Page 65 of Princess and Country

Jeff pulled my shoulders to help me sit on his lap.

“You’re pregnant—” Was it a question or a statement? I didn’t know.

“I am.” That was all I could say. With the hem of my robe, the one with the high-end hotel logo on it—all white, like the rest of this ugly room—I wiped off my cheeks.

The flesh underneath my eyes was raw, like an open wound. Same as my heart.

“How? When? You’re still on the pill?”

“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “You know the thing I take for jet lag. It might have interfered with it. I don’t know.”

“Dahlia, why are you crying? It’s good news. It’s terrific news. I’m gonna be a father. A daddy. Who would’ve thought? You’ll be an amazing mother. We’re going to be a family. You and me.” His hand found my stomach and rested there. “And this tiny baby. I promise you, here and now, I’ll be the best father in the entire world.” I didn’t doubt that. But was the baby even Jeff’s?

A few weeks ago, I messed up.

And now life was making me pay for my mistake.

In the most ironic way.

A baby was growing inside me, and I had no idea who the father was.

Big fucking joke.

In my life, I’d always been the nice and sweet child, the responsible and mature teenager, the focused and smart adult. And now this. I’d made one mistake. One stupid—well, at the time it didn’t feel stupid—mistake and I’d have to live with that bad decision hanging over my head for the rest of my life.

I knew I needed to come clean.

But right now, as twinkles danced in Jeff’s dark irises and he held me as if I were made of gold and diamonds, I couldn’t risk breaking his heart.

All the clouds that had been fogging his eyes for so long had vanished. All gone.

My Jeff was back. Every last piece of him.

I could tell.

And a small smile broke free on my face. I’d missed him so much. Never would I have thought he’d come back to me. And there he was, proving me all wrong.

One day I’d tell him.

But not today.