The Boy Toy - Nicola Marsh Page 0,95

not raise the baby alone? Were the cultural implications of being a single mother in this day so dire? Was tradition so important to her that she’d give up what they shared in favor of marrying a man she didn’t love? Unless she did . . .

“Do you have feelings for him?”

When her lips thinned and she still couldn’t meet his eyes, a bark of harsh laughter burst from his lips. “You’re fucking kidding me. You can’t marry that guy. You don’t love him. You . . .”

He trailed off as realization hit. She didn’t love him either. She’d never said the words. She didn’t depend on him or need him. Hell, she wanted him gone for the next umpteenth months and it wouldn’t bother her.

He’d been about to say “you love me,” but nothing could be further from the truth. Considering he’d just realized he loved her when she’d announced her intentions to marry some other guy, his timing sucked.

He couldn’t tell her. Not now. It would sound desperate, a last-ditch effort from a guy who’d just had his ass dumped.

“You don’t understand tradition and cultural obligations,” she said, her tone tight with emotion as she placed a hand over her belly. “My mom was ostracized because of her mixed marriage, and in turn, I suffered, because we didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. Pia was my best friend, and I always felt like an outsider at every Indian function I attended. I want this baby to be loved and adored and accepted, and he or she will have all that being raised in a close-knit community.”

“With two married parents who don’t love each other?”

She flinched at his sarcasm. “I loved my first husband, and look how that turned out. Manny’s a lot nicer than him.”

Stunned at her callous about-face, he opened the car door. He had to get out of here before he said something he’d regret.

“You’ll always be a part of this baby’s life, Rory, so I’ll keep you updated while you’re away, and I hope you make it back in time for the birth—”

“How fucking magnanimous of you,” he muttered, slamming the door shut on the rest of her bullshit.

Maybe this was for the best. If she didn’t love him, they never would’ve worked out. This way, he’d get to work his ass off and earn enough to set up a trust fund for his kid and be as involved as he wanted.

Yeah, that would be his new plan.

So why did it hurt so fucking much?

Forty-Four

Since Samira had deliberately driven Rory away by telling him that monstrous lie about marrying Manny, it had been the worst month of her life. She missed him more than she could’ve imagined and spent an inordinate amount of time listening to soppy songs on a playlist designed for heartbreak and having the occasional crying jag she blamed on hormones.

Elsewhere, when she wasn’t blubbering at home, things were okay. Work was good, Pia and Dev were talking again despite still living apart, and the nausea that had plagued Samira during the early months of her pregnancy had vanished, leaving her ravenous most of the time. She’d been craving idlis and sambhar rather than pickles and ice cream, her yearning for the steamed rice cakes and spicy vegetable-laden soup almost making her reconsider her living arrangements and move back home.

But having Kushi whip up her favorite meals and having her in her face twenty-four seven were worlds apart, and she’d stayed put in Southbank. She’d instigated proceedings to sell her physical therapy practice in LA and had arranged for her apartment to be sublet. She’d even started browsing baby furniture online. Being busy should’ve helped ease her heartache. It didn’t, because every night when she lay in bed alone, with too much time to think, she remembered Rory’s stricken expression the night she’d lied to him.

She would never marry Manish, but Rory didn’t need to know that. Her heart had leaped when Rory had offered to leave his precious job to be with her throughout the pregnancy. She could think of nothing better than having him by her side to share in every new experience, every joyful wonder.

Until she realized what it would mean long-term.

He’d already told her how much the job meant to him. He could help those underprivileged kids and set himself up professionally for bigger roles. He’d been so damn keen to score the role, he’d flipped out when he’d discovered her coaching his rival. And she