I paced back and forth, trying to calm my thoughts. I was in the family townhouse in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. Being home should have calmed me. I could have visited with any number of friends.

Gone out even. Gotten drunk with a friend. Let guys hit on me to make me feel better. Wanted again.

Except I didn't want to.

I couldn't seem to get Cade out of my head. I could feel him on my skin. Inside me. His lips, hands and cock were branded onto my flesh.

Never mind all the sweet things he'd said while we were making love. That he'd take care of me forever. That he wanted me so bad he'd been going out of his mind.

That he was keeping me.

I knew that sleeping with someone new would never erase Cade from my thoughts. And I had no interest in testing the theory.

And all of that was before I knew.

The other reason I wasn't going out was sitting on the marble counter in my en suite bathroom. Just a little harmless piece of plastic, no bigger than a pen. It was the little blue plus sign that had changed everything.

Damn him.

Cade had done what he had teased me with. What he'd said he wanted more than anything.

He'd gotten me pregnant.

I'd sent the maid out this morning to the drug store after I'd puked up my breakfast. I hadn't needed the test though. I'd known in my bones that it was true. That it was a baby making me nauseous.

I think I may have known for a while.

Maybe even from the moment of conception.

I felt different somehow. For one thing I could smell everything. Every single thing I came into contact with. It was insane, as if I had developed superhero senses.

Not in a good way either.

Imagine smelling everything in New York City. Every sweating person on the street. Every garbage can and burning cigarette. The cab exhaust. Every spritz of perfume or deodorant.

Even the scent of laundry detergent made me want to puke.

My breasts were super sensitive too. And my belly felt different. Softer almost. Even though it was very early, I thought my face looked softer too. Dreamy.

Dreamy! I had to laugh. This was a nightmare!

Not a baby, but that I was pregnant with the child of a man that I loved, but who didn't love me. A big, horny, player. A man who liked to spread it around, when I wanted him home with me.

I sat down heavily with a sigh. What was I going to do? I'd been planning to escape to our villa in the South of France but now that was out of the question. I couldn't travel to a remote location without a major hospital nearby. I had appointments to make and vitamins to take.

I had to prepare.

I laid my hand over my belly, feeling instantly protective.

It was crazy but until I saw the little blue line, I would have said I'd do anything not to have Cade's baby. He was a liar and a cheat. But now…

I closed my eyes. I knew there was no alternative. No escape. I wanted this baby.

My life had just changed in the space of a heartbeat.

The worst part was… I'd have to tell him. I'd have to interact with the man who broke my heart. For the next twenty-one years or so.

Not yet though.

There was no way I was telling him now. And I needed someplace close to hole up and think this through. Let it sink in. I rang the maid and had her bring out my summer luggage.

It was early in the season, but I was going to our beach house. That was a good thing though. Until late May, the Hamptons were quiet. I wouldn't run into many people or have to make small talk.

No one would bother me, or even look for me there.

That was a relief for one major reason. I had a crazy idea that even with all his other women, Cade wouldn't be happy that I had run out on him. Maybe it was just a primitive caveman thing. But wherever he was, he was pissed.

I could feel it.

I could hear it too, in the voice messages and texts he'd been sending me several times a day.

He sounded angry but also almost… scared. For a moment after listening to the messages, I'd almost believed that he cared. Then I remembered the groupies.

She said that she'd slept with him the other night.

All the girls say so.

He's big. Huge.

That was Cade alright. And that was all the proof I needed. He was a manwhore, plain and simple.

I'd stop listening to the messages altogether then. I'd even turned my phone off and started making arrangements for a new one. A new number, everything.

Don't forget the groupies Camille. Stay strong. You are a mother now.

You better toughen the fuck up.

I opened my closet and started packing for the beach.