Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,296

Listening to Ethan throw accusations at her would be the icing on the shit cake that this evening had turned into, but why the hell not.

“What?” she barked with zero patience left.

“Harper, stop avoiding me.”

“Ethan...” she had no words left. Why had she even answered? The cab pulled over and she climbed in and rattled off her address.

“We have to talk in person,” Ethan said in her ear.

All of a sudden the entire disastrous evening dumped on her shoulders and she slumped in her seat. “What do we have to say to each other?” she asked, her voice suddenly tired.

“You don’t sound well.” Concern came across the line loud and clear and it only made her eyes burn hotter.

“I’ve had a really shitty night and I just want to go home and pull a blanket over my head and shut everything out.” God, she was too tired to even lie.

“Come over, I’ll take care of you,” he said instantly.

She wanted to believe him, but she was certain he was reacting out of guilt. He thought she might be pregnant and it was all his fault, but she knew that wasn’t the case.

“It’s nothing that you need to worry about. Listen, I took a test.” She sucked in a breath and ignored the way her chest hurt. Her voice went higher and she fought the urge to break down. To laugh? Hell she didn't know what she wanted to do but she might as well let him off the hook. “It was negative, so you don’t have to call again. Okay? Look, I’m almost home so I’m just going to hang up and...”

“The doctor called me, Harper. The blood test was positive,” he said.

Her mind literally stopped. There was a faint ringing in her ears as the enormity of it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Sound muffled around her and she stopped breathing for a few seconds. “What?”

“You’re pregnant, Harper. The doctor just called and told me that the blood test was positive. The result is not in doubt.”

That wasn’t possible because she’d taken a test earlier. There weren’t two lines. One line meant not pregnant. She knew that because she read the instructions a dozen times then had Kylie reread them just to be sure.

But then again, she knew that the blood test was more accurate. So between the two tests, the truth was obviously…oh God.

She felt suddenly sick.

“Harper?” he asked.

She heard him exhale and it unleashed everything that she'd been holding at bay. The tears streamed down her face and pressure built inside her chest. Her hand shook. No, her whole body was shaking. In about three seconds she was going to implode and end up a gross smear on the cab seat.

It was all too much and she just couldn't deal with it.

“I need some time,” she said quietly.

“I wanted to do this in person, Harper.”

“I know. But not right now. This is a lot to take in…”

“And that’s exactly why I should be with you,” he insisted.

I don’t want your pity, she thought, but grit her teeth and didn’t say. If only their families weren’t at war with each other. If only Ethan Wentworth truly loved her, and wasn’t just operating out of obligation, doing what he thought was right. But she knew now that their entire relationship was nothing but a mistake. The kind of mistake that happened to a million couples, people who slept together before knowing each other well enough and didn’t think ahead, didn’t take proper precautions.

This wasn’t love. This was just stupidity and tragedy piled one on top of the other.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said softly and hung up the phone. As she climbed out of the cab, her phone buzzed. She held down the power button until it shut off. No more.

An hour later, she was still curled up on the couch in her favorite yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt, in the dark, staring at nothing. She’d removed her makeup and twisted her hair into the messiest bun known to mankind. On autopilot, she’d poured herself a glass of wine, and at the last minute remembered why she shouldn’t drink it. It only made her cry harder.

Her face felt puffy and she knew her eyes were red and swollen. But it didn’t matter. Because after tonight, after this allowed pity party for one, she’d put on her big girl panties and figure out what the hell she was going to do.

Her doorbell rang and she ignored it, figuring