how I handled the situation.”
“I think that’s really thoughtful of you,” Kaylie said. “When are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know,” Rhea said. “I guess I’ll call him tomorrow and make arrangements to meet up in person. This doesn’t seem like the kind of news you tell someone over the phone.”
Kaylie nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked. “Even if it’s just providing moral support, I want to be there for you. I’ll go with you when you tell him, if you want me to.”
“No,” Rhea said. “Thank you, but I don’t want him to feel like he’s being ganged up on.”
And if Kaylie comes with me, I’ll have to let her know that Zach is the father.
Rhea wasn’t sure why she didn’t feel ready to share that news yet. After all, she wasn’t going to be able to keep it a secret forever. Eventually, people were going to find out that she had reunited with Zach.
Maybe it was just that she was feeling scared by the poor reception she had gotten when she’d told her brother about it. Though there was no reason for Kaylie to react the same way, Rhea felt safer keeping the news to herself for now. That way, nobody could say anything disappointing about it. Nobody could make her feel as though they didn’t approve, or that she was doing something wrong.
Life was complicated enough right now. The last thing she needed was to worry about other people’s disapproval.
And she didn’t want the news of her involvement with Zach, and Kaylie’s surprise about it, to overshadow the more important news of the impending baby. That should be the focus of their next meeting, not their relationship.
We don’t even have a relationship.
Was she going to get back together with him now? He had clearly been longing for that. And though Rhea had tried her best to deny it to herself, she had wanted it too. Now she had the perfect excuse to go running back into his arms.
No. Not without some kind of explanation. He owed her that.
She would tell him about the baby, because he had a right to know. But she was also going to tell him what Stephen had told her, about the crime his father had committed. She was going to find out what he knew about it, if he knew anything at all.
And if he did know, there’s not a chance I’m going to reunite with him. We’re over.
She sighed and got to her feet. The party was still raging around her, but Rhea felt desperately out of place. In a matter of minutes, her whole life had changed. Everything was different now, and she didn’t feel like the same woman who had walked into Kaylie’s apartment ready to forget about her troubles for a night.
“Where are you going?” Kaylie asked her.
“Home,” Rhea said. “This doesn’t feel like the place to be right now.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Kaylie asked. “I don’t mind blowing off this party. Spencer can handle things.”
Rhea smiled. “That’s really sweet,” she said. “I appreciate it. But no. Stay. I need time to myself to think about how I’m going to handle all this.”
Kaylie nodded. “Okay,” she said. “But you call me if you need anything, okay?”
“I will.” Rhea embraced her friend. “Thank you for being here. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You’ll never have to find out,” Kaylie assured her. “Get home safely.”
Rhea had walked to Kaylie’s, but she was so lost in thought that she decided to take a cab home for fear that she might accidentally walk into traffic. As she rode along, listening to the sounds of merrymakers and fireworks, she stared at her phone screen.
It was blank.
Zach hadn’t called or texted her in over twenty-four hours.
Maybe he’s finally given up on me.
It was what she had wanted. But now, the thought filled her with despair.
Chapter 12
Zach
“Can I come over?”
It had been hours since Zach had received the text, and he still couldn’t seem to stop looking at it, making sure that it was real.
He had left work early and hurried back to his house to clean up. Fortunately, he usually kept a pretty tidy house, so there wasn’t that much to do, but in the past month he had been letting things slide. It was hard to stay focused on doing the vacuuming when you were suffering from a broken heart.
But now this.
She wanted to see him again.
She wanted to