Page 35 of Wed to the Devil
As if that somehow makes it better.
Minnie finally lets my hand go. I fiddle with my ring, unsure how to tell her that I am married. Onlytechnically… but still. Minnie moves back a couple of steps, looking me up and down.
And her gaze stops on my ever so slightly distended abdomen.
“Are you…?” She looks up at me, baffled.
I turn red as a beet. “I’m pregnant, yes. ”
Her eyes bug out. “Christ, Talia. You’re more than a couple of months along, too.”
She shoves her hand through her unkempt mane and looks distressed.
Not the reaction I wanted. But perhaps the one I expected. I duck my head, the words for defending myself eluding me just now.
“What the hell is going on with you? I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me about your pregnancy sooner. What other major events in your life do I not know about?”
I can’t even look at her. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. I turn around, picking up the peanut butter sandwich I was making. Anything to keep my hands busy and occupy me while I try to repress my emotions.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “There was a lot of drama surrounding my pregnancy. I wasn’t really able to talk to anyone about it.”
The lie slips out of my mouth easily and takes me by surprise. I talked to Olivia and Dare about my pregnancy. I just didn’t include my aunt.
Aunt Minnie looks at me for a beat before her posture softens.
“When are you due?” she asks.
Giving her a tentative smile, I smooth a hand over my belly. “July fourteenth.”
She nods, still looking skeptical. “I hope you’ll include me in your baby’s life.”
Her words steal the breath from my lungs.
“Oh, Aunt Minnie.” I leave the sandwiches behind and step forward to hug her tightly. “I would love nothing more.”
She rubs a hand over my back, kissing my hair. I feel so safe in her embrace and realize that I haven’t felt cared for in this exact way since I left Aunt Minnie’s bungalow.
“Good. It’s settled, then,” she murmurs.
We stay like that for what seems like forever but is only probably a minute. Then Aunt Minnie steps back, her expression regretful.
“I have to go to the bookstore. I hired a girl to replace you, but her hours are very strictly limited. I promised her that I wouldn’t be late today.”
A preteen girl pushes open the kitchen door, interrupting Aunt Minnie.
“Talia? There is a visitor downstairs who wants to talk to you. I can finish up here if you want to go see what he wants.”
“Hm. Okay.” I don’t know who it could be. I’m not expecting anyone. “Thanks, Molly.”
Molly shrugs a shoulder and starts making the sandwich I never finished. We head outside and to the dark staircase. Aunt Minnie smiles at me and squeezes my hand, slipping away up the stairs toward the street. I head down, the stairs creaking and protesting with every step.
Who would be here to talk to me? The question makes my heart beat a little faster.
When I walk into the playroom, I immediately see Dare. He’s sitting on a couch, looking extremely uncomfortable. Solana is on his lap, her dark hair shining, her face hidden as she presses it into Dare’s expensive light blue Oxford. He sees me and gestures down at the little girl, a puzzled look on his face.
I smother a laugh as I approach. “I see your biggest fan found you.”
His sharp glance could pierce right through me.