Page 6 of Faking Forever
“Why did you look like you were about to cry when I first walked in?” he asked.
“I don’t…” She bit back the wordcryas she recalled that he had seen her at her most vulnerable and would know that claim to be a lie. “It’s good news. Fern is pregnant.”
“Who?” He looked utterly bewildered for a few moments, while Kenny stared at him in disbelief. His confusion cleared up almost instantly and he grimaced. “Sorry, jet lag. Niall’s wife?” Niall was her oldest brother. “I thought that whole thing was a business arrangement. Who’s the father?”
“Niall says he is.”
“Didn’t they marry like a minute ago?”
“A couple of weeks ago, yes.”
“And she’s pregnant already?”
“She was pregnant when they married,” she said, thumbnail picking at the rounded edge of her phone’s screen protector. Another text popped up on screen while she was looking down at it. Gideon—the youngest of her three older brothers—was ribbing Niall about the pretend marriage being a little more real than he’d let on. Nox, their other brother, hadn’t said anything beyondcongratulations.
“Ah.” The soft sound was Smith’s only response to Kenny’s words. His eyes were too observant, too all-knowing and she hated that he appeared to see more than she was willing to reveal.
He remained silent for another beat before asking, “And this makes you sad?”
“It’s good news. I mean, I think Niall is conflicted about it, but a baby is always a—um—a blessing. Right?” God, she sounded trite. And all that forced cheer. She was a monster. She shouldn’t need to fake happiness at the thought of a niece or nephew, she should be excited. Genuinely thrilled. Not wading through this complicated morass of negative emotions.
“It may well be good news, but you’re not happy.”
“No, I’m happy.”Liar. “I am. It’s just a lot to wrap my headaround. Their marriage is supposed to end in three years’ time. So it complicates things.”
“And your reaction isn’t about what happened to us? And our baby?”
“We didn’t have a baby,” she reminded him and the concern that had warmed his eyes was instantly leeched away by ice.
For a very brief, revealing moment she caught another glimpse of the fury behind the permafrost in his eyes.
The muscles in his jaw popped as he clenched his teeth and shook his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, dislodging the glasses and leaving them slightly askew when he moved his hand to rake his fingers through his already messy hair.
His deep sigh was rife with irritation and impatience.
“I can’t do this right now. I’m fucking exhausted.”
Do what?
She barely stopped herself from asking, instinctively recognizing thatthatwas not a conversation she was ready to have.
Chapter
One
Present Day
Day 556
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Kenny offered tentatively, while Smith dragged a comb through his wet hair and splashed some aftershave onto his freshly shaved face. He grimaced a little at the burn and met her gaze in the mirror.
“Hmm?” She found it gratifying how Smith would always give her his full attention when she had something to say. She became his sole focus. Sometimes, she found that intensity a little overwhelming. But she always appreciated it.
This wasn’t the ideal time for this discussion, as they were preparing to go to her dad’s welcome dinner at Gideon’s place. He was visiting for the holidays.
“I think we should try for a baby.”
She’d given the idea a great deal of consideration, weighing the pros and cons. And since it seemed like Smith didn’t want a divorce after all, Kenny started to feel like maybe they could give this a proper go.
