Undone by Her Tender Touch (Pregnancy & Passion #4)(41)

“I appreciate your concern, Dev. Truly. But I’m okay. You should be focusing on Ashley and that beautiful baby girl. Tell Ash that I’ll come see her tomorrow when things are a little less crazy, I promise. But you’re right. I couldn’t stay there tonight. I…I just had to go.”

“I understand,” Devon said. “Chin up, Pippa. If killing him would help, I’d give serious consideration to it. Only the knowledge that I was once the same sort of bastard and that I eventually saw the light is saving me from tossing him off a bridge.”

Pippa smiled as her cab pulled to a stop. “Thanks, Dev. I’m home now so I’ll let you get back to your family. Give Ash my love and I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Take care, Pippa,” Devon said. “If you need us, you know we’re here.”

“I do know,” she said softly.

She thrust money at the driver and then ducked out and hurried down the sidewalk toward her apartment. She glanced down at her phone to see she had several text messages. All from Cam.

The last?

Damn it, Pippa. Pick up the phone. What happened? Are you all right?

She slid the phone back into her purse and grabbed her keys as she mounted the steps to her door.

No, she wasn’t all right. She’d never been so not all right in her life.

* * *

The next day was a test of her endurance. She woke early after having not slept well at all and went into the café to get a start on the baking.

She enjoyed a steady stream of customers, many effusive in their praise of her goodies. She should be on top of the freaking world but it was all she could do to keep her head up for the duration of the day.

The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that Cam didn’t show up. She was half-afraid he would after she refused to answer his calls or texts the night before.

After locking up, she went home and took a long nap. Or at least she tried. She lay down and went through the motions of napping, but her mind wouldn’t shut down and all she could do was replay Cam’s smile and his joy from the night before.

She was wrung out, disillusioned, and she knew it was time for her to make a decision. She could no longer afford to hang around hoping that one day Cam woke up, pulled his head out of his ass and realized his life wasn’t over.

She pushed herself from the bed, made a halfhearted attempt to straighten her appearance and then trudged to her kitchen to get a drink and try to shake the cobwebs from her brain.

First she’d go visit Ashley and make up for the fact that she’d bailed on her the day before. Her friends came first.

Not bothering with a coat—it was her hope that the chilly evening air would give her a much-needed wake up—she left her apartment and walked to the end of the block to hail a cab. She just didn’t have it in her to walk the extra few blocks to the subway.

When she got to the hospital, visitor hours were almost over but she headed up to the maternity ward, anyway. The worst they could do was kick her out.

She knocked quietly on Ashley’s door, hoping her friend wasn’t asleep. A moment later, the door opened and Devon appeared.

“Come on in,” Devon said with apparent relief. His gaze sharpened as he took in Pippa’s appearance, and without a further word, he simply pulled her into his arms and gave her a huge hug.

She hadn’t known just how badly she needed that until his arms surrounded her. She bit into her lip to keep from bursting into tears on the spot. She was here to see Ashley and the baby, not blubber all over her and her husband.

“Thank you,” Pippa whispered against Devon’s chest. “How is Ash?”

“Go see for yourself,” he said as he pulled away. “She’s holding Katelynn now.”

Pippa hurried past the private bathroom and approached the bed. She stopped and stared at the beautiful sight of Ashley with her daughter cradled in her arms.

Ashley smiled broadly. “Hey, Pip. Come on over and see her. She’s so beautiful.”

“You’re breast-feeding her?” Pippa whispered as she went to Ashley’s bedside and stared down at the tiny infant. “Is it hard?”

Ashley smiled. “A little at first but the nurses here are so great. They helped a lot and then Katelynn did the rest. She’s a real champ at it now.”

Devon pushed a chair to the side of the bed and motioned for Pippa to sit.

“So Dev said Cam was a real butthead last night,” Ashley said in a low voice.

Pippa sighed. “Let’s not talk about him, Ash. This is your time to be happy and enjoy your beautiful baby without listening to your friend complain.”

Ashley gently broke suction and pulled her gown back to cover her breast. Then she looked toward Devon. “Want to see if she’ll burp for you?”

Devon reached over Pippa to take the bundle and went to sit in the recliner by the window.

“Now,” Ashley said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Spill. You look terrible, Pip. You’re clearly unhappy.”

The knot grew larger in Pippa’s throat and her eyes clouded with tears once again.

“I’m miserable, but it’s my own fault. I totally set myself up for this. I walked into this knowing the score. I’m just frustrated and heartsick. I’m going to confront him, Ash. It’s stupid but it’s something I have to do.”