he said. “Meaning multiple babies?”
“I don’t know,” Annalise said. “Maybe.”
“You’re a twin,” Curt said.
She nodded. “That makes it more likely that my children would be twins. But it’s certainly not a guarantee.” She bit her lip. “Honestly, Curt, this isn’t the kind of thing I even thought about until yesterday afternoon. I’ve spent years assuming I wouldn’t be able to have kids. I was telling you the truth when I said that. I’m not the kind of woman to trick a guy into knocking me up, no matter who he is. You should know me better than that by now.”
“I don’t know,” Curt said. “Maybe it was a mistake for me to get so involved with someone outside the Hollywood scene.”
Annalise felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “Why are you saying this to me right now?” she breathed.
“I want to trust you,” Curt said. “I want to believe you’re not playing me.”
“I’m not.”
“But how can I be sure?” He fisted his hand in his hair. “There are just so many women who would.”
“I can’t believe you think I’m one of them.” Her tears spilled over. “I can’t believe you… this is your child, Curt. Your children, maybe.”
“I never planned on having a family,” Curt said.
“Well, neither did I!” Annalise snapped. “I’ve been told all my life that I couldn’t have a family. But now it turns out that isn’t true. I’m as surprised as you are. But it’s the situation we’ve found ourselves in.”
She was starting to feel angry. It was a relief. Anger was easier than pain.
How dare he treat me like this?
“I know this is hard for you,” she said. “I know this complicates our situation. But for you to act like I’ve done something to you, like this is somehow my fault… it’s completely out of line. We both made the decisions that led to this. You know that.”
Curt was shaking his head. “This could destroy my career, Annalise,” he said. “I have to think about that. This could absolutely tank the movie I’ve been working on. If anyone found out—”
“I’m not planning on telling anybody,” Annalise said. “Not right away, at least. We can work out together what the public story should be. I’m not trying to mess up your life. You know that.”
“I have to go,” Curt said.
She stared. “Are you serious?”
“I need time to think,” he said. “I’m sorry. I know I’m… not handling this the way you want me to.”
“That’s an understatement!”
“I need time to process,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He turned and fled from the apartment, leaving Annalise staring after him.
He just took off.
She couldn’t believe it. She had never imagined that this would be his response to the news. She had assumed he would manage to take it with a bit of grace, at least.
But no. It seemed that all he cared about was the publicity that might arise from the situation. He hadn’t even asked her how she was feeling.
This is our child—maybe our children—and he just really doesn’t give a damn.
She went to the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper towel, and wiped the tears from her face.
At least he had promised to call her in a few days. There was always that.
But did she even want to hear from him now? After the way he had spoken to her—as if he thought she was nothing but an obsessed fangirl, a celebrity stalker wanting to trick him into giving her a baby…
Maybe he’s not the man I thought he was.
She couldn’t believe it. This morning, she had believed she was in love. But now, that had been taken away. She couldn’t love someone who would believe something so terrible about her.
Annalise returned to the couch, sat down, buried her head in her hands, and cried.
I don’t know what I’m going to do now. But I think I’m on my own.
Chapter 14
Dr. Montgomery turned out to be a woman in her mid-forties with an all-business approach to patient care. She maneuvered the sonogram sensor over Annalise’s bare belly, watching the screen as if it was an interesting television program.
Annalise felt as if she could hardly breathe.
“We’re definitely looking at multiples,” Dr. Montgomery said. “I can hear more than one heartbeat.”
Annalise was pretty sure she could hear her own heartbeat. “I’m having twins?”
“Actually, it looks like triplets,” Dr. Montgomery said. She pointed to the screen. “This is one, two, and three. See?”
“It all looks like