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She shook it off. She had to focus. Laura glanced at the phone in front of her. She needed to answer Edward, and there was something he could do for her, she realized.
Just please don’t say anything about this to Mark. If I miscarry, there’s no need for him to ever know about this.
And that was the truth of it. If she miscarried, she’d never tell Mark. She’d simply fly out of his life forever.
Laura doubted he’d come looking for her. He’d abandoned her at the first sign of trouble, so she knew he wasn’t in it for the long haul. She wanted someone who was in the fight with her, every day, who wouldn’t run out on her.
And if Mark couldn’t be that person, then she’d just find a way to do it alone.
In the meantime, Laura had to get back home, where the doctors could save her baby.
She sent up a silent prayer that she could make it in time. Please, God. Let this time be different. Laura covered her still-a flat belly with the palm of her hand. “Hold on, little one,” she murmured to her belly. “Hold on.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MARK ARRIVED AT the condo the next morning around noon. He paused at his own front door. What was he going to say to her? He slid his key in the lock and swung open the front door.
“Laura?” he called, but no one answered.
Odd. Where was she?
Granted, it was almost noon. She could be anywhere. Grabbing a sandwich, even, though he hated to imagine her casually eating lunch when he’d spent the whole evening tossing and turning. It was one of the reasons he’d arrived so late. He’d lain awake most of the night, falling asleep only close to dawn.
As he’d tossed and turned, he realized he’d flown off the handle. He knew he’d been in the wrong, but he’d needed some time to calm down and see reason. He’d never given Laura a chance to explain, and he owed her that much.
He also realized that the hurt on her face, the look of surprise, had been real. If there was flirting happening, it was all on his brother’s side. The more he thought about it, the truer that seemed. He owed Laura an apology. He hoped she would understand. Mark had thought he’d worked through all the feelings he had about Elle and Edward, but clearly he hadn’t. And he’d taken that out on Laura.
She didn’t deserve that.
Sunlight blazed on a gorgeous clear ocean outside, if he could be bothered to look, which he couldn’t. He had too much on his mind.
He glanced at the bed and noticed it had been slept in. So she had stayed here overnight. Mark poked around the kitchen and found a single coffee mug in the sink. He walked into the bedroom to get his phone charger, when he realized that something was missing. Laura’s suitcase. It had been tucked into the corner of the room since she’d moved into his place, and now he could see it was gone.
Mark pushed open the sliding closet door. Her clothes were gone, too. He checked the drawer she’d used. Empty. He ran to the bathroom, even though he knew it would be no different there. Her toiletries were all gone. Her hairdryer packed away.
She’d left him.
He spun around the room, feeling blindsided. She’d left him? They’d had one fight. One, and she’d packed up? Cut and run? She cared about him so little that she hadn’t bothered to stick around and hash it out with him. He thought he knew her, but clearly he didn’t if this sent her packing.
Then again, you were a jerk, he thought. More than that. An asshole. Maybe he would’ve run, too. Maybe what he’d done was unforgiveable.
He realized he had no idea where she might have gone. To a hotel? To Edward’s house? He cringed at the thought.
Mark’s mind spun. He plugged in his phone and sat anxiously while it rebooted.
Maybe she’d left some clue about where she’d gone. He swallowed anxiously, waiting for his phone to come back to life. Hell, she might even be off the island by now. Would she go so far as to get on a plane? Maybe.
Finally, he saw several missed messages and calls. He saw Laura’s last text. Going back to San Francisco. It’s for the best.
Mark read and reread the text a million times. That was it, then. She was done with him. Could he blame her? He was a wreck. Grieving over his lost son and then triggered by his wife’s past infidelity, he probably didn’t come off as the most mentally sound guy.
Then again, maybe Laura had never really loved him. She could’ve just been using me, he thought bitterly. Maybe she did sleep with Edward. She’d needed a fling, a rebound, and he—or Edward—had fit the bill. The thought made his stomach turn. He thought they’d been so much more.
Mark called her, but her phone went straight to voice mail. Now she was avoiding his calls. Maybe she’d even blocked him. It’s for the best, she’d said.
