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Caught off guard by the question, he stopped in his tracks. Lizzy hadn’t brought up Samantha or what happened since that day. “She’s doing okay. How are you holding up?”
“I’m okay. I still feel really bad about everything, but my therapist is helping me to realize that while I am responsible for my own choices, I can’t help the lies that helped me make the decisions. That’s helping a lot with the guilt,” she said quietly. “I just wanted to make sure Samantha is okay. She seems super nice and I feel awful about the shit that went down and the way she found out about it.”
Bryce began to see Lizzy in a new light. She’d always rubbed him the wrong way, but it was becoming obvious that she came across as overly confident to hide her insecurities. It was true that no one ever knew what battles someone else was fighting.
“She’s okay. She’s going through some other things right now, but I think that discussion really opened her eyes to everything that was going on. It wasn’t her. It was him.”
“And you?” she asked.
“I’m good. I came to accept who he was as a person years ago. I better get to work if I plan to head back home tonight,” he said as he continued to his desk.
He wasn’t being completely honest when he said he was good. Every day was still a struggle, especially with the constant reminder of how shitty his brother had treated Samantha. She had completely fallen apart when she explained how he didn’t take no for an answer. His heart hurt at the possibility that she was carrying his child, especially when the last time they’d been intimate was against her will. There he was, once again, using his energy on anger toward a dead man. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Samantha’s tear-stained face. He wanted to hit someone—to break something—but he had to hold it together.
By focusing all of his energy on work to avoid the feelings of anger, he finished up way ahead of schedule. Shortly after lunch, he was gathering the last items from his desk and heading out the door. Lizzy had left the office, so he locked up behind himself and headed to pack up the townhouse.
Samantha’s opening night was just a week away, and he was so relieved that he’d manage to be back at home for it. As far as he was concerned, even New Jersey was too far away from her. Being in Delaware while she was in New York felt like torture.
Thinking back on everything that had happened over the past several days, he wanted to do something nice to celebrate opening night. Broadway was her dream, and it was finally coming true. He wanted her to forget about everything else and focus on that. Even if only for one night. As soon as he finished packing everything up, he picked up his phone to make a call.
Chapter 24
Samantha stared at her phone unable to control the tears that formed a steady stream down her face. Her stomach had been in knots ever since the ultrasound showed her as being further along in the pregnancy than she expected. Every night she slept alone in her bed, she woke up from a nightmare. Brandon hadn’t used violent force on her, but the feeling of powerlessness when he refused to take no for an answer was something she would never forget.
The words “not excluded as the biological father” blurred before her eyes as the tears continued. After attempting to blink the tears away and wiping her eyes, she continued to look over the results. “Probability of paternity 99.96% was typed in bold letters across the bottom of the test. Her breath came out as a sob, as she sank down onto her bed.
The first thing she wanted to do was to call Bryce, but she needed to get ready to walk out the door. Warm-ups were in less than an hour which wasn’t a lot of time when walking and using mass transit. After tucking her phone in her back pocket, she washed her face and headed out the door.
The cold wind that hit her face was a welcomed sensation. She could only hope the cool fresh air would help cover the fact that she’d spent the past hour crying. Bryce would be there front and center, and she didn’t want him to worry about her. She would tell him the news as soon as they got a moment alone.
The subway station was empty for a Thursday evening, but she wasn’t complaining. Sitting with space on either side of her gave her time to center herself and prepare for the night. It was opening night. On Broadway. And she was pregnant by the man she had fallen in love with.
She walked into the theater with a smile on her face that she knew would soon turn to more tears. But these tears would be tears of happiness. This was it. In a matter of minutes, she would be performing on Broadway. Finally. After years of practicing and going to auditions. That thought circled her mind as she got changed into her costume and applied her makeup. It didn’t take long before she saw herself transform from Samantha into Joanne.
Warm-ups were a blur. After helping Brittney in the dressing room, they joined the cast in the green room and sang scales before going over some last-minute items. When the warm-up was over, they exchanged hugs before making their way backstage for the opening scene.
Nerves began to fade as excitement and anticipation took over. On cue, she walked out onto the stage behind the curtain, arriving at her place as the opening chords began to play. The curtain opened and she fought back tears as they sang the first few notes to a resounding applause. The stage lights shined warm and bright, keeping her from getting a clear view of the audience, but she knew Bryce was there right up front. As promised.
Bryce was out of his seat and heading to the stage door before they had finished the curtain call. Knowing she could sing and hearing her beautiful voice for the first time was not the same thing. He had been unable to look away from her during the entire first scene. She might as well have been on the stage by herself. Dominic and Rayelle took up the two seats next to him, and a glance at them before he left told him they were feeling the same way.
As cliché as it may have been, he held a bouquet of roses as he waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to come out. She walked out wearing her usual all black and still had traces of her stage makeup around her eyes. Once she made eye contact, her gaze never left his as she made her way over.
“Baby, you were amazing,” he said, handing her the flowers. “I assumed you were good, but my god...”
Beaming, she accepted the flowers and placed a chaste kiss on his mouth. “Thank you.”
“Rayelle and Dominic were here. I don’t think they could take their eyes off of you either.”
She looked around before returning her attention to Bryce. “Did they leave without saying hello?”
“Not exactly,” Bryce answered.
He hadn’t told her about the plans he’d made for the night. He had reserved a two-bedroom suite so they could celebrate together without anyone worrying about getting home. Samantha wouldn’t be drinking, so neither would Bryce, but he wanted to spend the night with her, and he’d already decided he wouldn’t sleep at her place anymore. He couldn’t stand the thought of being in the house where his brother had done what he had to Samantha, and he wasn’t sure how she could stand it either.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said after a long pause. “That is, if you don’t have other plans.”
“I have a surprise for you too,” Samantha announced. “And, no. No plans other than to be with you.”
He closed the distance between them once again and kissed her soft lips. It was meant to be a chaste kiss, but as soon as their lips met, he wanted more. He would always want more. She whimpered into him, the sound going straight to his cock.
