lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Dr. Cole until she laughed and handed her a towel to wipe off the goo.
“We need to schedule an internal ultrasound at your earliest convenience. Now, here’s what you can expect in the next few months . . .”
Ember stood outside the doctor’s office and dialed Trace. She wanted to find out where he was so she could tell him the good news in person, but he didn’t answer. For the rest of the afternoon, she was unable to get through to him. That night as she waited for Trace’s fight to start, she felt almost restless with the need to tell him that he was going to be a dad. She didn’t want to blow his concentration, but she couldn’t bear to wait any longer. She glanced over at Lucien and knew something was up with him too, and took a moment to appreciate that she was coming to know him well enough to know his different levels of silence.
“Is everything okay, Ember? You’ve been awfully quiet.”
His question surprised her and she answered him with the joy she was feeling. “Everything’s wonderful. When is the fight starting?”
He looked at his watch. “In about ten minutes. Why?”
“I need to talk with Trace.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s probably in the locker room. Come on, I’ll get him for you.” He reached for her hand as he battled his way through the bodies. “You know, you look like the cat that just ate the canary,” he said over his shoulder.
She only grinned in reply. They’d just reached the back near the locker room when Lucien stopped abruptly and Ember slammed right into his back.
“You could have warned me you were stopping,” she said jokingly, but when she saw the reason for the suddenness of their halt, all humor left her. Trace was standing in a dark corner, and he wasn’t alone. Heidi was with him. As they spoke, their heads nearly touched. Ember knew he loved her and she knew that he wouldn’t cheat on her, but he’d lied and, for some reason, seeing the proof of that lie hurt even more than the actual lie.
As if he knew she was there, Trace’s head snapped in her direction and their eyes locked.
“Ember.”
She knew he could see that she was hurt before she turned and started away. She didn’t get far before his hand touched her arm. “I’m sorry.”
“You lied to me.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
“I know. I didn’t want to pull you into it. You’ve been through enough shit because of me.”
“What does she want?”
“Money. And I’m dealing with it.”
She did turn at that. “How exactly? And why does she think you’re the person who’s going to give it to her?”
He pulled a hand through his hair. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything tonight.”
She wanted to demand to know what he had to tell her, but they were calling his fight.
“Wait for me.” He kissed her hard on the mouth. She watched as he climbed into the ring and then his eyes landed on her and he winked. She couldn’t help her smile, but it faltered when she saw Heidi and the boy with her. Seth. Her eyes moved to Heidi to find her already staring in Ember’s direction, and the smug look on her face was confirmation. Seth was Trace’s child.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t get air into her lungs. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but when she could no longer see because of the tears in her eyes, she turned and fled. Lucien appeared just as she reached the door.
“Ember.”
“I just need some air.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“Okay, but I just want a few minutes alone.” He obviously didn’t like it, but he acquiesced. “Okay.”
Outside the gym, a searing pain exploded in her chest. Seth, the boy that looked like her husband, was his son. No wonder Heidi was more than just one of the horde. What a fucking secret to keep. What made Ember feel really ill was wondering: Would he have told her about Seth if she hadn’t seen him tonight?
Her tears fell harder because she thought they were going to be experiencing the pregnancy as a first together and he already had an almost full-grown son he’d never thought to mention: a son who had been in his life for over fifteen years. And was Heidi blackmailing him to keep the secret from Ember? That thought made her bend over and vomit.