Page 44 of A Little Bit Engaged
“Your head must be spinning with planning a wedding and having a baby.”
Cara’s breath caught. She clenched her teeth. Baby?
Caitlin wouldn’t have said there was a baby. She couldn’t. Except…
Cara swallowed. “How did you hear about a, um, baby?”
“Your sister’s interview this morning. It’s all over the internet.”
No. Please, no.
She struggled to breathe. “Do you mind if I see for myself?”
“Go ahead.”
On her phone, Cara pulled up a well-known gossip website. The headline read: Cait Neal’s Pregnant Twin Sister Forcing Brody Simmons to Marry Her!
A sick, icky sensation crept through Cara’s veins. She needed to call Caitlin, protest what was happening, but all she could do was stare at the screen. The article claimed Caitlin’s twin sister had trapped Brody by getting pregnant on purpose because she knew he’d do the right thing and marry her, even if that meant leaving Caitlin, the woman he loved.
This wasn’t a white lie but personality murder. Reputation manslaughter.
The room spun as if Cara had stepped onto a merry-go-round. Her mouth watered. Her stomach revolted. Oh, no…
“I need a bathroom.”
♥ ♥ ♥
The SUV jerked to a stop in front of the Bay View House. Heart pounding and his stomach in knots, Brody jumped out of the car and ran toward the entrance. Only one thought was on his mind—Cara.
All he knew was she’d been lightheaded. She hadn’t passed out, but she’d thrown up. Morning sickness, he’d been told.
He wanted to swear and hit something.
The lies and the stress had gotten to her.
Of course they had.
Jackson, the head of the security team, was at his heels. Ex-military, the guy had worked as a consultant on one of Brody’s movies and run a pre-filming boot camp for the actors to get in shape. When a restraining order hadn’t stopped a stalker last year, Jackson’s team had stepped in to keep Brody safe.
“Rizzo is with Cara,” Jackson said. “He’s a trained medic. The best. If he thought there was any danger to her or the baby, he would have called an ambulance.”
The baby.
Brody rubbed his aching forehead. Why, Caitlin?
His jaw clenched. A pretend engagement was one thing, but a fake pregnancy? No way could he allow this to continue.
He entered the Bay View House.
Lex was waiting for him. “This way.”
Brody went upstairs and into a room. Sariah was there with another woman he didn’t recognize. Cara sat next to Rizzo. She stared at the floor, looking deathly pale, more in shock than sick. On a nearby table sat a box of saltine crackers, napkins, and an open bottle of ginger ale.
Rizzo stood.
Brody sat on the other side of Cara. “Hey.”
Her vulnerability nearly knocked him over. No one was supposed to get hurt, but Cara was in pain.
