another, not bothering to refill his.
‘Calm down a second, Kate—’
She let out a harsh laugh. ‘It’s not me who’s acted out of line, Jimmy. It’s always you, making a joke of me, bringing me down.’
‘You think I bring you down?’ He held up his hands. ‘Come on, we’re having a nice evening, aren’t we? Do we have to argue?’ When she didn’t respond he rolled his eyes, exasperated, and picked at the meal, which was practically inedible. ‘I’m sorry I mentioned Carl Rico,’ he said finally. ‘OK? Can we forget it now?’
But the damage was already done. Why did Jimmy have to shit all over her good news by reminding her of having to get naked in front of some pervert? He didn’t even seem interested in taking her to bed.
He must be fucking around again, there was no other excuse.
Again? When exactly did he stop, Kate?
She wasn’t standing for it a second longer. Oh, no–things were about to change. Kate diLaurentis was on the brink of the biggest career revival in Hollywood history and she didn’t intend to indulge a husband who was messing around.
Jimmy kept his eyes on his food. Without warning Chloe French popped into his head, the cute English actress he’d met at Harriet Foley’s party in December. She was a hot little piece. He wondered if he’d left it too late to call her.
Locked in their private worlds, husband and wife finished their meal in silence. When Kate had cleared her plate, she filled her glass one more time and with a sudden, unexpected flourish threw it in Jimmy’s face. He sat, stunned, dripping with sticky Rioja, his palms upwards. He looked like a religious painting.
She stalked off to bed, alone. ‘You can do the dishes.’
52
With shaking fingers, Lana laid the pregnancy test down on the side of the bath tub.
It might be OK. You don’t know anything yet.
Except she did. She had a feeling in her gut and it had been keeping her awake, stopping her sleeping, wringing her out. It had been eight weeks since Sam Lucas’s party. The first period she’d missed had rung alarm bells–they’d been at the Awards at the time and she hadn’t been able to focus on anything else, not even when Cole went up to collect his gong–but fear had made the warning easy to ignore. At missing her second, they’d sounded more loudly, insisting she listen.
She washed her hands, dried them then sat on the floor with her knees pulled up under her chin. Cole had expected her at a society function this afternoon but she had pleaded illness. She had to be alone for this.
The white stick looked back at her accusingly.
Maybe she wasn’t pregnant, maybe it was a false alarm.
Plenty of women experienced them. Tomorrow she’d get her period and everything would be back to normal. But a persistent voice told her different. Something felt changed, deep inside, something fundamental. Her body wanted to tell her what she didn’t want to hear.
She hadn’t seen Parker Troy since the party. She couldn’t contemplate his reaction if she told him he was about to become a father. To the child Cole Steel’s wife was carrying.
Fear throttled her when she thought of Cole. Parker’s response was the least of her worries, she knew. Quite simply she couldn’t be carrying another man’s baby. It was not an option.
Her heart thumping wildly, Lana reached out for the test. She closed her eyes.
Seconds passed.
When she opened them, it took moments before she was able to digest the information. Confused, she grabbed the box and examined the guidelines. Three times she read them over, looking between the pictured results and those of her own, before she was sure.
Lana put her head in her hands and breathed out slowly. For a long time she stayed like that, not moving.
Suddenly her phone trilled from the next room. Her hands were shaking so it took time to open the bathroom door, which she had wanted to lock even though she was alone. She stood, confused, not knowing where the sound was coming from. Her attention was drawn to the bed, where her cell blinked its red eye. She considered not picking up, then, realising she’d been avoiding calls recently, forced herself to reach for it.
It was Rita. She sat down and answered cautiously.
‘Hello?’
‘It’s me. Is everything OK? I’ve been trying to get hold of you all week.’
‘Everything’s fine.’ The words seemed to come from the other side of the room.
‘Good. What do you think