Bennett (On the Line Book 2)(7)

She slid her shirt on, stepped back into her heels and picked up the coat she’d thrown on a chair when we walked in. Then she gave me a dirty look and sneered at Charlotte on her way out the door.

Charlotte didn’t even react. She walked in the door and I closed it behind her.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why didn’t you call? It’s been like two months.”

“Let’s sit down.”

“I’m worried about you.” I flipped a switch and two living room lamps came on. “You look upset.”

“Well, yeah.” She looked down at the floor. “I’m pregnant.”

I just looked at her for a few seconds, dizzy as I processed what she’d said. Then a wave of nausea hit and I had to put a hand on the wall to steady myself.

“Oh. Well, that’s . . .”

I couldn’t even finish the sentence. What was happening? Five minutes ago, my world had been very different than it was right now.

“Awful,” Charlotte finished for me. “I know. I found out a week ago. The doctor pinpointed the conception date to a three-day window, and you’re the only . . . I hadn’t been with my ex for three weeks before you and I . . .”

“Yeah.” I nodded and leaned against the wall. “I wasn’t going to . . . if you know it’s mine, that’s . . . yeah, that’s fine.”

Charlotte’s pale blue eyes flooded with tears. “I’ve been a wreck. I just puke and cry and sleep. I can’t figure out how this happened. Did the condom break? I mean, you would have mentioned that, right?”

The sick sensation rolling in my stomach intensified. “Condom?”

Our eyes locked and my heart felt like it stopped beating.

“Yes.” Charlotte’s tone was icy. “The f*cking condom, Bennett. What the hell else would you get from your jeans right before we had sex?”

“A mint.”

Her eyes widened. “A mint?”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled, charging toward me with her arms raised.

“Charlotte.” I held on to her forearms to keep her from scratching my eyes out. “What’s wrong with me? You said we were good. I thought you were on the pill.”

“What? I didn’t say that!”

“You did. When I asked if we were good, you said we were.”

She fought against my hold on her forearms. “Good as in ready, Bennett. Since when is that code for ‘are you on the pill?’”

The circles under her eyes and frantic look on her face touched something inside me. It didn’t matter whose fault it was, she’d obviously been worried and living through hell the last week.

“Listen,” I said softly. “I’m sorry. So sorry. And I’m here for you. You’re not alone. I’m gonna let go of you now and we’ll sit down and talk, okay?”

When I released her forearms, her shoulders dropped with defeat. “It gets worse, Bennett.”

Worse? How could things possibly get worse?

“Holy f*ck, is it twins?”

She shook her head. “No, there’s only one. But twins would be better than what I have to tell you now.”

“I seriously doubt that.” An image of myself with a diapered infant in each arm flashed through my mind and I cringed.

“I didn’t know you were a Flyer.” Charlotte’s voice was choked with emotion. “I didn’t know. When I went to Cosmos to ask Molly how I could find you and she told me that, I . . . it’s just awful.”

She swallowed hard and tears slid from her eyes onto her cheeks.

“That I’m a hockey player? What, am I too low-rent for you?”

“No.” Her tone was sharp, but her expression remained miserable. “You might want to sit down.”

I glared at her, quickly becoming aggravated. “I took the pregnancy news standing up, so I think I can handle whatever it is, Charlotte.”

She shook her head. “If I would have known, I never, ever would have done what I did with you. Ever.”

“Dammit, would you just spit it out? What’s the issue here?”

“My brother is a Fenway Flyer. I threw up in the parking lot because I was so worried he’d see me coming here and confront me.”

My eyes widened with disbelief. “What? Your brother?”

“Yes. Liam Holloway.”



Charlotte

Bennett sat down.

The color had drained from his face.

“Shit,” he said softly. “I’m a dead man. I’ll know what my own balls taste like by morning.”

I swallowed hard, feeling sorry for him. He apparently knew my brother well.

“I’ve never visited him here at the player housing,” I said. “Is his apartment close? Is there any chance he’ll come here?”

Bennett’s laugh held no amusement. “Oh, it’s a definite possibility since he’s my roommate.”

My stomach did a 360-degree turn. “What? Are you . . .” I looked at the door. “I have to get out of here. Oh, God. I never should have come here.”

Bennett stood up. “Yeah, you should’ve. This isn’t something you have to handle alone, Charlotte. I’m just as responsible as you are.”