Page 71 of Irish Betrayal

Cue guilt and uncertainty. Daniel did say he wouldn’t have minded had she gotten pregnant, which was probably easier to feel once the threat had passed—or they thought it had passed.

Blair: He doesn’t know. I thought to wait until I get home and tell him in person. I’ll only be four months gone.

Mags: ONLY? Christ, have mercy.

Blair: And…you guys can’t tell anyone. I’m nervous, and this is really going to screw up my doctorate timeline, but…I’m excited too.

Gray: I’m so excited for both of you. Daniel is going to flip out.

Bébhinn: I won’t tell, but it’s going to be soooooo hard. I’m glad you’re excited because it is flipping amazing. Hardly anyone gets pregnant at the PERFECT time. You and Dan will make it perfect. I’m going to be a great-aunt!!!

Mags: Christ, Bébhinn, way to make it fucking weird.

Bébhinn: Okay. My first cousin once removed.

Gray: Seriously. Stop. Blair can’t hear it, but I hear “Dueling Banjos.” Blair’s literally only a couple of hours from the Arkansas backwoods.

Blair: You guys suck, but I love you. I have to go to class. Thanks for making me feel better. And thank you for not holding my silence against me. Talk to you soon.

Confiding in her friends was the right move. Guilt over leaving Daniel had been slowly killing her, but so had the remorse from blocking her friends.

All of them had hidden things from one another over the years, but unless they were really good at secrets, it wasn’t as horrible and gross as her past.

Thinking about what she’d allowed Peter to do to her, what she had willingly done to him—bile boiled up her throat instantly.

Shame.

Guilt.

Fury. Absolute fury.

Even though she had pushed her friends away for months, they had been biding their time until she came back to them.

Mags, Gray, and Bébhinn made her feel strong enough to tackle the Peter issue. Blair should have never shut them out for so long.

Something solidified for Blair when she found out about the baby. The moment she got home, she was going to Scotland and would tell her parents about Peter. Blair wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he had the chance to hurt another innocent child.

She did not want Daniel to know the extent of her foolishness, but for the sake of the fledgling relationship, she would tell him.

thirty-three

PETER

One week. For one week, Peter had been ghosting after Blair. She went to the grocery. He was an aisle over. Petrol station. He was in the lot over. He watched her like a lost lamb on the school campus, tucked away in a corner. Forced into the shadows like a dirty secret.

Peter used to be her best secret.

Her brilliant hair shining in the sun made his body clench with need. His arms spasmed at the thought of wrapping around her diminutive form.

He wanted her smiles.

He wanted her trust.

He wanted her.

Peter was past due for the appointment at Trinity. He was sure they’d dismissed him. He couldn’t bring himself to care because he knew that if he left America, Oklahoma, he would destroy the last chance he might have at bringing Blair back.

He had made so many mistakes. Stupid, stupid, stupid mistakes.