The Billionaire Op - Lori Ryan Page 0,39

Andrew’s head under the water again.

He was grinning like an idiot when Andrew grabbed his legs under the water, pulling him down and causing him to swallow a hell of a lot of pool water.

He didn’t care. He was feeling better than he had since he and Jennie had returned from Florida. It felt good to be around his friends again, including Jennie. He would always want her. Always ache for her in a way that she clearly wouldn’t ever ache for him. But, at least they could be around each other without being insanely uncomfortable.

If that was all he could have, he’d take it.

Jennie laughed as she watched Chad go under and come up with a mouthful of water. Of course her mind flashed to their time in Florida but she pushed those thoughts away.

Jennie knew she couldn’t love Chad. Her heart belonged to Kyle. And, honestly, she really valued her friendship with Chad. She wanted to keep that.

If she gave in to what her body wanted again, she’d hurt him and lose him for good in the process. That wasn’t something she was willing to do. From now on, she needed to stay in control of her body’s response to him, no matter how strong the attraction was.

She turned away and took little Maddy in her arms when Kelly passed her over.

Losing herself in the baby’s little coos and tiny smiles that were more likely caused by gas than genuine emotion, was just what Jennie needed.

She smiled down and made faces, watching in wonder as the baby’s eyes went round in response.

She had heard somewhere that newborns were like little lumps, not really connecting with those around them until they were older.

Jennie thought that she’d either been completely misinformed, or Maddy must be a really special baby. She seemed to connect to everyone, always looking around with wide eyes as though taking in everything.

Jennie looked up and met Kelly’s eyes. Her friend smiled back at her and Jennie felt nothing but contentment. She was happy for her friends. And happy she had so much love around her.

She might not be like the others. She wouldn’t be finding her own happily ever after and starting a family like they were, but she had this. She had friendship and love and good people in her life. It would have to be enough.

Chapter 22

A month later, Jennie stared blankly at the screen on her computer. She wasn’t actually seeing anything. She focused only on the mind-numbing reality of her situation as she blinked back tears. She was still in a state of shock. Still desperately trying to deny what she knew in her head was undeniable. Her heart, however, wasn’t on board yet. Her heart had no interest in catching up to the facts.

Pregnant.

When she discovered last week that she had come home from Florida pregnant, she wanted to do nothing more than curl up in a ball and will it all away. Not the baby. But the last four years. And the way she felt about what she’d done.

She knew she had hurt Chad even though he tried to pretend she hadn’t. She could see it in his eyes in quiet moments when he let his guard down. When he forgot to keep his walls up.

And, topping it all off, she’d betrayed Kyle in the worst way possible. Jennie had wanted to have Kyle’s baby so desperately when he was alive. She had hoped for a baby with his sandy-blond hair and warm blue eyes.

She’d wanted a baby that had Kyle’s smile and the dimple that came out when he really grinned. When she knew he was smiling with all his heart.

She’d watched Kelly and Jack with Maddy. She’d held the baby often and saw how quickly she was growing and changing—all in such a short time. And seeing that was much harder than Jennie wanted to admit.

She needed to tell Chad about the baby, but how could she do that? Saying it out loud would make it real. If she said it out loud, she’d have to really face it. She didn’t even have the guts to tell Kelly yet.

Right now, Zeke was the only one who knew her secret. He spent every moment shadowing her as if he knew something had changed and she’d spent several hours crying with her head buried in his soft fur. She’d told him everything, and he was the only one who she could trust to listen without judgment.

Add in the fact that