You're to Blame(67)

“Jacob.” Stacey’s voice is stern. “Oh my god. You guys aren’t together, are you? You said you broke up with her?”

What the actual fuck did she just say?

“I must be losing my hearing, because I don’t think I heard you.” I turn my anger on Jacob as all the puzzle pieces fall into place.

“You broke up with her?” Duke barks, his attention on Jacob before it turns to me.

I set down the dynamite weeks ago, might as well push the detonator.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. He didn’t break up with me. I broke up with him,” I blurt, angry the four people in this room are on four different pages. Heck, we may as well be reading separate books.

“What are you talking about?” Duke’s voice is low, sexy, and angry as hell. “You broke up with him?” His eyes seer into mine,

I wrap my hand around his forearm, but he jerks away. Well, that stings. “That’s why I’ve been calling you, Duke. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

“So, you two aren’t together?” Duke gestures to the two of us but doesn’t make eye contact.

“I thought she told you, man.” The apology in Jacob’s voice is more confusing than whatever the hell is going on.

“Yeah, well, she didn’t.” Duke paces in front of me, pulling at his hair while he has a silent conversation with himself. Stacey smirks like she’s prepared to blow more of my life into smithereens.

“Stacey, can you please leave? This is none of your business.” I may say that, but I know it isn’t true. She’s here for a reason, and it’s not to lend me a shoulder to cry on.

“I have every right to be in here.”

Duke steps around me and looms over Stacey. Not one inch of her can be seen. As mad as he is, he still feels the need to protect me, and judging by Jacob’s labored breathing, I’d say my life is about to turn into an even bigger mess.





Chapter Eighteen





Duke


What the fuck!

If I had any sense, I’d storm out of this hospital room and never look back, but when the reality settles into Charlotte’s eyes, I know I can’t allow her to go through this alone. I silently plead for Stacey to shut the hell up. Bargaining with a woman is useless. When broads are determined to do something, they do it and as remorseful as Stacey has been, she’s dying to spill the news.

“Jacob, would you like to take this one?” Stacey’s clenched fists pinch into her hips. A small bump presses against her tank top. Fuck.

“Now isn’t the time, Stacey.” I stand, ready to shield Charlotte from the inevitable.

“You did just tell me you fucked my ex-girlfriend, so why not expose the rest of this shit show, huh?” Jacob sneers. “Stacey, meet Charlotte Novak, my ex-girlfriend. Charlotte, meet Stacey St. James, the girl who’s carrying my baby.”

Charlotte chokes on the air. Her hand covers the tanned patch of skin below her neck. “Excuse me?” she squeaks, tugging on her earlobe. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.” Her sharp laugh, is not the cute giggle I’ve fallen in love with. No, this one is dangerous and capable of turning buildings into rubble. Charlotte’s glare wanders down to Stacey’s stomach. Her eyes widen, and as if she’s had a revelation, her face clears of all emotion. “You’re pregnant?”

Stacey leans against the bed, her eyes on her feet. “If it softens the blow, I didn’t know about you when we started...”

Charlotte lifts a trembling hand. “Trust me, it doesn’t.” She brushes her fingers under her eyes, clearing away the wetness.

I take a second to let the last three minutes soak into my brain.

Charlotte is crying, but I can’t quite figure out if it’s because she’s hurt by Jacob’s infidelity, or if this moment is too much for her, and nothing could hold in those large tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Charlotte,” Jacob whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s funny, because I was afraid of coming in here and telling you about Duke and me. This whole time, I’ve been worried about your feelings, and how you’d react. So much so, I didn’t even tell Duke. Even when I fell for him, I let him think he had betrayed you.” Charlotte paces. “And you’ve had some hussy walking around with your baby inside of her.”

“Hussy?” Stacey lunges at Charlotte. I grab her and pull her back, shaking my head in warning.

Charlotte’s stare is sinister. “Let’s be real. That’s what you are.”

A part of me wants to laugh when she rolls her eyes, but with the animosity in the room, I stifle my amusement.

“Charlotte, I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Jacob leans forward, reaching out to Charlotte who retreats from him.

“Yeah, well, I meant for this to happen, so I guess we’re even.” She thumbs the space between us. Ouch. Callous Charlotte is one not to be reckoned with. “Kudos to us for being monumental assholes.” She shifts her full, icy stare to me and Stacey. “Did you know about this?” Her eyes inspect where my hand rests on Stacey’s arm and then shift up to my face. I don’t need a mirror to know I have a dumbstruck expression.

This is the moment. It’s do or die. The old Duke would lie because it’s easier, but when Charlotte’s distant, scared eyes beg for the truth, even though she doesn’t truly want it, I can’t.