“I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Mom didn’t follow me. She knew I wanted to be alone.

I slipped into the house unnoticed and then crept up the stairs. Mitch waited for me outside my bedroom.

“What do you want, Mitch?”

“The offer still stands.” He held the wad of cash.

“It’s not yours, Mitch.” I covered my stomach with my hand as if I could hold it even closer and protect my baby from Mitch and his awful words.

“Oh, I know it’s not.” He shoved the money back into his pocket and the corner of his mouth turned up into a grin. He took a step toward me. “I didn’t at first. I thought you were trying to fuck with my head, play some kind of mind game with me. Then I saw Hunter come out of the study. He never leaves a party unless it’s for a piece of ass. I wanted to see his score, so I waited. Imagine my surprise when you came out of that room with that freshly fucked look.”

“Congratulations, you figured it out. You figured out my secret, then ruined everything. Hunter is gone, Mitch. You can leave too.” I tried to step around him, but he blocked my path. He towered over me, stared me down, tried to intimidate me, but I was beyond being intimidated now. “Why, Mitch? Why did you do it?”

“Karma? Maybe.” He leaned closer. “Revenge? Who knows?”

He stepped out of my way and then disappeared down the stairs. I slipped into my room and looked around. I clamped my hand over my mouth as I suppressed a sob. Memories of Hunter were everywhere. He was gone, but his presence surrounded me, filled me, yet his absence was deeply felt.

I dug a suitcase out of the closet before I tossed my clothes into it. If there was one perk about my new stepfather, it was his bank account. I’d beg to be sent away somewhere for the summer. I’d beg him to rent me a cottage in the woods or an apartment in the city. I had to get away. I couldn’t start over while I was still surrounded by all the memories. I’d raise this baby by myself.

Chapter Fourteen

“You should give him a chance, Summer.” Felicity was giving me the face again. The round puppy dog eyes and full, pouty lip. “He really likes you.”

“Yeah, everyone wants to date the pregnant ones. They know we put out and they can’t knock us up. I’m a horn dog’s wet dream,” I scoffed.

Even though I wasn’t noticeably pregnant yet, dating wasn’t high on my list of things to do. My plan was to complete the first semester of this year, then return the following fall when the baby was a bit older.

“Come on, Summer. You’ve barely left the apartment all week. Besides, Craig isn’t like that.”

“I’m too tired to leave the apartment.” I sank into the couch and grabbed the remote. I flicked through the channels, but Felicity took the remote from me.

“You’ve been hiding.”

“I have not.”

Felicity raised her eyebrow. “Really?”

I sighed and shut my eyes. “Fine. I’ve been hiding. I deserve to hide.” My hands went to my stomach. “I’ve had a lot to think about.”

Felicity took my hand and held it. “I know life threw you a pretty big curve ball, but you can’t let it stop you from living.” She grabbed my cell phone off the coffee table and thrust it into my hands. “Call him.”

Felicity was right. I knew she was. I hadn’t seen or heard from Hunter since the reunion. As fast as he’d bolted out of there that night, I was gone the next morning. Felicity had taken me in, and I’d moved into her new off-campus apartment. Hunter hadn’t so much as sent me a text message. It was time to move on.

My hand hovered over the phone, but I dropped my hands onto my lap. “I can’t go on a date with some random guy, Felicity.”

Felicity’s hand came to rest on my thigh and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “Okay, I get it.”

“Do you?” I raised my eyebrow. Felicity wasn’t known for her flexibility. Once she made up her mind about something, she was relentless.

“I do, but you do need to get out of this apartment.”

“I do?” I groaned. Felicity had already given up her matchmaking plans. She wasn’t going to leave me alone until I agreed to participate in some sort of social activity, though. I looked down at my sweats. “Does this mean I have to get dressed?”

Felicity grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. “Yes, and I get to dress you.”

“No,” I whined. Felicity had a special way she liked to make me look. She said it was glamorous, but I always felt like a tramp when she was done. I rolled my eyes as she dragged me into her room. “I want something that covers more than twelve percent of my body.”

“Relax, Summer. You’ll look like a million dollars when I’m done with you.”

An hour later, I followed Felicity down the street. True to her word, I looked gorgeous. She’d dug deep into her wardrobe and had dressed me in a polka dot blouse with a wide silver belt and a black skirt that hit me just above the knee.

“Where are we going, anyway?”

“A friend of mine is playing at Marquee tonight.”

“Isn’t that place almost impossible to get into?”

Felicity grinned and gave me a playful shove. “Not when you’re with the band.”

Half an hour later, I was settled into a booth. I sipped a soda and watched her grind on the dance floor. This was her idea of me being social. Ignoring advances from half-drunk nitwits and watching her get her groove on. Truthfully, it could be worse.

I leaned back in the booth and shut my eyes. At least the band was decent, and Felicity looked happy. She jumped up onto the stage and wrapped her arms around the guy on bass guitar. She kissed him long and deep, and the crowd went wild.

I felt a twinge of longing. I shouldn’t miss Hunter after what he’d done, but I couldn’t help myself. I pulled my phone out of my purse and stared at the screen. No missed calls. No unanswered texts. I wanted a drink, something strong enough to knock me on my ass. I didn’t want to think anymore. I took a sip of my soda as Felicity threw herself onto the seat across from me. She was breathless and flushed from her efforts on the dance floor and her tongue-swallowing act on stage.

She took a long swallow of her beer, then leaned across the table. She narrowed her eyes and studied my face. “You’re not having fun, are you?”

“I am.”

Felicity leaned back and crossed her arms in front of her. “You’re not. Admit it.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry, Felicity. I want to have fun, but it’s just,” I waved a hand, “this really isn’t my scene right now. I can’t drink, I don’t dance and I’m not into looking for some guy to hook up with.” The corner of my mouth upturned in a half smile. “But the music is good, at least.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you here, Summer.”

“It’s fine, Felicity.”

“Are you sure? Because you look miserable.”

“I’m sure. My misery has nothing to do with you.”

Felicity grabbed my hand. “Come on, Summer. I’ll walk you home. We can have a Netflix marathon.”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”

The sun was just sinking below the horizon when Felicity and I left the bar. The heat of the day had vanished and a slight chill blew in.

“We’d better hurry,” I said as I noticed the way the leaves turned over in the wind. Their light green undersides shimmered in the fading sunlight. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Felicity didn’t respond. Instead, she chewed her lower lip. It was something she only did when she was deep in thought.

“Is something wrong, Felicity?”

She glanced at me, opened her mouth, then shut it again. She looked away and kept her gaze focused on the street. She was silent for half a block before she finally answered. “You miss him, don’t you?”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if I miss him. He obviously doesn’t miss me.”

“What if he did?”

“If he missed me, he’d call, he’d text.” I swallowed the knot of pain that clogged my throat. “He hasn’t done either.”