I Love How You Love Me(The Sullivans)(60)

Grace all but ran down the sidewalk with Mason. She knew she needed to calm down, buy the test, and wait to see what the results were before she freaked herself out any more than she already had. But she was too tired, too stunned, to stop the what-if’s and how-could-I’s that were already spinning around and around in her head.

When she broke the news to Dylan, would he look at her with the same disgust and horror that Richard had? What if he thought this was what she did—find rich men to seduce and then “accidentally” get pregnant?

No. She wasn’t making sense. She knew better than to compare Dylan with Richard. But with everything twisting up inside of her, she couldn’t seem to stop the crazy thoughts from coming.


A gray-haired man held the pharmacy door open for her, and when she thanked him, her voice sounded thick and hoarse, as if she’d been crying. The chain store had the same layout as the one where she’d purchased the pregnancy tests back East, so she quickly wheeled to the correct aisle and picked up two new tests, the same brand that she’d used before. Feeling like her life had somehow gotten stuck on repeat, she took them up to the counter to pay.

When the woman at the register looked at the tests and then down at Mason, who had fallen asleep in his stroller, she beamed at Grace. “I had mine close together, too, and it was an absolute godsend! They were best friends, always there for each other, even now.”

Grace knew better than to trust her voice again, so she simply nodded and fumbled for the cash in her purse, then left the store as quickly as she’d come. But the stranger’s words had rent her utterly in two. Because, for as frightening and life-changing as it would be to have another baby in nine months, she could also see how amazing it would be for her son to have a sibling so close to his age. After all, look at Dylan and his brothers and sister, who were all so wonderfully close.

Grace was extra careful not to wake Mason as she carried him and his stroller up the stairs, but his eyes opened the moment she got inside. For the next thirty minutes, she tried everything she could think of to get him to fall back to sleep. Not only because she knew he still desperately needed the rest, but because the clock was ticking down and Dylan would be knocking on her door soon.

Finally, he lay peacefully in his crib, his breathing slow and steady as he cuddled his blanket and stuffed animal close.

It will be okay, she told herself as she took a moment to watch him sleep. Everything will work out, one way or another.

Grace closed the bedroom door with a soft click and was just about to pick up the plastic bag containing the pregnancy test when there was a knock on the door.

Oh no, Dylan was early! She quickly brushed her hands over her face and hair, even though she knew he’d take one look at her and instantly know something was wrong.

Working to draw from her newfound confidence, she took a deep breath and reminded herself that no matter what happened from here on out, she’d proved that she and Mason would be okay. They would not only survive, they’d thrive.

Without looking through the security glass, she opened the door. “You’re earl—”

Her words fell away as she realized she wasn’t speaking to Dylan.

“Hello, Grace.” Richard Bentley smiled at her without so much as a shred of guilt or remorse. “I’m here for my son.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE



Grace had played out this scenario a thousand times during the past ten months. Each time she’d thought about what would happen if Richard changed his mind about not wanting Mason, fear had skittered up her spine. But now that he was really here, all she felt was anger. Such deep fury that he’d dare to come and claim the son he’d walked away from without so much as blinking that she nearly slammed the door in his face.

But she knew she needed to think clearly, needed to make sure she learned exactly why he’d had a supposed change of heart, so that she could bolster her fight to keep her son from him. And she also needed to keep him physically as far from Mason as possible.

She stepped out on the landing in front of her apartment and closed the door behind her. “Why are you here?”

“I saw a picture of you holding a baby at a Sullivan party.” On his face she could see the primal urge to claim his child now that he’d finally seen Mason’s picture and knew for sure he existed. “Which one of the Sullivan men are you screwing to get an invite to a private celebration?”

There was a picture of her and Mason from the party Tatiana had thrown for Mia? Grace knew with perfect certainty that none of the Sullivan girls would ever pass on their personal shots to the press. Not when Mia, Tatiana, and Nicola already had to deal with far too much pressure from the paparazzi. Had one of the wait staff secretly taken pictures and leaked them? Was that what those flashes had been when she’d been holding Mason and speaking with Mia? And did any of the Sullivans know yet that it had happened?

Fear was trying to clamp around her chest, but she wouldn’t let it. Wouldn’t let anything rob her of the ability to think clearly.

“I’ll bet you’re doing the architect, aren’t you?” Richard continued with a sneer. “I shouldn’t be surprised you landed on your feet, given that seducing rich men is your specialty. Still, I didn’t think you’d be able to get a Sullivan to fall for your tricks, especially dragging a baby around with you.” He gave her his best threatening look. “I want to see him. I want to see my son.”