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Fuck That was the core of it, wasn’t it? He could lie and say yes, but she’d see through him in an instant And in that moment, he hated himself for it This wasn’t how his world worked It wasn’t how this was supposed to go But the thing was, for the first ti clue what happened next and it ate away at hiht down to the bone
“If you are pregnant,” he said, pressing the gas pedal down because he needed to do so part of my child’s life”
Clover let out a weary sigh and rested her teer“I’d never want you to be If I’ure it out from there”
“Fine,” he ground out as he passed a o ahead with the engagement as if it was real”
“Why?”
He grabbed ahold of the first reason that came to mind “Because I have you under contract for another teeks, and I’otiation”
“The contract, of course” Maybe she was just tired, but her voice sounded thicker than before “So we go on pretending to be engaged until we know one way or another in a week or two But no matter how it turns out, reirl and you sure aren’t the kind of guy to clock out of the office at five every day to go home to your wife and kids”
Was she wrong? No They ho they were Those differences were no big deal when it was all about hot sex and fun, but twenty years down the line? He had no plan for that Still, he couldn’t stop hi
“Look, I’e, but…” The words died out as some emotion he couldn’t—didn’t want—to identify jacked up his thinking “Just consider it”
God kneould As Harbor City’s skyline, dotted with Carlyle Enterprises buildings, took shape in the near distance, the idea was already taking root in his head in ways that all of his mother’s schemes to find him the perfect Harbor City socialite wife never had
Chapter Twenty-One
Tard, silence-filled days later, Clover shuffled through the front door of the apart and her body weary The setting sun strea on the bowl of popcorn, open bottle of wine, and two plastic glasses sitting in the middle of the reclaiing froh, Daphne was in there singing and putting the finishing touches on the double plate of cookies they always had on ht
Standing in the open doorway, she hesitated, not sure whether tohad co around people—especially soht now The dense eht by the lake thickened,She never should have said yes to ht this week
“Lupakan ia,” she said and turned toward the door
But before she coulda plate of cookies