always there, at her side, taking this journey with her If he told her that, though, she would run

She held his gaze for a seely endless moment while neither of them spoke At last, she looked down

"Give me your phone number, and we’ll talk ht She recited it as he entered it into his contacts "I’ll call you"

"Okay Now I’ to check on Candace"

As she left without another word, he stayed and shoved his thuer into his closed eyes until he saw multicolored starbursts His head pounded in rhythht panic

He’d gotten his boss’s sister pregnant

Jesus What a fking day

Chapter Ten

Gabby’s hands were shaking She felt like she was going to throw up Walking in Brian’s office, though, she sao more people who looked as if they felt the same way

Candace sat at his desk, her head in both hands and her hair sticking crazily through her fingers Her da Gabby’s presence Brian stood against the wall, inked ar the inside of his cheek

"How are we doing in here?" Gabby asked, trying to sound as if she hadn’t just gone through an emotional trauma of her own

"We’re okay," Candace said dully

"Dizziness? Nausea? Pain?"

"Nausea That’s about it" Join the club, honey "Macy left to go get nancy test She said she couldn’t stand it She has to know"

Gabby had an extra they could’ve used, but she figured that ht raise some eyebrows "I take it you don’t want to?" She chuckled "Hey, at least you h, do you?"