Chasing Perfect (Fool's Gold #1)(63)

“His date.”

Emily looked startled for a second, then squared her shoulders. “Whatever. This is private. Maybe you should come back later.”

“Not a chance,” Josh said, sounding certain.

Charity did her best to keep from racing to the worst conclusion.

“Why don’t you both come in?” Josh said.

Emily pushed past him and entered the suite. Charity hesitated.

He held out his hand, his gaze steady. “It’s not what you think.”

She was remembering him telling her how long it had been since he’d been intimate with anyone. At the time, she’d believed him. Did she now? Did she go with the evidence, or trust her gut? Because right now her gut was saying that Josh was someone special. Someone she wanted to get to know better.

She put her hand in his. He pulled her close.

“Thank you,” he murmured in her ear, then led her into the suite.

Emily stood behind the sofa. She looked less certain and a whole lot younger. Her hair fell in dark curls. Her eyes were wide and carefully made-up.

“Are you sure you want her here?” Emily asked, looking only at Josh.

“Yes.”

“You’ll be sorry.”

“A risk I’m willing to take.”

Emily drew in a breath and tossed her head. “I’m pregnant.”

Charity pulled back her hand. Josh didn’t let it go.

Her mind whirled and spun. Pregnant? Meaning she really had had sex with Josh?

“I’ve never slept with you,” Josh said calmly.

“You were drunk but I didn’t think you were that drunk.” Emily’s large eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe you don’t remember. You do it with everyone. I know that. But that night meant something to me and now I’m pregnant.”

The tears began to fall in earnest. “I was supposed to go to college in the fall. How can that happen now? This is your baby. You need to take responsibility for it.”

Charity felt sick to her stomach. She jerked her hand free and was grateful Emily had shown up before dinner. If she’d eaten a big meal, she would be throwing up right about now.

“How far along are you?” he asked.

“S-seven weeks.”

“Do you remember the date we had our special night together?”

There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. Not concern or worry. He obviously didn’t believe Emily. Josh was a lot of things, but he wasn’t irresponsible. She knew that much. So if he was certain the baby wasn’t his, then she would guess he hadn’t been with Emily at all.

She drew in a breath and reminded herself she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“It was a Tuesday,” Emily said, still crying.

Josh folded his arms across his chest. “Here’s what we’re going to do. The three of us will walk downstairs to the gift shop where we’ll buy a pregnancy test. Then you and Charity are going to come back here where you’ll pee on the stick.” He narrowed his gaze. “With Charity watching.”

“What?” Emily demanded.

“I want confirmation that you’re the one doing the peeing.” He glanced at Charity. “To make sure she’s the one who’s pregnant. I had a woman do this a few years ago. She came back with a positive pregnancy test, but it turned out she’d brought her friend’s urine in a container. The friend was pregnant.”

“You’ve been through this before?”

Weariness invaded his eyes. “You have no idea.”

Any lingering doubt faded. She moved next to him and put her hand on his back. “Let’s go get the test.”

“I’m not peeing in front of her,” Emily said.

“Would you rather pee in front of me?” Josh asked.

“Fine.” Emily marched past them and out the door.

They all walked to the elevator and rode down. The three of them entered the gift store where the clerk, a woman in her thirties, took one look at Emily and rolled her eyes.

“Hi, Josh,” she said.

“Lisa. We need a pregnancy test. Please put it on my bill.”

“Sure thing.”

Lisa turned around and studied the collection of sundries. She grabbed a box and passed it to Josh.

They made the return trip to the third floor and walked back into Josh’s suite. He handed the pregnancy test to Charity. “Do I know how to show you a good time or what?”

She took the test.

Emily glared at them both. “I’m not doing this.”

He shrugged. “Then I have nothing to say to you. Come back when the baby’s born and we’ll do a DNA test.”

Emily’s determined expression crumbled. Tears filled her eyes, then began to pour down her cheeks. She dropped to the sofa and covered her face with her hands.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sob. “I’m sorry.” She looked up. Her makeup stained her skin, making her look like a little girl. “You win. I didn’t sleep with you. I’m not pregnant.”

While Charity wasn’t exactly surprised, everything about the moment was still surreal.

“What do you need the money for?” Josh asked.

Emily sniffed. “College. My dad took off years ago and I have two younger brothers. Mom does the best she can, but there’s nothing left over. I have a partial scholarship. Enough to pay for tuition, but I need living expenses, too.”