Things got hard.

He ran.

This is all of my worst nightmares coming true at once. Alone. Pregnant. Lost. Unloved.

Life more than sucks sometimes.

A knock sounds at my door causing me to jump up from the kitchen table. I grab my purse and luggage, heading to the door in my carefully chosen silver flats. I’m exhausted. My breasts feel like they’re going to either explode or start on fire. Sore feet don’t need to be added to the mix.

I open the door, and Pierce immediately reaches for my luggage. “I can get that for you.”

“Thanks,” I say, trying my best not to cry over his simple, kind gesture. My hormones are already making me crazy.

After locking the door, I follow him down the steps, through the door, and into the waiting car. It’s just enough time to pull myself together. A Starbucks cup waits, and for just a moment, I smile. My whole world hasn’t completely gone to crap yet.

“Where’s Blake this morning?” he asks as the car speeds down the city streets.

“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. I never even got a chance to tell him I was leaving today instead of tomorrow.

“That didn’t take long.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, spinning the coffee cup over and over in my cup holder.

“For him to walk out again.”

“He just had some things to do. He’ll be back.”

Pierce laughs sadistically. “Everything is a competition to him, Lila. He only wanted you because I had you. You can sell his sincerity to yourself a hundred different ways but none are worth buying.”

“You don’t know us, Pierce.”

“No, but I know him, and I know you. I was rather good at addition back in school. This is simple math.”

I slouch down in my seat, unwilling to listen to anything else he has to say. Pierce shouldn’t enter judgment when there’s so much he doesn’t know.

The silence continues as we board the plane and wait for the pilot to get the all-clear. Pierce overstepped his bounds, but I can’t decide if I’m upset about that or the fact that he’s right about some of it.

I couldn’t imagine leaving someone after they just told me they were carrying my child.

I also can’t imagine losing someone I loved for years the way he did.

Maybe Blake and I are like a complex math problem, but there are factors Pierce doesn’t know. Factors I don’t know.

Pierce holds a glass of champagne out to me. “This will make it better.”

But it won’t because I can’t drink it. “No thanks. I’m not feeling very well this morning.”

“I know it’s him,’ he says. “I’d say I told you so, but I know my voice doesn’t speak louder than your heart.”

“Can you just leave it?”

“I’m sorry. We should probably be preparing for the meeting and not this.”

The plane takes off. We sit quietly, staring out our windows. I try to think about work, but it’s a blip compared to everything else going on in my life. Not having alcohol for the next nine months might kill me.

“Why aren’t you married?” I ask out of the blue. I’ve wondered that for a while—why a woman wouldn’t have snatched up Pierce Stanley by now.

“I’ve had a few serious relationships, but none of them have lasted long enough to get to that point.”

“Why not?”

“You tell me, Lila.”

I lift a brow, sipping from a bottle of cold water. “How would I know?”

“You’re one of the few.”

If that doesn’t make your heart sink, I don’t know what will. I’ve been with him twice. I’ve left him twice. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but I’ve never met a man more deserving of a true love.

“It wasn’t you,” I finally answer. “I think love has a lot to do with the order in which people walk into it. We all have many people we could love—who we could fall in love with—but it all comes down to who we find first. I’m guessing some of the women you met just weren’t the right match or weren’t deserving of the type of love you give. Blake wove himself into my heart first. Once that happens, it’s hard to get untangled. Not impossible, but difficult.”

Pierce throws back the rest of his champagne, quickly pouring another glass. “Are you sure you don’t want some of this?”

Waving him off, I say, “I’m fine.”

Another long pause. “There’s never going to be a morning I wake up and don’t regret not doing more on that flight from Omaha to Chicago. Or wish I didn’t call you sooner,” he says sadly.

Tears well. I want to hide them, but it’s impossible. “A time may come where I wake up every morning wishing you had, too.”

The rest of the ride is quiet. I sip slowly on water while Pierce downs almost a whole bottle of champagne. If it has any effect on his abilities, he doesn’t show it as he helps me out of the plane and into the waiting car.

This is the first time I’ve ever flown somewhere for just a few hours. We’ll meet with Wade then hop right back on this plane.

“Is he going to like the penthouses?” I ask, needing something to break through the silence.

“I love the penthouses.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Who gives a fuck about Wade’s opinion?”

I sigh, staring down at my watch. “You’re drunk. We should get something to eat quick before we head off to the meeting.”

He laughs loudly. “I’m not that drunk, but if you’re inviting me to lunch I won’t refuse.”

I’d yell at him, but this is my fault, too. I ask the driver to drop us off at a sandwich shop near Wade’s office. Maybe if I can just get a little food in him and buy some time, we’ll get through this. If I put an inebriated Pierce anywhere near Wade, one of them is bound to die from manual strangulation.

“The Carnegie Deli for lunch?” he asks, shaking his head. “This might be the only meal we get while we’re in town.”

“It’s the only thing we have time for. The meeting starts in less than an hour.”

“It’s okay to be late to a meeting every once in a while, Ms. Fields.”

I snort. “Yes, I’m sure that will make him appreciate my penthouse designs even more.”

After picking up two sandwiches and water, we find a place to sit.

“There’s something different about you today,” Pierce remarks as he takes his seat. “Did you color your hair or something?”

I shake my head, taking a careful bite of my sandwich. Plain turkey shouldn’t upset my stomach too much. Pierce is too freaking smart even when he’s had too much to drink. My hair hasn’t changed, but my breasts are swelling more and more every hour.

His eyes slant. Sooner or later, he’s going to figure it out. Lila likes to drink. She likes to wear pencil skirts that hug her tight from her stomach to her knees. Pregnant Lila isn’t going to be able to hide for long.

“How’s your sandwich?” I ask, just pulling pieces of bread from mine. The meat is not sitting well.

“It’s sobering me up if that’s what you were trying to do.” He grins, but the cocky look quickly disappears.

My skin clams up as my stomach goes from mildly nauseated to a full turn. Without a word, I run to the bathroom, barely finding an open stall before losing the little bit of food I ate. Sweat rolls down my forehead. I rip a handful of toilet paper to wipe it away, making sure the nausea settles down before I stand back up.

After fixing my make-up and quickly brushing my teeth, I rejoin Pierce who eyes me cautiously from across the table. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” he asks after a seconds long staring contest.

“I’m just nervous about my presentation this afternoon,” I lie.

“He’s going to eat it up.” The way he looks at me tells me he isn’t sold. He’s never an easy sell.

I nod, doing my best to look anywhere but at the uneaten food on the table. “Should we get going?”

“We can walk if that’s okay with you. He’s only a couple blocks from here.”

“Some fresh air would probably be good … as fresh as you can get in New York, anyway.”

Pierce picks up my portfolio and tucks it under his arm. He’s defined asshole, but he’s also defined gentleman.