Jordan let out a long breath and shook her head. “I swear to God, of all the nerve.” It wasn’t like Collin didn’t know what had happened with her pregnancy, either.
About a month after she’d lost the baby, she’d sent him an email letting him know because she sensed it was the right thing to do, no matter how much of an asshole he’d been. She hadn’t heard back. She’d been young and stupid and here she was again. Pregnant by a man who she knew had concerns about having children and whose life she worried she wouldn’t fit into long-term.
“Hey, are you okay?” Linc asked.
She forced herself to meet his worried stare. “I’m fine and he’s still an asshole.”
“There you guys are!” Aurora walked over with Chloe beside her. “Hasn’t tonight been incredible?”
Jordan smiled. “It has been.” A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she barely held herself up with the heels of her shoes wobbling a bit.
She shot Chloe a nervous look, and she must have seen something in Jordan’s expression that told her what to do. “Linc, come on. Want to introduce you to someone.”
He grumbled but nodded. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he turned his back, she glanced at Aurora. “I need to sit down.”
Looking concerned, Aurora looked around and pointed toward two chairs in the corner. “Come on.”
Aurora waited as Jordan sat down, grateful to be off her feet. Her head spun and of course the nausea rose with it.
“Can I get you something? Maybe a drink? Club soda? Water?” Aurora asked.
“Maybe some club soda.” The bubbles might help settle her stomach.
Aurora smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
Jordan leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. A few minutes and maybe all these symptoms would go away.
“I’m back.”
Jordan heard Aurora’s voice, but she kept her eyes closed, not ready to deal with the dizziness.
“When I was pregnant, I lived on sour sucking candies to help the nausea. You should try those,” Aurora said.
“You’re pregnant?” Linc’s voice had Jordan’s eyelids opening fast. He stood behind his sister, his eyes huge in disbelief.
If Jordan’s stomach was churning before, there were no words for what she was feeling now. “Linc–”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry!” Aurora’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t mean for him to overhear.”
“It’s okay. Honest.” She sought to reassure the young woman. Meanwhile, Linc still stared at her, shock clearly not allowing him to process what he’d heard.
Aurora shook her head. “I’m going to… I guess I’ll just go.” She spun around and headed back into the VIP room.
With no choice but to face things head on, Jordan rose to her feet.
“You’re pregnant,” Linc said again, his voice hard.
At his harsh tone, she began to panic, breaking into a sweat, the dizziness worse. “I was going to tell you tonight.”
“How?”
She blinked at the question. “Excuse me? I would think you could figure it out yourself. Maybe that ancient condom we used the first time?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw and all her fears rose to the surface. Another man who couldn’t handle the reality of getting her pregnant. Hadn’t she just seen Collin and his pregnant wife? Jordan was good enough to fuck but not good enough to stand by when things got tough.
And as Linc’s silence went on, her mother’s words came back to her:
You aren’t family. I’m just reminding you of your place. One day that man you call your best friend is going to find a woman to marry, and where will that leave you?
“Shit,” he muttered, running an agitated hand through his hair.
She stiffened. “Don’t worry about it. This baby isn’t your problem. I’m not your problem,” she said, desensitizing herself the same way she had all those years ago with her ex. “Even if you wrote me a check like Collin or your father, I wouldn’t take it.” She barely recognized the robotic voice coming out of her mouth, but sounding numb was better than showing him her pain.
Her words seemed to jolt him out of his state of shock. “Jordan–”
She didn’t stick around to hear what he had to say. She brushed past him and ran out the door.
Chapter Eleven
Chloe dragged Linc to meet a friend of hers who it turned out he already knew and disliked. A guy who tried to push an investment on him, here. At his brother’s concert. Annoyed, Linc told the man to call him at the office to make an appointment and walked away, heading back to the spot where he’d left Jordan and Aurora. He’d be sure to tell Jordan not to put the man through when he called.
As Linc crossed the room, he realized the women weren’t where he’d left them, but he caught sight of Jordan sitting in a chair, eyes closed, her head tipped back against the wall. He strode toward her just as Aurora stepped in front of Jordan, her back to Linc, a cup in her hand.
“When I was pregnant, I lived on sour sucking candies to help the nausea. You should try those,” Aurora said to Jordan.
Jesus fuck. She was pregnant?
“You’re pregnant?” Shock blanked out all common sense, and he blurted out the question.
Jordan’s eyelids flew open, her gaze meeting his, panic etched across her features. “Linc–”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for him to overhear,” Aurora said, her voice shaking.
“It’s okay. Honest,” Jordan said in an attempt to soothe his obviously distraught sister.
But Linc didn’t glance over. His attention remained on Jordan as he waited for her to deny it, to tell him he’d heard wrong or misunderstood.
“I’m going to… I guess I’ll just go.” Aurora spun around and headed back into the VIP room, leaving them alone.
Jordan rose unsteadily to her feet.
“You’re pregnant,” Linc said. Again, he heard the harshness in his tone, but all he could think about was the fact that kids were the last thing he’d ever wanted or planned.
She nodded. “I was going to tell you tonight.”
“How?” If he had to
