14. Kate
She should have known Elias would show up.
This was his brother’s apartment. Of course he was going to be invited.
A part of her probably did know, but Alexis had framed it in such a way that made it sound like she was just coming to dinner with her and Levi. She had been weirdly careful with her phrasing, so Kate should have been suspicious.
But she’d been distracted. By the concept of a life growing inside her right now.
She tried not to look at Elias, but she couldn’t help it. The child contained half his DNA.
She laughed hysterically, and everyone looked at her, eyebrows furrowed.
Interestingly, Elias didn’t look confused. He seemed to understand.
Or at least, he probably thought he understood. There was no way he could know the truth.
Kate had walked out of the clinic that afternoon, her mind completely blank. She couldn’t remember the drive home, or any of the time after that. She knew Alexis had texted the dinner invite, but if she hadn’t physically collected her from her house (apparently Alexis had had to run an errand near her place) she’d probably still be staring at her living room wall.
As it was, she felt like her body had been borrowed by someone else. And that was technically now true, but she felt her brain had become disconnected too.
Kate looked around the dining table and bit her lip, embarrassed. ‘Sorry, I just remembered something funny that happened earlier. It would be hard to explain unless you were there, so I won’t bore you with the details.’
God, she wished she could drink that beer resting beside Elias’ plate right now.
What did newly pregnant women do to get over the shock if they weren’t expecting the news?
Levi cleared his throat, obviously keen to make things less awkward. ‘Thank you everyone for coming tonight. I look forward to us all hanging out even more in the future.’
He held up his beer, and Elias snorted. ‘Trying to overcompensate since your real family is a lost cause?’
‘Last time I checked, you were my real family.’
‘Did you tell everyone Mum’s back?’
Kate’s mouth dropped open. Catherine was out of jail? It had been huge news at her hospital when she’d been found guilty. Surely the severity of her crimes meant she shouldn’t have been released this early?
And then she had a thought. Even though she wasn’t married to Elias, she would now be related to his mother. Catherine was her child’s grandmother. She even technically shared a name with the woman, although Kate spelled her full name with a K.
She shivered. Scary.
Of course, she might not keep the child. Even though she wanted a baby, she wasn’t sure she wanted it this way. She knew Hugo didn’t want to get involved, but she wasn’t sure how she’d feel if Elias did. Or if he didn’t.
A wave of nausea washed over her. Was this a late-in-the-day attack of morning sickness? Or the shock manifesting physically?
She jumped up. ‘Where’s the bathroom?’
Alexis pointed down the hall. ‘Down there at the end.’
‘Thanks.’
She practically bolted for the bathroom and locked herself inside. She fell to her knees and threw up in the bowl.
Yuck.
As someone who dealt with other people’s bodily fluids on a daily basis, she shouldn’t have been such a wimp. But she hated throwing up. It made her feel like she was choking.
After a moment, she felt settled enough to stand and wash her face. She looked pale.
She tried a smile, but it looked weird.
She opened the door and found herself face-to-face with Elias.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, fine.’
‘You don’t look it.’
‘Gee, thanks. Is that your way of saying I’m unattractive?’
His eyes widened. ‘Of course not. Wow.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I really don’t understand all this animosity. Every time I’ve seen you since we… you know… you’ve treated me like an annoyance. If I’d known that’s how you’d react, I would have never slept with you.’
‘That makes two of us.’
She hadn’t really meant to say it out loud, but considering the outcome of that sleeping together, she would definitely go back and stop past Kate from doing it if she was able to.
He raked his hands through his hair. ‘Seriously? Are you that repulsed by me?’
He looked genuinely hurt, and her heart contracted. ‘That’s not it…’
‘Forget it. I’m done trying. You’re making it too damn hard to even be civil.’
He stalked away, and she heard him talk to the others. ‘I have to go.’
Alexis tried to protest, but by the sound of the front door opening and closing, she hadn’t convinced him to stay.
Kate knew she’d crossed the line.
She hurried down the hall and smiled apologetically at the others.
‘I’m sorry. I have to go too. I think I’ve picked up a bug, and I wouldn’t want to pass it on if it’s contagious.’
‘Oh, okay. I’m sorry to hear that.’ Alexis frowned sympathetically.
Kate wanted to ask Alexis to include her in future plans, but she knew that wouldn’t be a good idea considering it might mean running into Elias again. Which was a shame. She had started to think it would be nice to have a couple of new friends in Alexis and Sarah.
She grabbed her purse and exited through the front door.
Elias was still in the hall, repeatedly pressing the down button for the elevator. ‘What the hell is wrong with this thing?’ he muttered.
Kate went and stood next to him. ‘I’m sorry about just now.’
‘You should go back inside,’ he said flatly.
‘I told them I’m not feeling well. I’m going home.’
The elevator door opened, and Elias swept a hand, ushering her in. ‘Then I’ll take the next one.’
‘Don’t be silly. We can both be adult enough to spend a minute in an elevator together.’
‘You could have fooled me,’ he said, but stepped in anyway.
The elevator began to descend, and Kate wrung her hands together.
‘Look, I know this is no excuse, but I had kind of a crazy day, and I’m not handling it well.’
‘Understatement of the year.’
‘I… I’m really sorry.’
He turned to her. ‘I don’t get it. We had such a great night together. We had a lot in common. But then you said you’re about to be too busy to see me, except you clearly have enough time for dinner parties at my brother’s place.’
Kate covered her face with her hands. ‘I know. I’m a mess. Way more than you can imagine.’
‘I’m a mess too.’
She peeked through her fingers and saw the serious expression on his face. She could tell he was trying to be genuine and vulnerable, and it made her feel worse.
Should she tell him? But if she wasn’t going to keep the baby, wouldn’t that just make things weird?
The thought made her stop. She did care if things were weird between them. She wanted them to be easy and fun—and like that first night they’d spent together.
Tears welled in her eyes, and she brushed them away, frustrated.
‘Wait. Are you crying?’
Before she knew what was happening, Elias had stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.
She rested her face against his chest and cried.
‘It’s okay,’ he whispered.
They reached the ground floor, but Elias didn’t encourage her to move. The door closed again, and he continued to rub her back while making soothing noises.
She hadn’t expected someone like Elias to be so caring. So unafraid to be with a woman who was upset.
After a moment, she gently pulled away and looked up at him.
‘I’m pregnant. And you’re the father.’