woman to the penthouse. This was his and Emma’s place together. Now he’d not only had Marti stay over, he’d made love to her in his bed.
He needed to find someplace else to live when he married Shelly. He couldn’t bring her here and spoil his memories. She was already doing that by showing up unannounced.
“I heard Emma is sick, and I came to check on her.” She turned on Marti. “You can go now. Cameron is home to take care of his daughter. Your services are no longer required.”
The words were spoken in such a normal tone, Marti didn’t get it at first. A second later it hit her. She was being dismissed like the hired help.
Her gaze found Cameron’s. He sat staring at them both and never said a word. He didn’t defend her or tell Shelly to have some respect for a family friend. Nothing.
“I’ll just get my shoes.”
His eyes were drawn to her bare feet under the hem of her jeans. Her toes were painted a soft pink. He’d remember that, too, when he was missing her.
He should ask Shelly to leave, or at least get her to apologize to Marti for the blatant dismissal. Unable to speak, the woman he wanted was leaving, and the one he didn’t want was staying.
Marti was tying her tennis shoes when Cameron walked into the bedroom. “Marti, I want to thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I guess now that Shelly is here she can scratch your next itch.”
Stunned, he couldn’t believe her words.
“I’m not thanking you for making love with me,” he said under his breath, so no one heard them.
“Well, that’s almost as rude as you allowing your fiancé to dismiss me like some servant. What are you going to do, Cameron, sleep with her tonight in this bed where we made love not even an hour ago?”
“No. No one has slept in that bed, except Emma and me. I’ll burn the goddamn thing before I let another woman into that bed.”
She stood and faced him. “The other woman is your fiancé. I want to hear you say it.”
“What?”
“After this morning, everything you said, making love to me, you’re still going to marry her. I want to hear you say the words.”
No matter how determined she was to hear him say it, he didn’t want to do that to her. He’d hurt her so much already. He didn’t want to do it again. Not after what they’d shared.
She waited, not willing to give in, let what they’d shared be enough. One day, one time with her would never be enough. He didn’t want to have to tell her it didn’t matter, he’d chosen another. It didn’t matter if the person he’d truly chosen wasn’t really Shelly.
“I’m going to marry her.” The words held little conviction, but he bolstered his resolve by adding, “She’s carrying my child.”
What if I’m carrying your child?
She shook her head sadly. It hadn’t even crossed his mind. For him, the moment they’d shared was over. Nothing but a memory now, they would carry with them as they led their separate lives. It hit her hard, bit into her soul, and tore her to shreds. No matter what she said or did, he’d never change his mind.
“I wonder what you’ll do after you marry her and discover she isn’t pregnant after all? Maybe she’ll lie and tell you she lost the baby. Maybe she’ll tell you the truth, finally—there never was a baby.”
“If that happens, I’ll leave her and come after you.”
“You can’t, because you already lost me.”
“I don’t want to lose you.”
“You know, you never had me, because she’s been standing between us this whole time. I made a mistake this morning thinking you’d come to me because you changed your mind. When you said you wanted a moment, you didn’t mean a lifetime of moments. You just wanted the time it took to have one good memory. Something you can pull out and look at when you’re lonely and missing me. She’s ruined so many things between us. She’s even ruined this,” she said and threw her arms up over the bed. “All ruined over a lie.”
“It’s not a lie. She’s pregnant with my baby.”
“You want so much to believe she’s carrying your baby. I even understand why you want to believe it. The thought of your baby is a wonderful idea, but you’ve completely lost all reason about everything else, including me. I can’t be second anymore. I’m willing to be second to Emma,