His Accidental Baby by Holly Rayner

Author:Holly Rayner [Rayner, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Alyssa

On the living room floor, Ralph and Gambit rolled around, the older cat exposing his belly. The kitten pounced, but Ralph swiped at his nose. In a millisecond, the cats were up and running off.

Alyssa smiled sadly. Must be nice to have no worries.

She glanced at the clock. Six p.m. When she and Ali had texted earlier in the day, hours before she’d seen the article, he’d told her this was the approximate time he'd arrive home. She'd held off contacting him since then, worried that trying to explain herself over the phone wouldn't help. She needed to look into Ali's eyes, apologize to his face.

His suitcase had been sent over earlier, but Ali had claimed he had some errands to tend to before he arrived home himself.

The unmistakable sound of the front door unlocking pulled Alyssa out of her thoughts, and she rushed into the foyer. Ali entered, a flat box in one hand.

He looked tired. That was the first thing she noticed. Had the trip exhausted him? Or had he read the article?

“Ali,” she breathed.

When she rushed forward, he opened his arms. She hit his chest, all the air leaving her lungs in one exhale.

Ali pressed one palm against her back, but something wasn't right. He held back.

Swallowing hard, Alyssa stepped away just enough to see his face.

“There's an article,” she said, the words trembling.

“I saw it.”

The news hung in the air between them, but what it was a sign of, Alyssa didn't know.

Ali sighed and ran his palm down his face. His eyes narrowed the slightest bit, and he looked Alyssa up and down.

“You look different,” he said.

Before Alyssa could decide what to say, he spoke again. “Let us sit down.”

“Yeah.” Alyssa took hold of his hand, relief flooding her when he gave her palm a slight squeeze. “Do you need anything? Want me to get you something to drink?”

“I’m fine, thank you. Let's go into the living room.”

They sat on the couch, and Ali looked around. “How are the cats?”

It seemed such a funny thing to ask given what was happening in their lives, and yet Alyssa felt too awful to laugh.

“They're good,” she said. “They've been really frisky. They were just in here. I'm surprised they haven't come out to greet you. Are you sure you don't want a drink?”

Alyssa looked at the bar in the corner. “I can pour you a scotch.”

“Are you pregnant?”

The question socked Alyssa in the gut. She'd been expecting it. Just not right then. Not in the middle of talking about cats and drinks.

Her tongue was heavy, but she did her best to force one word out. “Yes.”

Ali stared at her. Blinked. Stared some more.

“I found out right before you left for Baqar,” Alyssa hurried to explain. “And I wanted to tell you, but the timing was all wrong.”

“When…” Ali cleared his throat. “When did you plan on telling me?”

He was paying more attention to the floor than her, and Alyssa wanted to scream.

“Tonight,” she said. “The moment you got back.

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