Page 54 of Broken & Bound

“Tell me what you need.”

“A pharmacy—more precisely a preg…pregnancy test. I think I’ve psyched myself up—the stress of hiding everything. It can make you late, you know? A test will ease my mind because tons of things can make a woman late. It’s not a baby, right? Right, Lev?”

Oh, my God—I did not have a baby in me.

Without missing a beat and with no outward show of emotion, Pasha pulled me into his arms, where another round of tears coursed down my cheeks. My breasts stung as he held me tight.

And then the reality that sore breasts were a symptom only broke me further. He took me over to my bed and pulled the covers back. After tucking me in tight, he pushed my hair away and kissed my forehead.

“I’ll be back in thirty minutes. We’ll take the test and then go from there. Whatever it is, we face it together. I promised you that you’d never be alone, and I meant it. Whatever it is—”

“We face it together?” I asked, grabbing onto him, uncertain of anything other than my need for his stability.

I craved it more and more each day that passed.

“That’s right, princess. You and me. Do me a favor, keep your phone on you.”

I nodded, and with a final kiss, he left me. Fifteen minutes later, my phone rang.

“Okay, it took me a minute to find the aisle. Man, there are a slew of options here. Why are there so many styles?” There was a slight edge of nervousness in his voice. “They have two packs and one with three. Do you have a preference?”

“No, not really.”

My vision blurred as I tried to breathe through the moment. I heard him putting something back, and he was asking me more questions.

“This one says rapid results. Says you can test any time of the day and you can take it up to four days before your period is due? When is ours due?”

Ours?

I smiled at his choice of words. “Three and half weeks ago?”

“Oh, well then, this one should work extra, right? It says it’s ninety-nine percent accurate and has an extra wide tip. Is that important? Wait, did you say weeks? Bella?”

“Um, get two different ones in case of user error,” I mumbled and then hung up.

My face burned, and I was so glad he was the one purchasing it and not me. Another fifteen minutes passed. A rush of cooler air whispered against my skin as the covers lifted.

Light seeped in, chasing away the dark cocoon I had buried myself in. Beautiful brown eyes met mine, and his fingers brushed my arm. Warm, steady, and impossible to ignore.

“You should have seen the cashier’s face,” he said with a goofy grin. “I bought one of each brand. I wasn’t sure. She clearly knew it was the first time for me. Shall we?”

He gave me his hand, and I reluctantly took it. Whether or not I was prepared for the news—the reality was—I could be pregnant.

“Oh shit, Lev, I drank like three times since we’ve been back. What if…I am…the baby? What will it have done?”

“That’s not something I know much about. Frankly, I know nothing about pregnancy or babies. I was an only child. Aren’t women born with this kind of knowledge?”

“No, we’re not. We’re born knowing nothing, and this is an absolute first for me.”

“That’s fair. Do you want me to get Tori?”

“God no,” I exclaimed, cringing at how loud it came out. “You and me, this is our problem. If it’s even a problem. I’m overreacting here.” I took a few deep breaths and grabbed the bag from his hand. “No one saw you, did they?”

“I don’t think so.”

His hand found its way to the back of his head. His telltale sign he was nervous. At least I wasn’t alone.

“Okay, let’s read the instructions.” I quickly opened the first box my hand came into contact with. “This all seems easy to understand. It literally tells you with words.”