The Billionaire's Best Friend(33)
How can she be so relaxed? Right then he felt like a ticking time bomb of emotion ready to explode. Without waiting for an invitation inside, he pushed past her then grabbed the door from her hand and slammed it closed. Perhaps sensing Nate’s anger, JoJo stepped in front of Lauren as if to protect her.
“Nate, what’s—” Lauren began taking a step away from him.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Nate shouted in a harsh, raw voice.
“Listen, Nate, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but now isn’t the time. I just got home from teaching ballet to six-year-old girls. I’m tired.” Lauren crossed her arms over her chest, her voice defensive. “Whatever the problem is it’ll have to wait.”
For the first time he noticed her attire. She wore a pink leotard and gray sweatpants and her hair was tied up in a bun. Nate ignored her request, despite the evidence she’d just gotten home. She had kept this secret from him long enough. He needed the truth now.
“How could you keep that from me?” Nate advanced on her completely ruled by emotions rather than common sense. “I deserved to know you were pregnant with my child.”
All the color drained from Lauren’s face, and she swayed on her feet. “Who told you?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
The urge to lash out at Lauren while at the same time comfort her collided in his head. Her shell-shocked expression pulled at his heart, but his anger at her silence kept him from embracing her. “Your brother, but you should have. Fifteen years ago, Lauren.”
Lauren sank down onto the couch without saying another word. When she glanced up at him, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “When you left for the Academy, I didn’t know.” Her voice quivered as she spoke. “I found out two weeks after you left. I planned on telling you when I heard from you.” Tears fell down her face. “You promised to keep in touch even though we were no longer together. You said we would always be friends, remember?”
He heard the accusation in her voice. When he’d made the promise, he’d fully intended to keep it, but then after a while he figured it was better for both of them if he kept his distance. Let her get on with her life. At eighteen it had made plenty of sense. Now, at thirty-three, he realized what an ass he’d been.
“When you never called, I got the message loud and clear, Nate. You didn’t care about me.”
Nate paced back and forth several times in front of the couch, guilt eating away at his heart. “I had a right to know, Lauren. You should’ve told me. I would’ve—”
Lauren shot to her feet. “Would have what, Nate? Come home? Left the Academy?” She advanced on him, her eyes blazing with anger now. “You made it clear when you broke up with me that your military career meant more to you than I did.”
Damn, he was close to losing control of the conversation. He hadn’t come here to talk about his mistakes. He’d come for answers and so far he hadn’t gotten any. “I broke up with you because I loved you. I didn’t want you making all the sacrifices military families are forced to make. And I—”
She moved closer but stopped short of physically touching him. “We talked about that when you applied to Annapolis. You knew I would’ve stood by you no matter what. That was my decision to make, not yours.”
Yeah, sure they’d discussed it before he’d applied, but that was before it became reality. Once it was a sure thing, he’d realized how much she’d have to give up if they stayed together while he served. At the time he made the decision to end their relationship because he honestly thought it would be best for both of them. Not that any of that mattered now. Right now he wanted to know about their child.
“If you had told me, I would have come home and taken care of both of you.” For now he needed to stick with one topic at a time. “Was it a boy or a girl?” In his heart he knew Lauren never would’ve had an abortion and she obviously had no child living with her so she must have put the baby up for adoption.
The dam holding back Lauren’s tears burst and sobs racked her body. On pure instinct he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. As she cried, he held her without saying a word. After a while Lauren’s body stilled, and she became silent. As if realizing she stood embraced in his arms, she pulled back while at the same time she wiped the tears from her face with her hand.
“I don’t know.” Lauren looked at a spot on the wall behind him while she spoke. “I miscarried at twelve weeks.”
His heart clenched with pain. “Lauren, I’m . . .” his voice trailed off. What should he say? True, it had happened a long time ago, but for him it was just happening. “What happened?”