I awoke before the sun, a normal occurrence since Abby had come into my life. But I didn’t feel well, not exactly sick either, just…something…and it seemed like a terrible omen.

I’d been in denial the past few days, but I had a sinking feeling there would be no more denying it after this morning. I was never late. Never. And yet, here I was a full week late. I’d darted into the pharmacy yesterday when I’d taken Abby to the park, but the handful of tests had been sitting in my purse ever since.

I couldn’t put it off any longer though. I needed to know. So, I reluctantly climbed out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom, grabbing my purse as I went from where it sat on the dresser. And three minutes later, I stared down at the tiny positive sign in the pregnancy test window. It seemed so small; two thin, blue lines that crossed like the letter ‘t’. It seemed almost ridiculous that such a small thing could have such an enormous impact on one’s life. But if those two little lines were telling the truth, my life was never going to be the same.

My breathing came quicker the more I thought about it, and I could feel my pulse speed up. I had no idea if Ryan wanted more children. It wasn’t something we’d ever talked about. And that was because a relationship was something we’d never talked about either. I got the distinct impression that committing himself to me for anything longer than a few hours late at night was the last thing Ryan wanted. How was he going to feel when I told him he was going to be tied to me irrevocably, at least in this way?

But maybe it was a fluke. Yes, it had to be a fluke.

Grateful for the two bottles of spring water I’d downed before bed, I pulled out another test and repeated the same steps as the first. An old saying played in my head as I set the test down on the sink edge to wait, “Crazy is doing the same thing over and over again, and hoping for a different result.” It seemed fitting since I was most definitely feeling a little crazy at the moment.

Before a full minute had passed, the same two blue lines appeared in the test window and I sank down on the floor in defeat. It wasn’t that I didn’t want children. I’d always wanted a large family so that each child would have plenty of brothers and sisters to grow up with. But this wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t how I’d imagined starting that family; twenty-one years old, and currently employed as a nanny for the man who happened to be the father of my child—and who wanted absolutely nothing to do with long-term relationships.

What a mess I’d made!

A knock sounded at my bedroom door, and panic raced through my veins. There was no way it was Abby standing out in the hallway because I had learned quite quickly that Abby does not knock. And that left only one other possibility, and I didn’t relish the thought of facing him at the moment. But when he knocked on the door again, I knew he wasn’t going to be put off much longer.

“Emma,” he called in a stern voice as I heard the door to my room open slowly.

I sprang to my feet, knocking almost everything on the edge of the sink onto the floor. Damn it! I swooped down and gathered it all into my purse as quickly as I could, zipped it up and placed it on the towel shelf next to me.

I took a deep breath, only realizing then that my face was wet with tears. I brushed them away angrily as quickly as I could and opened the bathroom door. But I came to a dead stop when I looked up and saw the expression on his face. It seemed we’d just taken a swift tumble from his typically cool and aloof daytime behavior to downright furious.

His expression faltered for the briefest of seconds when he saw me—no doubt I hadn’t managed to wipe away all proof of the stupid tears—but it hardened again quickly.

“When were you going to tell me?” he asked, and I couldn’t stop myself from glancing back at the purse on the bathroom shelf. But he couldn’t possibly know. I’d only known myself for a whole two minutes! So, what on earth was he talking about?

“Tell you what, Ryan?”

“Right. The whole point was to not tell me, to string me along and keep me distracted just long enough for my deal to fall through.”

“Deal? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I felt at a severe disadvantage, standing there in a T-shirt that barely covered anything vital, and my mind already too overwrought this morning to think straight about whatever accusation he was flinging at me.

“Your charade’s up, Emma. I’m sure you thought you were doing a great job playing me for a fool, but if you thought this little seduction act was going to work, you’re really not as bright as I thought you were. I’ve built my entire company from the ground up, and nothing—not even a sexy as hell little actress—is ever going to get in my way. That you would insinuate yourself in the way you have, letting Abby get close to you…it’s despicable.”

“How dare you barge into my room to accuse me of somehow conspiring against you! Conspiring to do what, Ryan? To get the inside scoop on how Ryan Cade spends his days and release it to the tabloids?” I jeered, my ire growing exponentially every second.

A flicker of doubt crossed his expression, but then it was gone. “I barged into your room? What the hell do you need a room for? You’ve got an entire house next door! And since you’re not welcome in this one, I’d suggest you go back there.” His voice had gotten louder and louder as he spoke so that he nearly yelled the last words.

It’s funny; right there in the midst of an argument that made absolutely no sense to me…right there it hit me. I didn’t just like Ryan, and I wasn’t just attracted to him. I’d fallen in love with him. I had no idea what had made him so angry, but right then, I would have done anything in my power to take it away from him. And since I could find no explanation for his anger, there was only one thing I could think of that would do that.

All the fight in me fled. This was it then.

“I suppose I should leave,” I whispered, finding that it hurt more than I would have expected. To not see Abby again. Or Ryan. But since I was so obviously the source of his anger, I didn’t have a choice.

As discreetly as possible, I slipped into the shorts at the end of the bed and then I pulled out the suitcase under my bed and started tossing things into it, not caring whether I left anything behind.

“Tell your brother his little ploys are a waste of time,” he said as I closed the suitcase and zipped it up.

“Michael?” I hadn’t spoken to my half-brother since my parents’ funeral. And in the ten years prior to that, I’d only seen him a handful of times, usually at family gatherings. With fifteen years between us, we weren’t close. There wasn’t any terrible backstory to it; he was heading off to college before I even started preschool—not the foundation of a close relationship.

So, what on earth was Ryan talking about then? And I was just about to ask when Abby appeared in the doorway.

Oh god, how was I supposed to do this?

“Where ya going, Emma?” she asked innocently.

“I just have to go for a while, sweetheart. But I won’t be far away, just next door. So you can come visit me when your dad says it’s ok.”

“Oh. You’re going back to your house?” she said, a little uncertain.

“Yes well…” Ryan cut in, “Emma was just helping you get settled in here. Now that you’re settled in, she can go back to her house. But you’ll still get to see her, don’t worry.”

It looked like he had it all figured out. I hugged Abby tightly, fighting back unfamiliar tears, grabbed my purse from the shelf in the bathroom and hurried out. It was better this way, leaving before Abby got any more attached to me.

Too bad I didn’t leave soon enough to avoid getting attached to the cotton candy princess…and her father.