In the end, she chickened out. After she gathered her things, she went to the gym and saw Rhett walking on his treadmill. She didn’t want to interrupt him, much less start bawling if he mentioned Wynn.
She put her suitcase in the car and was pulling out as Dash came in. Scarlett waved jauntily and didn’t slow down. She wanted to get home and bury herself under the covers.
After she peed on the stick.
Though she took side streets, traffic was heavy, thanks to an accident. She pulled into her garage an hour later, jittery and on edge. She didn’t bother to bring in her suitcase. That could wait. The stick couldn’t.
She tore open the box and began skimming the instructions once more before she forced herself to slow down and read them aloud. She didn’t want to miss anything or do something wrong. Finally, she knew what to do. It was really simple.
Five minutes later, she knew for sure.
She was pregnant.
And the baby was Wynn’s.
◆◆◆
Fury rippled through Wynn. Not at Scarlett. He was mad at himself. At this moment, he would win any world competition for biggest jerk on the planet.
Why had he flown off the handle with Scarlett?
The logical part of him, that wonderful left-brained mathematical side told him he was being ridiculous. Scarlett had put together an amazing argument and convinced a group of stubborn Rylon executives to free Wynn from bondage. She’d created a full set of legal documents to make sure everything was in writing and spelled out every detail she’d fought for. She’d arranged for him to have the best lawyer at her firm accompany him to the signing so that no one at Rylon got cold feet or started throwing changes into the mix. In all honesty, she had even told Wynn that Henry was his new attorney of record. He hadn’t questioned her at the time, believing it would be easy to revert back to her once she returned from her leave of absence. Scarlett had done all of that under a tremendous amount of pressure—and he’d thrown it all back in her face like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
Family meant everything to Scarlett. Wynn understood that because he felt the same. He’d pushed hard to succeed in acting because he wanted to take legal custody of Cady. His sister had suffered not only physical and emotional damage from the car wreck that killed their parents but she’d had to live with their vindictive aunt. Wynn did everything in his power to make enough money to challenge his aunt in court and win guardianship of Cady. As he’d grown more successful, he’d poured money into Del’s practice, allowing his brother to do more of the pro bono work he loved and thrived on—even as he paid for Payne’s cancer treatments at the same time. While the remaining Youngbloods weren’t as close and didn’t see each other as regularly as the Corrigan crew did, Wynn loved his siblings and would do anything for them.
Just as Scarlett had for Rhett and his family.
He knew she needed to be at the hospital in those early days after Rhett was shot. Going to a meeting with Wynn would’ve been out of the question. She’d done everything necessary behind the scenes and made sure he walked away with everything he’d hoped for. He knew she regretted not running the decision to turn him over to Henry Lymon by him. In the long run, did it really matter who looked after his legal interests? What was important was his relationship with Scarlett. Which he’d blown up over something petty. Something foolish.
So, why didn’t he pick up the phone and call her?
Part of it was a trust issue. He’d been burned badly, years ago, when he found out Stephanie allowed Monty to abort Wynn’s baby. His girlfriend hadn’t told him she’d gotten pregnant, much less asked him about whether he’d be in favor of an abortion. As always, Stephanie did what she wanted to do, to further her career, without giving a thought to his feelings about what she was doing to their child. True, having a baby right as they graduated from college wasn’t ideal, but was it ever a good time to have a child?
The fact was the woman he loved and hoped to marry lied by omission and kept her pregnancy from him. The abortion affected him deeply. Ever since then, Wynn found it hard to trust anyone. He hadn’t gotten serious with another woman. Had never planned on marriage or children of his own.
Until Scarlett.
Meeting Scarlett Corrigan changed everything about him overnight. Suddenly, Wynn saw what his future could be, one far different—and far better—than the life he led now. He wanted Scarlett in his life as he made the huge changes in his career. He needed her to be the mother of his children. Wynn let his walls tumble down and opened up to her and her family and friends and made them his own.
That’s why her betrayal stung so much. He had to get over it, though. She hadn’t cheated on him with another guy or had a secret abortion. She had deceived him with a lie of omission but she’d taken care of his legal situation beyond his wildest dreams. Wynn’s gut told him no one but Scarlett could have gone up against Rylon Pictures and come out victorious. With Scarlett winning his freedom from Rylon and the Alpha Tharra franchise, Wynn would be able to pursue the acting jobs he wanted and not be forced into something he had grown to despise.
He also believed, given time, Scarlett would have come clean about what she’d done. He’d merely pushed the issue to the forefront by sharing his ideas with her about starting his own company and charity and insisting she be the only one to handle all the paperwork.
It was their first fight. A doozy of one—but not something to end what
