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"I’ued half-heartedly "And I don’t think Stella would appreciate it if I stayed the night, even if I slept on the sofa"

Reid’s brows drew in "I thought you knew" He trailed off, and I turned to face hi coo just yet The small touch had reminded ers on ain, and I was certain he could feel the erratic rhythm of my pulse

"Knehat?" I asked

"I broke up with Stella"

My eyes widened in surprise "When?"

He shook his head, his eyes downcast "Doesn’t matter I just couldn’t be with her anymore"

As badly as I wanted to ask why, I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it I also had no desire to recap the conversation we’d had about hoould try to love her if itover me So what exactly did it mean then? If they were over did that s for oing to fight for you

I shoved those thoughts aside witha constant in each other’s lives again, andparents The rest would have to wait

"I would say I’hed aardly, "but we both knoouldn’ther anywhere near our baby if you’d stayed together"

"Yeah, look, there’s soo of ainst his brown leather headboard "Stella was the one who told ht of how he’d conant hadn’t even crossedupset with him that I’d never stopped to wonder who’d told him

I frowned, and my body involuntarily took a weary step backwards "How did she know?"

"She said her friend works as a receptionist at the doctor’s consulting rooms, and she was the one you spoke to the day you rescheduled your ultrasound"

I was going to have to talk to Dr Burke about that Stella’s friend was going to lose her job thanks to that little stunt, but I didn’t want Stella to be a problem

"Hey" Reid moved from the bed and came to stand in front of me He tipped ht fro the cut of his jaw, and the roundness of his lips My heart did that stuttering thing again, and I feltto sway towards him In spite of the cold temperature, his hard body radiated heat A warmth I was all too familiar with And apparently so was my body

"Don’t worry about her," he told me softly "She won’t be a problem"

"And if she becomes one? If she decides she wants you back?"

His stoic expression gave nothing away, but I could see he understood the underlyingto my question I wanted his reassurance – albeit over and over again – that our child would be put above all else

"She never really had me, Jade I know it, and she shows it But the question is," – he leaned closer, until ere inhaling the same breaths – "do you know it?"