#1 Rival

by Gephart, T

  She shook her head, tossing me a bag, the exchange looking more suspicious by the second. “Here you go, there are a couple of different ones in there, call me if you need anything else.”

  “Thanks, Morgan, I really appreciate this.” I clutched the bag to my chest, thankful I had the greatest sister known to man. “I owe you one.”

  “Meh, you’re fine.” She shrugged. “I know you pretend to be a badass, Lo, but you have a good heart. You would have done the same for me.”

  It seemed to be the night for pesky emotions, the words getting stuck in my throat as I nodded. “I need to go, I’ll call you later.”

  She waved, driving off as I returned to Eric’s front gate and further ruining the shoes I was wearing. Strangely, I didn’t care, shrugging it off as I passed the disgruntled man at the door again, and made my way back into the house.

  So far, so good—and other than the security, who was eyeing me suspiciously, I hadn’t caught anyone else’s attention.

  As I got closer to the backyard, I was able to see Roman. He was sitting at a table, clutching his phone so tight I was surprised the thing hadn’t been reduced to dust. He had called me a few times, but I hadn’t answered, and I could tell that when I finally did talk to him, it was going to be heated.

  Still, I had bigger issues right now. Like how I was going to get the bride’s attention so she could take the test while her new husband and invited guests remained none the wiser.

  “Did you get it?” I turned around, finding Lila creeping up behind me.

  I nodded, my chin tipping to the white bag I was hiding behind my purse. “Can you get her back upstairs without anyone noticing?”

  “Yeah, I can manage that.” She smirked, both of us gazing out at Tia who was currently wrapped in her husband’s arms. “Roman is going to be a problem though, he’s been looking for you.”

  “I’ll take care of Roman as soon as we’re done with this.” Not sure how I was going to do that exactly, but I’d work it out. “I’m going to go upstairs to wait for you. If they see the three of us going up there together it will look suspicious.”

  Lila agreed, walking out to the backyard while I followed my earlier path and found the bedroom I had been in before. I opened the door to the connecting bathroom and quickly read through the instructions. I doubted peeing on a stick was a complicated venture, but it was better to cover all our bases and not make a stupid mistake like peeing on the wrong end.

  It didn’t take long before Lila and Tia came in, finding me in the bathroom.

  “We’ve got like twenty minutes tops.” Tia glanced at the door like she was expecting someone to walk through. “I really appreciate you doing this for me, Lauren.”

  “Hey, what are lawyers for?” I nodded to the sticks on the bathroom counter. “Pee here and then recap it. There are two windows, one so we know the test worked and one for the result. The one with a blue cap is an early detection test, so do them both. We’ll know in a couple of minutes either way.”

  She looked nervously at the tests, taking a deep breath as we cleared out of the room to give her some privacy.

  “Did your sister ask questions?” Lila sat on the bed as we waited.

  I shook my head. “We took a blood oath, anytime one of us needs something, we call. No questions asked.”

  “Tia and I have a similar arrangement.” She laughed. “It’s only recently that I’ve relaxed when I see her number come up on my phone. I never had a sister.”

  “It’s done.” Tia exited the bathroom, wiping her hands on a small towel. “Now we wait.” She joined Lila on the bed.

  “How’s the nausea?” I asked, noticing her color had come back. That had to be a good sign.

  She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I didn’t eat much dinner so there’s not a lot to come up.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, shit, you missed the main course.”

  “It’s fine, this was more important,” I reassured her, not feeling very hungry anyway.

  We sat in silence, the minutes ticking unnaturally slow while we waited. I could feel the tension in the air, but no one felt the need to talk. It wasn’t the sort of thing that required conversation, and we were well past the point of making small talk.

  I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. “I think we can look now. Do you want me to leave? Or would you like me to stay?” I asked, realizing she might not want to share the moment with someone she barely knew.

  “Stay.” She stood up and gave Lila’s hand a squeeze. “You’ve gone to all this trouble to help me, the least I can do is allow you to share in the result.”

  Slowly she walked into the bathroom, picking up the first test while Lila and I waited at the door.

  “Oh thank God.” Her knees gave way under her as she sat on the toilet. “It’s negative.”

  “See, nothing to worry about. The nausea is probably stress, or maybe it really is the stomach flu. I’d still check in with a doctor in the next few days, just to be sure. And maybe get him to run a blood test to rule out anything else funky going on.”

  “These test are pretty accurate, right?” She looked at the other test, which was also negative. “I’m not going to find out in a couple of weeks that I was knocked up and got faked out by Clear Blue am I?”

  “I read the instructions.” I pointed to the folded up piece of paper with lines of tiny writing I was positive almost nobody read. “Even if your cycle was slightly off, at two weeks there would be enough of the pregnancy hormone for the test to detect. Especially the early one. False negatives are rare, and I think in this case we can safely rule it out.”

  “Okay, okay.” Tia visibly relaxed. “So, it was a false alarm.”

  I bagged up the used test, disposing of the evidence. “I’d say the stress of the wedding, arguing about the prenup, knowing that Eric is going away soon to a remote location—all contributed. But it’s fine now. You should get back to the wedding though before anyone starts asking questions. I’ll get rid of this.”

  After all, the last thing she needed was someone walking in and finding a pregnancy test in the trash.

  “I’ll tell, Eric,” she assured me. “Just obviously not tonight. I mean, there is no reason to say anything right now considering it was a false alarm, right?”

  “Tia, it’s your business and it’s not my place to judge you either way.” I checked the bench making sure nothing had slipped my attention and it was clear of any pregnancy testing equipment and/or packaging. “I think he will understand your panic, but if you want to just forget the whole thing, then that’s your right too.”

  “I think you should tell him, Tia,” Lila weighed in. “Just wait until your Italian honeymoon. He’ll be relaxed, soaking up the sun and you guys can just talk.”

  “Agreed.” Tia nodded, before reaching out and giving my hand a squeeze. “Lauren, I know I said this before, but I really appreciate this. Organizing the tests, not saying anything—it was a lot to ask.”

  “It’s fine.” I squeezed back. “Now, go back and enjoy your wedding.”

  She nodded, both of them leaving me to head back to the party. Meanwhile, I had to think up what the hell I was going to tell Roman.

  It had been an hour at least, maybe closer to two, I couldn’t be sure.

  The appetizer and main course had already been served, and he’d been sitting there alone while I was ignoring his calls.

  He was going to be furious.

  That wasn’t even taking into consideration the reason I initially gave him for disappearing was to assist a client he’d convinced himself had ulterior motives.

  Taking a deep breath and grabbing the stash of smuggled goods, I left the bathroom, cursing my purse wasn’t big enough to hide the evidence as I descended down the stairs.

  “Lose your way?” Roman was standing there waiting with his arms folded tightly across his chest.

  “Hey, someone was in the other bathroom, and one of the waiters told me there was one upstairs.” I tried to keep my
voice neutral, doing my best to camouflage my bag of contraband.

  His eyebrow rose, seeming unreasonably calm. “Well, I’m glad for you. I, on the other hand, have been sitting beside an empty chair wondering why I bothered to bring a date at all.”

  He didn’t yell, didn’t raise his voice either, but I could tell he was furious.

  “Roman—”

  He held his hand up, not giving me a chance to explain.

  “Do you know how many times someone asked me where you were? Or one of my brothers gave me shit about you coming to your senses and leaving?”

  I opened my mouth and tried again. “I’m sorry, I just had something I needed to take care of.”

  “Bullshit.” He moved closer. “Unless Chase Anderson was in jail or his business was suddenly involved in a hostile takeover, there was no reason to take his call. But whatever.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You can’t tell me. I’m not in the loop.”

  “You have to trust me.” I met his eyes, hoping he would see that I was sincere.

  “Trust you?” He threw his head back and laughed. “You know how many women I have introduced to my family? How many times I’ve brought a date home? And the one fucking time I thought it was a good idea—because I stupidly believed we were cool—you embarrassed me. Fuck that, Harper. Fuck that, and fuck whatever you had to do.”

  “Roman.”

  “Don’t fucking Roman me either.” He leaned in, his lip curling into a sneer. “I’m giving you one chance to tell me exactly what was so important that you left me to sit there looking like a fucking chump, and I want the truth.”

  I had no idea what to say, what I could possibly tell him that would make it better. But I knew the truth wasn’t it.

  It didn’t matter that Tia ended up not being pregnant; it wasn’t my news to share, especially not with a man who was acting so hostile even if he felt he was justified.

  “You are obviously upset, and I get it.” It had been the last thing I wanted to do. “I am sorry that I had to step away, and I’m sorry because of that you were embarrassed or hurt.” I reached out to his arm, needing to touch him, and by some miracle he didn’t pull away. “Please know that the only reason I was gone was because it was important.”

  It was at that moment that the stupid CVS bag I’d been clutching dropped to the floor. The contents spilled out at our feet.

  “What the fuck?” He bent down and grabbed it before I had a chance. “Why the hell do you have a pregnancy test?”

  Crap. However bad I’d thought it had been, it got so much worse.

  I scooped what was left on the floor, bundling it back in the bag without answering him, unsure of what I was going to say.

  “Is this yours?” He waved the wand in the air in front of me, not giving me a chance to answer before continuing. “Why the hell am I even asking you, of course it’s yours, why else would you have it.”

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  Even though that statement was one hundred percent true, it was the exact same statement someone said when they were guilty. As lawyers we’d heard it a thousand times, and almost always it was exactly what it looked like.

  “Well, at least it’s negative.” He tilted the test to the side before holding it out for me. “Must be a relief for you and whoever you thought impregnated you. We both know it couldn’t have been me.”

  “How dare you!” I snatched the test from his hand and stuffed it in the bag with the others. He could be as mad as he wanted, but it didn’t give him permission to assume the worst about me, and talk to me like I was nothing.

  “How dare I?” His eyes widened in disbelief as he stood over me. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? If it pleases the court, allow me to build the scenario for you. You agree to come with me to my brother’s wedding and then mysteriously disappear. Suspecting you are carrying some other sucker’s kid, the guilt tears you up inside so much that you decide you can’t wait a second longer and take the fucking test. Why you didn’t do it at home is beyond me, but I haven’t had time to get to a motive just yet. Then you find out it’s negative and you miraculously reappear. What I want to know, Harper, is two things. First, why the sudden phone call with Chase Anderson and the appearance of a pregnancy test? And if that thing was positive, were you going to play me for a moron and pretend it was mine?”

  “Are you serious?” My eyes almost bulged out of my head. “You do realize that you are not only challenging my character but my professional standing.”

  “I’m only analyzing the evidence I have in front of me,” he responded coolly. “And wondering what those billable hours were used for?”

  “You make me sick.” My fist tightened either side of me as my body shook. “How dare you call into question my integrity?”

  I wanted to scream, to claw his eyes out, but I also wanted to cry. That he could assume the worst in me so easily was horrifying.

  “Deflection isn’t a defense, sweetheart.” The words bit out through his clenched jaw. “Surely, you know better.”

  “That’s enough.” I pushed him to the side, not willing to have him draw multiple incorrect conclusions and paint me as an evil and manipulative bitch. Not to mention a whore who slept with clients, because obviously it was what was between my legs that had gotten me my law degree. “You can be mad that I left and not be a heartless offensive asshole. You disgust me. That you would sink so freaking low. Unlike you, the last thing I wanted was to hurt you.”

  He threw his head back, the laugh echoing down the empty hall. “For me to be hurt, I’d have to care about you. Which I don’t.”

  A knife through my heart would have hurt less. Each one of his words stung more than the last as everything he said to me echoed in my mind. The things he thought, the things he believed—that he’d been so easily convinced. I couldn’t believe that less than a few hours ago I believed I was in love with him.

  Thank God I hadn’t said anything, saving myself from even further hurt, and how funny he would have found it.

  “Well, then.” I kicked up my chin not willing to subject myself to him and his cruelty any longer. “You enjoy being an evil bastard. I hope that works out for you. But I am going to go now, because I don’t deserve your shit or have to listen to your vicious and inaccurate lies. So long, you horrible asshole.” I tossed him a wave as I marched down the hall to the front door.

  I was so mad, so mad and hurt and—ugh, it was like every human emotion I had turned on simultaneously and was jostling for dominance.

  Screw him.

  Screw love and relationships and everything else.

  I stormed out of the house, and thank God he didn’t follow. I wasn’t sure I would have been able to restrain myself and not beat him to death with the bag of pregnancy tests that weren’t mine. Too many witnesses, the security giving me suspicious glances as I powerwalked down the driveway would have been the first ones to turn me in.

  My feet kept moving, and by some miracle I remained upright as I navigated the long stretch of concrete in heels until I reached the gate.

  Hitting the button on the side, the large metal monstrosity slid open allowing me my freedom. I didn’t bother turning around, just kept walking as my shoes sunk into the grass—the pumps were already ruined anyway—and I made my way further up the road that had no sidewalk.

  I guess people around there didn’t do a lot of walking; I didn’t expect to see a cab coming cruising by either. As I pulled out my phone to once again call my sister, I decided I hated Beverly Hills.

  I hated weddings too, my shoes and my stupid outfit.

  But of all the things I hated, the thing that had the number one position was Roman.

  So. Much. Hate.

  “Hello?” Morgan’s voice sounded funny when she answered the phone and I hoped she wasn’t sleeping.

  “Morgan.” Her name the only thing I was able to say before a sob tore at my throat. “I need you to come get me.”

  “I’ll be right the
re, Lo.” She didn’t ask questions as I heard rustling in the background. “I’m putting on my shoes right now. Just hang on, okay.”

  “Okay.” I nodded under the security light of some other rich person I probably hated too. “Thank you.”

  After giving her instructions on where to find me, I ended the call and stood on the side of the road waiting.

  Even though I didn’t want to see Roman, I half expected him to come looking. Possibly having a moment of behaving like a regular human, and being concerned about whether I had a way to get home or if I was safe. But that was just me being delusional again, because he’d told me exactly how much he didn’t care about me.

  What an idiot.

  Me, not him.

  He was something else—all of which were horrible with a string of curse words attached—but I had been the idiot.

  It felt like forever before I finally saw my sister’s car, the headlights making me so relieved I almost cried.

  “Did he hurt you?” She gripped the steering wheel tight as I hopped into the passenger seat. “Because if he hurt you, Lo, I will hurt him.”

  “Not physically.” My head shook as I kicked off my ruined pumps. “Please . . . just take me home.”

  I could tell she didn’t want to. That she wanted to turn her Subaru Forrester around, ram the damn gate and then possibly run over Roman.

  Morgan was the least violent person I knew. She saw the horrors of it at her work and actively tried to save people even if they didn’t deserve it.

  She was a much better person than I was.

  But you hurt her family, and she turned into Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

  “Okay, let’s get you home.”

  She didn’t ask any more questions and just drove until we got to our apartment.

  I didn’t even cry, my brain and body too numb to even know what to feel.

  The worst part of it all was the loss I felt.

  Roman and I—for whatever reason—worked. Or at least we had, and I never in a million years would have thought he could have been so horrible and cruel. Arrogant, cocky, bossy, annoying—sure, but not downright mean.