“Oh, Suzy.” Gwen squeezed the other woman’s hand in hers and then felt about two inches tall about how upset she had been over her problems. Compared to what Suzy and others were struggling through, she was lucky. She may have things to figure out in her life and plans to make, but she would survive, even if she had to do it all on her own. Well, and with Wendy kicking her ass every step of the way.

They had been quiet for a few minutes before Suzy seemed to compose herself and Gwen could see a little of her usual spirited personality return. “So, what’re you doing sitting here looking like you’re heading for a firing squad? Work or man problems? Those are usually the two things that take over our lives.”

There was no way she could tell Suzy, of all people, why she was sitting here staring off into space as her thoughts and stomach churned. She’d been that way since she’d left her apartment that morning and it hadn’t improved as the day had passed. She had seen Dominic only briefly, while walking in the building that morning, but he’d been gone in the blink of an eye. She had to talk to him tonight, but she wasn’t sure what she was going to say. He was likely to be angry with her, and dammit, she was angry with him and the world one minute, then ready to cry the next. What a screwed-up mess. “I . . . It’s nothing,” she finally said in answer to Suzy’s questions. “Just one of those days, you know?”

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Suzy asked quietly.

Gwen spun around so fast she almost fell from her bench. “How did you know? No one else knows—shit.” She sagged as she realized what she’d accidentally admitted. “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I know you couldn’t possibly want to hear that.”

Suzy took Gwen’s hand, offering comfort. “Gwen, it’s okay, really. It took a while, but I’m in a good place now. There is no way I could begrudge you or another woman that happiness. And right now, you look like you’re in desperate need of a friend. It’s Dominic’s?”

Gwen nodded, and then found herself confiding in someone she barely knew, but it seemed that fate had brought them together today to give the other the support they needed. “Yes, it’s Dominic’s. I . . . just found out this morning. I mean, I took a test—a bunch of them last week and they were negative. We knew it was a possibility because we had a condom . . . mishap. I only had my period for a couple of days though and it was, just different. I had mentioned it to my sister before I left her house on Sunday, and she suggested I take another test just to be certain. I just laughed it off because I hadn’t been having any symptoms or anything. Well, this morning as I was getting ready for work, she texted me a reminder and since I had purchased like twenty of them last week, I went ahead and took one, just so she’d drop it. I didn’t even bother looking at it until I was out of the shower and—it had both lines showing. I completely freaked out and took every last test I had left and they all indicated ‘Pregnant.’”

“Oh honey, congratulations,” Suzy said, sounding nothing but sincere. As if noticing Gwen’s tight expression, she asked, “Are you not happy about it?”

Gwen felt horrible at Suzy’s question. She didn’t want the other woman to think that she didn’t want the baby after she’d been unable to have one of her own. “It’s not that,” she assured her. “I’m just not sure what to do next. I told Dominic last week that I wasn’t pregnant, and he just seemed to brush it off like it didn’t matter. I think he was relieved because he has feelings for someone else, a stripper named Kandi, and now this is going to mess up his plans—to end things with me and move on.”

“Wait a minute,” Suzy stopped her. “He is seeing you and a stripper? Dominic? Are you sure? Everyone talks about him like he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

“I don’t know for sure,” Gwen admitted. “It’s just that I overheard a conversation between Gage and Dominic about how Dominic could go back to Kandi if he found out I wasn’t pregnant. Then I saw a text on his phone this morning from Kandi wanting to know when he’d be back in Charleston. While he was there, he didn’t call or text me other than to say, ‘good deal,’ when I told him I wasn’t pregnant.”

“Oh no, he didn’t!” she muttered. “That’s just wrong. Wait, but you said he left his phone at your place. Does that mean he spent the night there, I mean after that bonehead text?”

“Um, yes, he did,” Gwen admitted sheepishly. “When I got home from my sister’s Sunday afternoon, he came out of his apartment while I was getting my keys out. He seemed kind of nervous and asked me to go out to dinner. I agreed because I didn’t know where things stood between us after not hearing from him. Then our dinner was really awkward, but kind of sweet. Like a first date.”

“And then he looked so good when you got home that you went all in for the wild monkey sex and still don’t know where things stand with him?”

Feeling dejected, Gwen sighed. “Yep, that’s it pretty much. I mean he’s never seemed like some kind of player, but I have no idea if he really cares about me the way I care about him. You know?”

“You need to talk to him,” Suzy advised sternly. “Tell him to grow a pair and let you know what’s going on.”

“But what if he just says something he doesn’t mean because I’m pregnant? I mean, I will tell him, of course, but it would be nice to know if there is something between us outside of that.”

Suzy gave her an understanding smile. “Then you have the whole state-of-the-relationship talk first. Tell him you’re in love with him and see what he says in return. You’ll know how he feels before he even opens his mouth, though. Men have a hard time with the whole poker face thing.”

“But, I didn’t say I was in love with him,” Gwen denied weakly. “I’m not sure I know what I feel.”

“You love him.” Suzy smiled. “It’s there, written all over your face.”

“But how can I be in love so soon?” Gwen protested. “We’ve only been together a few weeks. That’s crazy.”

“I’m going to tell you something I have never even admitted to my husband. I was in love with Gray Merimon from the first moment I saw him. He terrified me because I knew he was going to be my life—my future. I fought it as long as I could, but he had me at first sight. My stomach dropped, my breath caught, and my body came to life. I loved that man before he ever finagled me into our first date, and I’ll never love anyone the way I do him. So, to me, it’s very easy to see how you can be in love with Dominic. And if he’s the kind of man everyone says he is, then the feeling is going to be mutual.” Suzy had just finished her sentence when her cell phone began ringing. She pulled it from the pocket of her leather jacket and smiled. She answered the call with, “Hey, baby,” causing Gwen to smile and get to her feet. She mouthed, “Thank you,” to her new friend and walked away, giving her some privacy. She was still a bundle of nerves, but she had a direction now. She would talk to Dominic tonight and by the end of the evening, she planned to know how he felt about her one way or another.

Chapter Sixteen

Dominic left his apartment after a quick shower, intent on going to see his woman. He turned after locking his door and found Gwen already walking toward him, looking uneasy. He searched her eyes, trying to find a clue as to what was bothering her when laughter close by drew both of their gazes down the hallway. Dominic did a double take, thinking he was seeing things. No, surely that wasn’t— What the fuck?

“Shannon?” Gwen whisper-shouted but her neighbor paid her no attention. Probably because she had both arms, legs, and her mouth wrapped up in—Gage? When the couple either ignored or didn’t hear Gwen’s voice, Dominic cleared his throat loudly, still trying to make himself believe what he was seeing. Shannon was the woman—the someone different—Gage was seeing?