Page 43 of Teaching Roman

Chapter Twenty

Yanking Jillian to the side,I tried to pretend I wasn’t shaking. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he was here tonight of all nights.

“What is he doing here?” I demanded under my breath, hoping he couldn’t hear me.

“I texted him,” she admitted. There wasn’t a shred of remorse in her eyes.

“I had no idea you two were so chatty.” I didn’t want to snap, but I felt like a rubber band being stretched across a football field—snapping was inevitable. I couldn’t believe he was here. Not right now. I’d walked out on him over an essay and he’d shown up at the first sign of trouble. Roman was out of my league. I didn’t deserve him.

Jillian grabbed my shoulder as if she expected me to run. “I messaged him on your phone.”

“You had no right—”

“Turnabout’s fair play,” she said with a shrug.

Dammit. She had me there. I had been the one to call her mother when she was in the hospital, and I’d butted into her relationship with Liam more than once. But it didn’t feel the same. “This is different. You were sick.”

“I don’t think it’s that different. He should be here if—”

“This—” I held up the bag from the drug store—”has nothing to do with him!”

“Remind me how women get pregnant again,” she said drily.

If I continued this conversation with her I was going to scream, so I took a steadying breath and turned around to face the Spanish Inquisition. Roman watched me warily, his eyes darting between me and Jillian. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his faded jeans, but he looked anything but casual. He positively smoldered with anger. At me? At the situation? I couldn’t tell.

Jillian nodded her head once in greeting before she unlocked the door and gestured for him to enter. He followed her inside, leaving me outside in the chill of a Pacific Northwest night. The March wind cut to the bone this evening. Tomorrow it could be sunny and beautiful—or it could be gray and dismal. I strongly suspected the weather hinged on tonight’s activities. Shivering in the hallway, I forced myself to take a step toward the apartment. I couldn’t avoid this anymore. Regardless of what happened, the sun would still rise in the morning. I might as well face facts.

I couldn’t meet his eyes as I shuffled into the apartment. My best friend had abandoned me with him, and he didn’t seem overjoyed to see me. The pregnancy test suddenly weighed a million pounds. Jillian reappeared in the living room, tugging her unruly brown hair into a ponytail.

“I’m going to hang out at Liam’s and give you two some space.” She looked to me for confirmation that this was okay, but I couldn’t manage more than a mumble of approval.

But as she headed toward the door I caught her arm and leaned in to whisper, “Did you tell him why he’s here?”

She nodded and my heart sank. Part of me had wanted to lie and get him out of here as quickly as possible. But if he knew why Jillian had messaged him there was no way that was going to happen. The other part of me didn’t want him to go. Thankfully, there was no choice in the matter. I suspected he wasn’t going to leave, but that didn’t make my confusion any less acute.

The door clicked shut behind her, and I closed my eyes, trying to locate my center of gravity.

“When were you going to tell me?” Roman asked in a quiet voice.

I spun to face him, the balance I’d sought slipping away. “I’ve only known for about two seconds myself!”

“How far along are you?”

My mouth fell open. He thought I was pregnant. As in definite. As in confirmed. Suddenly, I felt like the girl who cried wolf. Fan-fucking-tastic. “I’m not pregnant.”

Roman’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. At least, we were both experiencing that emotion. “But Jillian said—”

“I might be pregnant,” I added, before he could get comfortable with the idea that he’d dodged a bullet. “I haven’t taken the test.”

Holding up the bag from the store, I waved it in front of him. Both our gazes fell on it, knowing it held an answer that we might not be ready to see.

“We should take it,” he said simply.

“I doubt you can take it,” I snapped, then sighed. Why couldn’t I keep my bitch at bay?

“You should take it,” he corrected himself, “and I’d like to hold your hand while you wait.”

Part of the icy numbness I’d felt all evening melted at his words, and tears pricked at my eyes. I tried to blink them away but they escaped, rolling down my cheeks in salty torrents I couldn’t control. “I’m…I’m…”