Believing Lies (38 page)

“Two waters,” Adam told her from over my shoulder.

“Sure thing, sexy,” she said, flashing what I assumed was supposed to be a seductive smile.
You have neon lipstick all over your front teeth, bimbo! Back off, and go rub your teeth before I slice you!
My mouth dropped open at my own thoughts. Talk about jealousy. All she did was call him sexy. I needed to get out of here before I did something crazy, like peeing on him to mark my territory.
Eww
. . .

Bimbo bartender came back a second later and handed Adam two bottles of water. He handed me one before paying, causing her to finally notice me standing there. She eyed me up and then looked at him. Her smile dropped.
Yeah, that’s right, Hot Pink, he’s with me!
I instantly frowned at my internal dialogue for two reasons. One: I was acting like a frickin’ jealous lunatic. Two: He wasn’t with me. He wasn’t mine. I had no real reason to be jealous.

He placed the money on the bar before turning to me. “Is me buying you a water grounds to make you frown?”
Way to hide your feelings, Sienna
.

“Something like that.”

Some say smiles are contagious. Apparently, so are frowns. “I’m sorry I crashed your girls’ night. Don’t be too mad at Sophie.” He opened his water and took a drink. “For the record, I basically tortured her until she told me where you’d be.”

I let out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure she would have told you no matter what. She seems to be on your side now.”

“She’s definitely not on my side, Princess. Think what you want, but she is the most loyal person I’ve ever met, and her loyalty will always lie with you.”

My heart filled at his words. I needed to remember that any meddling she did was because she thought she was doing what was in my best interest. Good intentions or not, she was still a turncoat though. But a turncoat I loved nonetheless.

He could tell I was mulling over his words. “If it makes you feel any better, she tells me what an ass-hat, douche-nozzle, butthead, fuck-face I am all the time.” I giggled. “Her words, not mine.” He gifted me with that cocky half-smile I loved so much.

The corner of my mouth twitched into a grin. “Don’t forget ‘jackass.’ It’s an oldie, but a goody.”

He leaned in. “Why Miss Trudeau, I believe you just smiled at me.” His voice was slow and inviting.
Wake up! He’s charming your panties off, and you’re letting him!

I held up the water bottle, and said, “Thanks for the agua.” I pushed past him, and all of the other random people crowding the bar, and headed back toward the table. Somehow, he managed to get in front of me and blocked my way.

“Hold up. Sophie said your ultrasound is tomorrow. I wanted to see you tonight to ask if I can come with.”

Now it all made sense. It was never about seeing me this afternoon or tonight. He wasn’t missing me. It was about the baby. I wanted to tell him no, but mostly because my ego had just been bruised. But I’d promised him that he could be a part of anything to do with the baby, and finding out if the baby was a boy or girl was a huge deal. I’d be a pretty big bitch if I took that away from him.

“Yeah, I guess that’d be okay. It is your baby too.”

The biggest smile I’d ever seen lit up his face. I had to turn away to not be dazzled by it. I weaved through the crowd back to our table, drank about half of my water, and watched Courtney flirt with a guy who had come up to her while I was at the bar. He was really good looking, but I could tell she wasn’t interested. I’d seen when she was humoring a guy, versus when she was legitimately into a guy, and she was simply humoring this one. It was clear that she was doing it for the sheer benefit of causing the absolute shade of green coloring Zach’s face.

Drake slapped the back of Zach’s head. “You’re a dumbass,” he slurred. He took another drink of his beer and then pointed the bottle at Adam, spilling a little on the table. “You’re a bigger dumbass. The king dumbass!” He laughed and wobbled a little on his stool.

Conner lifted his beer up. “Drake, my friend, way to hit the nail on the head!” The two of them clinked beer bottles, and Conner toasted, “To our friends, dumbasses the both of them.”

This was heading into a territory I didn’t want to revisit. I pulled out my phone and saw it was one o’clock. I turned to Sophie, and said, “I’m tired. Can we head out?”

“I’ll drive you home, and they can stay,” Adam offered before Sophie could answer. “I haven’t been drinking,” he assured me.

Courtney was still talking to that guy, Cassie had just gone to get a new drink, and Sophie was smiling like an idiot.

This is a horrible idea
. “Okay.” I pictured myself smacking my hand to my forehead.

“Really?” His eyes widened, and he smirked his sexy little smirk.

“They’re all still having a good time. I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Sure,” he said with a tone that clearly said “I don’t believe you.” He took his jacket from the stool and put it on. “Let’s go, Princess.”

Through tightened lips, I said, “You’ve called me that all night. Please stop.”

“No.” It was the same response he gave me that day at the beach and so many other times. Memories raced back, and I slammed the mental brakes, hard. No trips down memory lane for this girl.

We said our goodbyes and walked out of the bar. As soon as the frigid December air hit my skin, I began to shiver uncontrollably. I hadn’t worn a jacket tonight. We didn’t want to deal with carrying them around, so we took a cab and got dropped off at the door. We were going to take a cab home too.

“Where’s your jacket?”

“Didn’t bring one,” I said through clattering teeth.

He shook his head. “Girls are so ridiculous sometimes. Why does your gender never wear a jacket to a bar?”

Before I could explain, he had taken off his leather jacket and started to put it on me.

“I’m fine. You keep it.”

“Don’t be stubborn. You’re pregnant. You don’t need to get a cold or something.” Once again, I was reminded that he was being caring because I was pregnant with his child and nothing more. I did agree with his logic though, so I threaded my arms into his jacket sleeves.

He tugged me close to him and zipped me up. “Let’s go, silly girl. I’m freezing, and I’m in the ramp at the end of the street.”

He took my hand and entwined our fingers. I tried to pull away, but it only caused him to tighten his grip. Giving in, I walked hand-in-hand with him to his car. I didn’t even pretend to myself that I didn’t love the feel of his fingers wrapped around mine.

Once we were inside his car, waiting for the heater to warm up a little, he turned to me. His eyes flicked to my lips for a moment, and my lips parted on their own accord. He took his hand and brushed my hair behind my ear and then trailed the back of his fingertips down my jaw. I shivered, and not in a bad way—well, maybe in a bad way. I guess that would depend on how you looked at it.

I pulled back in a knee-jerk response. “Don’t,” I whispered. It was a plea for mercy.

He pulled his hand back and put the shifter in reverse.

We didn’t say anything on the ride home. When he stopped outside of my apartment and kept the car running, I was torn between relief and disappointment.

“What time should I pick you up tomorrow?” he asked without looking at me.

“I’ll meet you in the hospital lobby at one o’clock.”

He turned his head and cocked it to the side. “I can just pick you up.”

“I said I’ll meet you.”

He nodded and faced forward once more. “One o’clock,” he confirmed.

I got out the car and went to the building door. He waited until I had fished my keys out of my purse and walked inside before he pulled away.

Chapter Thirty

Sophie had gone to every previous doctor appointment with me, so it seemed weird walking toward the front doors of the hospital without her. As soon as I’d told her that Adam was going to be there, a quick smile passed over her face, and she told me that she wasn’t going. She was unmoving in my crusade to change her mind, but insisted that I call her as soon as it was over.

I entered the building and literally ran right into Adam. He gripped my waist to prevent me from falling backwards.

“Whoa, Princess. You okay?” he asked, looking down at me with concern written across his face. I leaned into his arms and inhaled. I had to forcefully stop myself from wrapping my arms around him in return.

I backed out of his grasp. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

He raked his hand through his hair. I noticed it was already pretty mussed and wondered how many times he had done that today.
Maybe someone else mussed his hair
. As soon as the thought of some other girl running her fingers through his hair entered my mind, jealousy, thick and pure, coursed through me like a poison. I pursed my lips.

Adam frowned at my expression. “Are you mad that I’m here? I thought you were okay with it.” He looked uneasy and tense.

“I’m fine . . . That is . . . I mean . . .”
Get it together, Sienna
. I took a small breath. “I’m not mad that you’re here.” Although his face relaxed, there was still worry in his eyes. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Shit
. “I mean, I’m glad you’re here because of the baby,” I amended.
Real smooth
.

He let out a short, low chuckle. “I guess I’m not the only one who’s a little nervous.”

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my jacket pocket. A lady at the reception desk gave me a dirty look and pointed at the No Phone sign. Ignoring the sign and the lady, I quickly read the text anyway.

DAD: Come by surgery when you’re done to let me know if boy or girl.

ME: Will do.

I quickly shut off my phone and put it back in my pocket. Adam looked curious about the text, but was wise enough not to ask. After all, it wasn’t any of his business.

“Ready?” I asked him.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

***

Sitting in the OB-GYN waiting room was like mating day at the zoo—all of the women staring at Adam as if he was on exhibit. Some were trying to be nonchalant, but others were obvious. Even the receptionist was basically drooling when I checked in, twirling her pen in her mouth as she looked him up and down. He seemed oblivious to the fact that several pairs of eyes were zoned in on him. Like last night, I wanted to stake my claim. I wanted to tell every woman in that waiting room to stop ogling
my
man. I needed to get a grip, and I certainly needed to stop thinking of him as mine.

I picked up a magazine and started to flip through the pages, not really even looking at them. In my peripheral, Adam’s foot began to tap, gradually picking up pace until it was going crazy fast. I placed my hand on his knee, and he instantly stopped and looked at me. His skin was pale, and he was sweating a little.

“You can leave if you want to. I can call you afterwards.”

“NO!” He quickly lowered his voice to a whisper. “No. I’m just antsy.”

“Sienna,” Dr. Bradley’s nurse called out from the doorway.

Adam and I stood up and followed her to the ultrasound room where she introduced us to the technician, Janet, who had a pleasant smile that instantly put me at ease. Explaining that Dr. Bradley would join us at the end, the nurse left the room.

After I lay down on the table, Janet had me roll up my shirt and tug down the front of my pants until my stomach was on full display. She squirted warm jelly all over it. As soon as the ultrasound wand touched my skin, the screen lit up with images, and I could hear the heartbeat.

I stared in awe, and I heard Adam’s breath hitch. I turned my head toward him, and it looked as if there was a sheen over his eyes. He was staring at the screen, barely breathing and not blinking. I felt a rush of blood go to my heart.

“Adam?” I whispered hoarsely, trying but failing to keep the emotion out of my voice.

He looked me in the eyes and blinked several times before taking my hand in his and entwining our fingers. Janet was unaware of the emotions flying around in the air and continued doing her job. After moving the wand around my stomach several times and zooming in, we could see a tiny profile with a thumb in his or her mouth. Our baby was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I couldn’t help the happy tears that escaped my eyes. Adam brushed them away, and the gesture caused a few more to escape. About a hundred more bricks were blasted out of my wall. If I didn’t guard it better, I was going to have an exposed, vulnerable heart.

After about thirty minutes of Janet taking calculations and measurements, she asked us the million dollar question: “Would you like to know the baby’s sex?” I nodded. “Congratulations, Mommy and Daddy. You’re having a little girl.”

Adam squeezed my hand, and then leaned down and gently kissed my forehead. I pulled my hand out of his, overcome by too much emotion to handle. He appeared hurt by my reaction.

I was busy processing all of the new information and feelings, when a knock startled me. Dr. Bradley popped her head through the curtain that covered the door. “Sienna, your dad is outside. Do you mind if he comes in with me?” she asked.

“Um. Sure.”

My dad walked in behind Dr. Bradley, wearing his scrubs and white coat. He was smiling until he noticed Adam next to me. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he masked it fast.

“Hi, pumpkin. I was impatient. Do you know yet?”

I beamed. “A girl.”

His smile was brimming from ear to ear as he walked over and looked at the ultrasound screen. I was wondering how long he would ignore Adam’s presence when he turned and faced him. “You must be the illusive Adam. I’m Charles Trudeau.”

Adam stood up and extended his hand. After a brief hesitation, my father shook it. “Adam Korbell. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Did he just call my dad, sir?

My dad gave one nod, but didn’t return the sentiment. He went to Dr. Bradley’s side as she moved the wand around my stomach once more, and they discussed medical things, which were way over my head. Dr. Bradley informed Adam and me that everything looked normal and the baby appeared to be healthy. Then she printed off a ton of pictures for us.

My dad and Adam went into the hall, and I went to the adjoining restroom to wipe the jelly off my stomach. Even after using several sheets of paper towel, I still felt sticky. I was definitely going home to take a shower. Screw it, I didn’t have any plans today. I was going to go home and take an hour long bath and not get out until my fingers and toes turned pruney.