Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Lexi blinked. “What?”
I shrugged. “I’m not judging, Lexi. I know you’re past the recommended termination date, but, like I said, I know I guy.” I touched her hand. “It’ll be like the baby never existed.”
She pulled away as though my words physically burned her. Her chest heaved, face furious, eyes wild, and she whispered in a deadly calm, “Like the baby never existed?”
I could’ve smiled then. I wanted to, but I didn’t. Instead, I raised a brow. “Or adoption. Whichever.”
Hugging herself tight, she’d let out a hoarse, “No.” Then louder, “No! This is my baby.” Then quieter, and a thousand times more pained, “This is my baby. Our baby. This is all I have left of him.”
Enough was enough. I reached forward and lifted her chin till her eyes met mine. “If you want this baby, prove it.” Her eyes changed then, turned softer, and I saw fear. But as far as I was concerned, fear was better than resignation. I shook her chin lightly. “You gotta live now. If not for yourself, then for your baby. This baby is a gift, but you gotta earn it, Lex. I know Twitch isn’t around, but your baby needs you.” At the mention of my best friend, Lexi lost whatever small amount of strength she’d stockpiled. Sobbing quietly, her body turned weak under my touch. I pushed a little harder. “Your baby doesn’t have a daddy. It needs its momma.” I released her then, and she fell back into the pillows on the sterile, uncomfortable hospital bed. Her soft, keening cry was a knife to my gut, mainly because I knew she hadn’t the energy to cry harder. I took hold of her small, cold hand and held it between mine. I rubbed it, trying desperately to warm her. “Can you do that, Lex? Can you look after yourself, make sure your baby has someone he can depend on?”
Suddenly, she lifted her gaze to mine, blinking sluggishly, before asking a hushed, “Do you think it’s a boy?” Her free hand started to move over her small baby bump. “I think it’s a boy, too. I have from the second I found out.”
I took this as a good sign. No woman who wanted to abort a pregnancy wanted to talk about the smaller things. I smiled softly, warmly. “I do, baby. I think you got a little man in there.” My smile turned into a grin. “And knowing Twitch and his hard-ass way, he’ll look just like him. Poor boy won’t have a choice.”
A wisp of a smile lit Lexi’s face. “And if it’s a girl?”
I clicked my tongue. “A plague on you, woman. If you have a little girl in there, looking half as pretty as its momma…” I leaned back in my chair and blew out a long, hard breath while shaking my head. “Shit. It’s enough to give a man nightmares. Lucky Twitch won’t be around to witness her first date.”
The second those words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. To consume them while they were still in the air. My stomach clenched as anxiety filled me. I felt like a grade-A moron.
But to my surprise, Lexi’s half smile flourished into a smile I hadn’t seen since before Twitch had gone. She laughed through her nose a second before letting out a sigh. “It’s nice to talk about him. Everyone is so scared to talk about him. Sometimes I think he was just a figment of my imagination.”
I pursed my lips. “There’s nothing wrong with speaking of the dead.”
She reached for me with a shaking hand. I met her halfway, taking it eagerly, basking in her sudden contact. We stayed in the position a while before her fingers tightened in mine. “Julius?”
My voice scratchy from exhaustion, I blinked, then asked, “What is it, baby?”
Her whispered words sounded more like a plea than a question. “Will you make sure the baby knows about him? The good things?”
That was the exact moment I knew Lexi would be okay. Relief flowed through me. “Yeah, Lex. I can do that.”
“Earth to Julius. Uh, hello? Anyone in there?” Ling’s voice brings me back to the present.
“What?”
Her perfectly shaped brow rises into an arch. “Are you feeling okay? Maybe we should find a closer motel for the night.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m good. Just got caught up in my head.”
Sarcasm laces her voice. “A dangerous place to be.”
I huff out a laugh. “You have no idea, girl.”
Concentrating on the road when you’re tired is hard. What’s harder is concentrating while feeling perfectly manicured nails trail up your leg. My voice low in warning, I growl, “Ling.”
She replies a sullen, pouting, “I’m hungry.”
Taking her hand and placing it on her own leg, I utter, “Nothin’ to eat where you’re looking.”
I hear her smile when she speaks low and sultry. “I can think of something that might satisfy me.”