Over the Edge (Bridge #3)(66)

“About what?”

She shook her head and a single tear fell down her cheek. I caught her shoulders, spinning her on the stool so she faced me.

“Olivia, talk to me.” My tone was firmer now. She was scaring the hell out of me.

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

My breath lodged painfully in my chest. I replayed those two words a few more times, absorbing their meaning.

“Wait… What?”

She continued shaking her head, wiping at her eyes. She was trembling harder, and now I knew why.

“I’ve been safe. I’ve always been safe. I don’t know how this could have happened. Did a condom break or something?”

My thoughts whizzed a million miles an hour. Then they paused on one moment in time. Fuck.

My hands fell from her shoulders. “You weren’t on the pill?”

She swallowed and another tear fell. “No. I haven’t been on it for a long time. That’s why I said you needed to use protection, always.”

I ran a palm down my face. “Fuck.”

“What?”

I paced away from her.

“Will…”

I turned back and held her in my gaze. “This is my fault.”

“What do you mean this your fault?”

“I—I just assumed you were on the pill and the condoms were an extra precaution.”

She widened her reddened eyes, and her swollen lips parted. “You had sex with me without a condom?”

I swallowed hard and yanked through my hair. “One night. It was the middle of the night. I had this f*cked-up nightmare. All I could think about was being inside you. I had to have you. I woke you up, and you said yes. I thought you knew.”

“You did this?”

The tears fell unbidden down her cheeks. I felt like I was drowning in them. How could I have done this to her…

“Olivia, I swear I didn’t know this would happen.”

“I trusted you!” Her cry was full of despair.

She slid off the stool and closed the space between us, her fists two tight balls at her sides. When she leveled them against my chest, I didn’t bother stopping her. I deserved the pain. I deserved every ounce of her anger.

She beat her fists against me until the sobs overtook her. Her knees gave out, and she sank to the ground. I caught her and lowered down with her. When I dragged her into my lap, she was boneless and didn’t fight me. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight through her tears.

Her tears were worse than her blows. They lanced through me.

Every instinct told me to protect her, to find a way to make this all right. But if I held the blame, how could I protect her? How could I possibly make this right?

OLIVIA



I wasn’t sure how much time I spent cocooned in Will’s arms. I hated him right now, but there was no place I’d have rather been. He’d done this to me, and somehow I knew he was the only one who would bring me through it. I nuzzled into his shirt, letting his woodsy scent comfort me as I caught my breath.

He didn’t speak, which worried me. He was always so quick to take control of a situation, to make up my mind for me.

I looked up at him. “You’re not saying anything.”

“I’m trying not to make it worse,” he muttered softly.

“Try to make it better.”

He sighed, and I rested against his exhaling chest.

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I’m so sorry. I made a mistake. I know it’s not enough right now, but you have to believe that I would never try to hurt you.”

Fresh tears fell, but my body didn’t have any more sobs to give. I pressed my face into his chest, not caring how my mascara stained the perfectly starched shirt.

“Take me to bed. I can’t…” A sob broke free.

His arms came around me tighter and lifted us up. “I have a better idea.”

He carried me through the bedroom and into the master bath and stood me in front of the claw-foot tub. He turned on the faucet. While he checked the temperature, I stared down at the floor. Dozens of golden tiles were cool under my feet. Ian’s beautiful crown.

How would I tell him? I squeezed my eyes closed and pretended for the moment that I wouldn’t have to. Nothing would have to change. Tomorrow I’d wake up, and I wouldn’t be facing this unexpected situation. Everything could go on the way it had been.

I thought once the outside world agreed to mind its own business, we’d be safe inside our circle. I never thought something like this could happen. That my trust in Will could be so utterly shattered.

While the bath filled, Will turned his attention to me. With gentle care, he undressed me. His movements were slow and methodical, as if I were a child. There was nothing suggestive or sexual about it.

He held my hand and helped me into the bath. The warm water soothed my tense muscles, but it wasn’t enough of the comfort I needed. I wrapped my arms around my knees and held on tight through another wave of disbelief and regret.

“Do you want me to come in with you?” Will’s forearms rested on the lip of the tub. His cobalt gaze was soft and serious at once.

I nodded, and he undressed. He stepped into the water behind me, sat, and gently ushered me back so I rested against his chest. His legs framed mine. He slid his palms down my arms and gently cuffed my wrists.