Haunted (25 page)

Elle was so grateful Cassidy asked the
question so she wouldn’t have to. Drake made her wait while he walked to the
fridge and took his sweet time opening a can of ginger ale and pouring it into
a tall glass with ice.

“Well?” Elle said when she couldn’t stand
the suspense another second. “Has he said anything about me?”

Drake rolled his eyes. “What is this?
Junior high? If you wanna know how he’s feeling or what he’s thinking, get your
butt over to his place and ask him yourself.”

“About Vana…” Elle said. “He told me she’s
out of the picture. Is that true?”

“She’s been out of the picture for a long
time,” Drake said. “And for the record, I think you overreacted when you found
out about her working for him.”

Cassidy jumped to Elle’s defense. “I don’t
know about that. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t have been thrilled to learn
my boyfriend’s ex was still on his payroll after he’d forgotten to mention it
to me.”

“Thank you, Cassidy,” Elle said, shaking
her head emphatically. “I’m glad
someone
can see things from my
perspective.”

“Does it really matter who’s right or
wrong?” Drake asked. “You’re both miserable, and one of you should do something
about it before it’s too late.”

“You think he’s miserable without me?” Elle
whispered.

“I know he is.” Drake pointed toward the
door. “You’ve wasted enough time hiding out. It’s time to make things right
with Caleb.”

“You wouldn’t know where I can find him,
would you?” Elle asked, reaching for her purse.

“As a matter of fact, he just called me
from the car. He’s on his way home.”

“Perfect.” Elle kissed Cassidy and Drake on
the cheek. “Thanks, guys.”

“Jesus, I’m sorry, Vana,” Caleb said,
handing her a stack of paper napkins to wipe the red wine stain from her cream
wrap dress. Not that it helped. If anything, the stain appeared worse.

She smiled weakly. “Accidents happen.”

He’d been distracted, thinking about Elle,
when he reached for his beer. He hadn’t realized Vana was holding her glass of
wine, and he accidently nudged her with his elbow, spilling the wine all over
her dress.

“Why don’t you take that off?”

She looked surprised before she laughed at
his suggestion. “I don’t think my fiancé would appreciate that,” she said,
flashing her new diamond engagement ring. “He’s not crazy about us working
together, in fact. If I told him you managed to get me out of my clothes
tonight, he’d be beating your door down.”

Caleb wasn’t adverse to a confrontation.
He’d been so ornery lately that a fight might be exactly what he needed to blow
off a little steam. “Tell your fiancé he has nothing to worry about.” He walked
down the hall to the laundry room and grabbed a T-shirt and pair of drawstring
shorts off the top of the laundry basket. He tossed them to her. “Here, put
these on. You need to soak that dress.” He hooked a finger over his shoulder.
“You know where everything is. Help yourself.”

“Thanks,” she said, tucking his clothes
under her arm.

Caleb watched her close the laundry room
door, presumably to change. He hadn’t wanted his workday to spill over into the
evening, but he hadn’t had a choice when Vana called to tell him she was stuck
in traffic and had to push their meeting back an hour. Feeling restless, he decided
to get out and hit the treadmill at home, so he’d asked her to meet him there
instead.

It was the first time Vana had been back in
his house since they broke up. He’d expected it to be awkward, but it wasn’t.
They had both moved on. Too bad Vana was the only one excited about the future.

Vana came out of the laundry room, holding
up the shorts. “You’re crazy if you thought these would fit me.” She was
wearing only the T-shirt that, thankfully, hit mid-thigh, discreetly covering
her butt.

“You can grab something else if you want.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t,” she said,
tugging at the hem of the T-shirt. She laughed. “You’ve seen me in a lot less,
so it seems a little silly to be modest now.”

“Things are different now.” He didn’t want
to see her half-naked any more than he wanted to remember what it had felt like
to share a bed with her.

“Don’t be such a prude,” she said, throwing
the shorts in his face. “I’m not going to jump you or anything.”

Caleb’s ringing cell phone made him curse.
He must have left it up in the loft when he’d been on the treadmill. “I need to
grab that. I’m waiting for an important call.”

“Be my guest.”

The doorbell rang just as Caleb jogged
toward the stairs.

“Don’t worry about it,” Vana said, waving
him off. “It’s probably the pizza we ordered. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks.” Caleb jogged up the stairs two at
a time, hoping he’d make it back in time to pay the delivery man. He didn’t
want Vana to pick up the tab for a business dinner, even if was just pizza.
Since he’d already missed the call from an unknown number, he pocketed his
phone and rushed back down the stairs. He stumbled, almost missing the last
step, when he saw who was standing at his front door.

“I’m sorry,” Elle said, looking from Vana
to Caleb and back again. “I shouldn’t have come. This was a mistake.”

“No, wait!” he shouted, making a beeline
for the front door. “Damn it, Elle, will you just hold up a minute?” He knew
she was probably too far gone to hear him, but it didn’t stop him from trying.

“Sorry,” Vana said, gesturing at the
T-shirt she wore. “This probably didn’t help.”

Caleb made it to the door just in time to
see Elle, who’d been running down the path to her car in four-inch wedge heels,
trip and fall. “Baby, are you okay?”

She didn’t even look up when he ran toward
her. Her body was twisted at an odd angle, and pain was etched on her face.

“Do you need a doctor? Is it your leg? Your
ankle?” he asked.

She looked up at him, terror evident in her
wide brown eyes. “The baby.”

Caleb had been hunched down, bracing his
weight on his feet, but with those two words, he felt all the strength leave
his body. He sank down beside her. “What did you say?”

“The baby.” Her hand trembled as it covered
her stomach. “I tried to break my fall with my hands, but it happened so fast.”

Caleb pulled her into his arms when she
started sobbing. His heart hammered as hard as hers as he tried to process what
she was telling him.
A baby?
She didn’t look as though she’d gained any
weight, which meant she couldn’t be very far along. Was the baby his? Was that
why she’d come, to tell him she was having his baby?

“We have to get you to the hospital,” he
said, scooping her up in his arms. “Come on.”

She looked at the door where Vana was still
standing, watching them. “I was a fool to come here. If I hadn’t, none of this
would be happening.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, giving
into the urge to run his lips over her head. “I’ve been thinking about you
non-stop for months.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” she muttered,
brushing a hand over her tear-stained cheek.

“You’ve got it all wrong.” He walked
briskly toward the garage where his Porsche was parked. “There’s nothing
between Vana and me. This was a business meeting. Nothing more.” When she
didn’t look convinced, he added, “I swear.”

“Do your business associates always come to
a meeting wearing one of your T-shirts?” she seethed. “How stupid do you think
I am?”

Caleb knew there was no sense trying to get
through to her now. He would have plenty of time to explain about Vana later.
Now he needed to learn about her pregnancy. “How far along are you?”

She bit her lip, staring straight ahead.

“You can tell me now, or I can find out
when we get to the hospital. It’s your choice.”

“About ten or eleven weeks is my doctor’s
best guess,” she spit out.

Caleb took a deep breath as he suppressed
the urge to whoop with delight. “Then you’re carrying my baby?”

“I don’t know,” she said, looking
devastated.

Caleb set her down when they reached his
car. As soon as he realized she couldn’t put any weight on her right ankle, he
slipped his arm around her waist while he unlocked the door. He was going
through the motions, but he felt physically sick. There was a possibility her
baby wasn’t his.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “What if I
miscarried when I fell? Accidents like that result in miscarriages all the
time, don’t they?”

Caleb looked at her as he felt a wave of
relief followed by a wave of fear. The baby was his, but she was questioning if
she could have lost it. If she had miscarried, he would never forgive himself,
and he knew she would never forgive him either.

“Try not to think the worst,” he said,
helping her in to the low-slung sports car while being careful not to hit her
ankle. “I’m sure everything will be fine.” He had to believe that, or he’d
never be able to make the short drive to the hospital.

When he pulled out of the drive and rolled
his window down, Vana walked halfway down the path to meet him.

“I have to take Elle to the hospital,” he
called. “Can you lock up when you leave? The spare key is—”

“I know where it is. Is she going to be all
right?” Vana asked, peering past him to look at Elle.

Elle grunted as she fastened her seatbelt
and crossed her arms. “Like she cares.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Caleb said, trying
to keep Elle calm. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

Vana waved them off. “Sure, don’t worry
about a thing. I’ll wait around for the pizza guy and lock up after he leaves.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” She looked at Elle. “I hope
you feel better, Elle.”

Elle turned her head, looking out the
window. “Can we go now? I’m starting to get cramps.”

With that, Caleb hit the gas so hard her
head snapped back. “Jesus, I’m sorry, hon.”

“Don’t call me that.” Her bottom lip
trembled before she pulled it between her teeth.

Caleb sighed, knowing it wouldn’t be easy
to convince her that Vana had moved on with her life. But right now, he had
more serious concerns. “When did you find out about the baby?” He wanted to ask
why she hadn’t called him the minute she found out, but putting her on the
defensive would only exacerbate the situation.

“Just a few days ago,” she said, hugging
her purse. “I hadn’t been feeling well for a while. I thought it was a virus or
something. I never considered the possibility…”

“That you were pregnant.” He sighed, torn
between fear and elation. He’d never seriously considered being a father. Now
that it was real, he knew he wanted nothing more—except maybe the opportunity
to build a life with his baby’s mother.

Elle’s eyes filled with tears. “I thought
we were careful. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to remember if there was a
time we forgot to use protection.”

During their brief time together, Caleb
hadn’t been able to keep his hands off Elle. No form of contraception was
one-hundred percent effective, so he couldn’t say he was shocked she was
pregnant. He held her hand tighter when a soft sob escaped her. “How do you
feel about this, Elle?”

“I’m scared. At first I was scared about
being pregnant. I didn’t know if I was ready for a baby. Then I was scared
about telling you. Now I’m afraid I might lose it.” She closed her eyes, and a
tear trickled down her cheek. “It’s crazy. How can I be so in love with a baby
I’ve only known about for a few days?”

Caleb fell more in love with her when she
admitted that she was already committed to the life they’d created. “If it
makes you feel better, I feel the same way, and I’ve only known about it a few
minutes.”

She was silent until they pulled up to a
stop sign. She sneaked a look at him. “You mean that? You’re really happy about
this?”

“Ecstatic.” He smiled. “The timing may not
be ideal… Or maybe it is. Maybe the timing is perfect.”

“I doubt your girlfriend would agree,” she
said, withdrawing her hand from his.

“Vana’s not my girlfriend.” His lips
quirked when he saw the tense set of her jaw. Jealousy was clearly eating her
up, and that had to mean she still had feelings for him. “In fact, she’s
someone else’s fiancée.”

Elle’s eyes lit up. “Really? She’s engaged
to someone else? Who?”

“Her ex-boyfriend. They went their separate
ways because he was in the military, but I’m pretty sure a part of her always
hoped he’d come back to her.”

“Then why was she at your place at this
time of night, wearing one of your T-shirts? I can’t imagine her fiancé would
have been too thrilled with that.”

Caleb thought about how he would have felt
if he’d shown up and found Elle wearing her ex-boyfriend’s T-shirt. He probably
would have knocked him out first and asked questions later. “You’re probably
right.” He gripped the steering wheel when he hit another red light. Elle
hadn’t complained about more cramping, but that didn’t mean they had a moment
to spare. “I shouldn’t have asked her to meet me outside of the office, but I
just couldn’t stand to be there anymore. She got stuck in traffic and I needed
to go home and blow off some steam on the treadmill, so I suggested we move the
meeting to my place. I had no motive aside from getting out from behind that
damn desk.”