The Baby Pact (Babies and Billions #5) - Holly Rayner Page 0,40

drive. She pulled out, drove around the corner, and parked by the side of the road. Then she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, struggling to regain her composure.

She hadn’t expected a warmer reaction from her parents. In fact, she had been pleasantly surprised by how accepting they had been of her unplanned pregnancy. So why did she feel so disappointed in the way that conversation had gone?

It’s because they said everything I’m thinking.

Her father’s mistrust of Zach was inconvenient, but it wasn’t hard for Rhea to understand because she felt exactly the same way. She had no idea how much of Lincoln Danes’ crime Zach had known about or been involved in. It was extremely suspicious that he had disappeared from her life at the same time as his father had stolen that formula.

And when she had confronted him… well, Rhea knew how she would have reacted if she had been confronted with the news that a member of her family had committed a crime. She would have been horrified, and she would have immediately begun her own investigation to see whether there was any truth to the accusation.

She would not have demanded that the person making the accusation provide the proof—especially if that person was her so-called best friend, lover, and a victim of the crime!

How was she supposed to put her faith in Zach when he had reacted that way?

And what was she supposed to do with the fact that he had demanded a paternity test, of all things? She certainly hadn’t seen that coming. Did he really mean to suggest that she had been sleeping around without telling him? Did he really believe that there was another possible father?

Or had he just said that to try to hurt her?

Either way, the result was the same—she was offended and heartbroken. She had cared for Zach. She had started to believe that she was falling in love with him.

And yes, okay, it was true that she had turned her back on him first. But hadn’t she explained what had happened there? Hadn’t she told him that she’d only done it because of what she’d learned about his father and his father’s crime?

I suppose I didn’t tell him that until we were already angry with one another. Maybe by then he just couldn’t hear it.

She pulled out her phone and sent a text message to her brother.

“I need you to send me the video footage of Lincoln Danes stealing that formula. Urgent.”

The response came two minutes later. “What do you want that for?”

“Personal reasons,” she typed.

“You’re not still involved with Zach Danes, are you? Because if Mom and Dad find that out, they’ll be pissed.”

She sighed. Couldn’t he ever forget about the fact that he was the oldest and stop trying to control everything?

“I’ve got it under control, Stephen. Please send the video.”

For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t, but then the reply came.

“Check your email.”

She did. Sure enough, there was a message from her brother with a video file attached.

She watched it, the last shreds of hope that this might be some mistake evaporating as she did so. It was definitely Lincoln Danes. She hadn’t seen him in fifteen years, but she still recognized him.

And she knew that Zach would too.

She attached the video file to a new email, addressed to Zach. After a moment’s hesitation, she attached her sonogram picture as well.

“Here’s the proof you wanted, along with your child’s first picture. I’m not taking a paternity test. I know who the father is. I guess if you don’t want to accept it, you don’t have to be in your child’s life. It’s up to you if that’s the kind of man you want to be. It’s not the kind of man I thought you were.”

She knew she was being harsh, but she couldn’t help it. Just thinking about Zach made her feel angry. All things considered, Rhea thought she was to be congratulated on not including any curse words in the message.

She hit send, put her phone away, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She wasn’t about to sit here crying over Zach Danes any longer. The ball was in his court now, and he could get back to her or get out of her life.

As for Rhea, she had other things to consider.

She was going to be a mother.

There was a lot to do. She had to set up a nursery in her apartment. She wanted to go shopping for