Of course, making love to her made him even happier, as the swelling of his cock at the sight of her blissful expression proved. But making her happy in any way was his goal in life.
She might refuse to talk to him now, and he’d give her that, but he had been able to get her into his room again. He was sure that with persistence, and a little time, he could get her talking to him again, and he would find a way to convince her to give them another chance.
A knock sounded at the door and Liam stood up to answer it. When he opened it, he saw Del on the other side.
“Liam, I think we should talk about Abi and what happened between you. I have feelings for her and—”
Del’s words had come rolling out in a rapid pace, then stopped cold as his gaze focused over Liam’s shoulder. He’d seen Abi sitting at the table in her robe. In Liam’s room.
“What the fuck!” Del turned and strode away.
Liam turned to see Abi rushing toward him, her eyes wide. She pressed past him and stared down the hall. But Del was gone.
She turned to Liam and sent him a laser stare, then stormed through the connecting door and slammed it behind her.
* * *
Abi rolled her luggage through her apartment door and closed it, then slumped on the couch. She should go unpack right now and get it over with, but she didn’t have the energy.
She’d royally screwed things up with Del this weekend, and her divorce had taken a giant step backward. How could she have been so stupid as to have slept with Liam? And then going back to the scene of the crime the very next day … and being caught by Del…?
She rested her face in her hands.
She’d never be able to convince Del to give her another chance. And now Liam was saying that he wouldn’t even consider signing the papers until she agreed to sit down with him and have a discussion about their feelings.
He’d texted her that she’d have to agree to come out to his summer house and spend the weekend together where they could hash everything out. Of course, she knew he meant to have sex be part of it because A, he was a man and B, it was his greatest weapon against her.
Because as soon as he touched her, she went up in flames.
Every time.
He intended to wield that weapon to wear her down and convince her they could make their marriage work. Maybe she should take him up on it, in hopes she could convince him they couldn’t, and that no matter how much she melted in his arms, they could never be truly happy together.
But that reasoning was folly. It was her addled brain trying to give her permission to have what she wanted deep inside. To be in Liam’s bed again.
And no matter what, convincing Liam of anything was an undertaking beyond her abilities.
* * *
Over the next month, Abi received a letter from Liam reminding her of his conditions and asking her again to set a weekend where they could talk.
She burned it.
Also, she sent an email to Del and apologized to him, and told him she still hoped they could be friends. She wanted them to be so much more, but she needed to know he was still her friend before she could try again to take the relationship further.
He took a week to respond and it was brief, saying only that he would always be her friend.
She was thankful for that. Not having Del in her life at all would be devastating. But she wasn’t sure how and when to proceed with trying to build on that.
So here she sat … in limbo again.
Her phone rang and she picked it up. The call was from her doctor’s office. She’d gone in for a physical the other day and to have a few things checked out.
“Hello?” Abi said.
“Abi, hi. It’s Dr. McCallister.”
“Oh, hi.” Abi’s voice was tight. The only reason her doctor would call was if she’d found something in Abi’s tests. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, nothing to worry about. I wanted to talk to you personally because I have good news for you.”
“You do?” What possible news … then she remembered telling Dr. McCallister that her period had been late, which was unusual for her. Surely it couldn’t be that …
“It seems, my dear, that you’re pregnant.”
CHAPTER NINE
Oh God oh God oh God. Abi clung to the phone, her heart pounding.
“Hello? Abi?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
She must not have heard right. It couldn’t be true.
“I know you must be surprised, given the diagnosis after you lost your first child. It is pretty amazing. You are happy about this, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know … I mean, I’m in shock.”
A baby? She sank onto the couch. She was actually going to have a baby?
Happiness quivered through her. Then terror.
“How likely is it that I’ll carry it to term?” Abi asked, dreading going through a pregnancy, especially as difficult as the last one, only to lose the baby again.
The physical issues she could deal with, but to go through the emotional trauma again … her gut twisted.
“I want you to come into my office and we’ll discuss it. But to set your mind at ease, it was conceiving that was the difficult part for you. I know you’re worried because of your last pregnancy, but we’ll sit down and talk about what we can do to make this pregnancy successful. I think we have a very good chance of you having a healthy, happy baby.”
Joy kept welling up inside her, but accompanied by a strong sense of dread. She didn’t know how she would cope with the emotional roller coaster of not knowing.
And then she realized that either way, once Liam found out he was the father, he’d never give her the divorce.
* * *
Del opened the door to his modest house near
