Page 98

Neither of us says anything at first. Ellie gives me a minute before she finally turns toward me.

“What do you want to do?” she asks. “I can take you home. I can call Sumner or text him and tell him you need him there. Whatever you want.”

I shake my head. “He’s at Colston’s.”

“Okay. Then I can take you there.”

The thought of walking into Colston’s like this makes my stomach twist again. “No. I need to tell him without an audience so he has a second to process.”

Ellie reaches across the console and takes my hand. “Then call him. Tell him you need him.”

I look down at our joined hands.

For five months, there hasn’t been a question about who this baby’s dad is. Sumner stepped into that role before we even knew what the hell we were doing with each other, and somewhere along the way he stopped being the guy I was going to co-parent with and became the person I’m building my life around.

And I love him.

I only just let myself admit that, and now I have to call him and tell him the baby he already loves might belong biologically to the man who blew up my life before Sumner ever walked into it.

My eyes start burning, and I blink hard before the tears can spill over again.

“What if this changes everything?” I whisper.

Ellie’s fingers tighten around mine. “What if this changes nothing?”

“How can it not?” My voice comes out rough.

That’s the part I can’t get around. Because how the hell does something like this happen without changing something between us?

I pull my phone from my bag and stare at Sumner’s name for a second before tapping it.

Ellie doesn’t say anything while the phone rings.

Sumner answers almost immediately.

“Hey, baby.”

A sports announcer is talking somewhere in the background, and hearing Sumner’s completely normal voice after everything that just happened is the thing that finally breaks whatever I’ve been using to hold myself together.

I try to say his name, but a sob comes out instead.

“Goldie?” The warmth disappears from his voice so fast that my chest hurts. “What happened?”

I cover my mouth and try to get myself under control, but now that I’ve really let go, my body seems pretty committed to it.

“Hey. Baby, talk to me.”

“I’m okay.” The words come out broken enough that they don’t sound remotely convincing. “I’m okay. I just⁠—”

I squeeze my eyes shut.

How the fuck am I supposed to tell him this over the phone?

“Where are you?”

“In my car with Ellie. We’re still at the market.”

“Did something happen?”