Vegas Aces: The Wide Receiver Complete Series

CHAPTER 27 TESSA

We didn’t really come up with a plan. Sara’s big plan was for me to dress sexy…hard to do when our uniform is scrubs. She also suggested going to the doctor to be sure.

That’s probably a better start.

I make my appointment. It’s still three weeks away.

I don’t go to the Sunday football teambuilder—not because I’m hoping Cam will stop by for our usual Sunday afternoon fun, but because I don’t want to watch football and I don’t want to think about Tristan. I don’t want to be at the bar in case Cam shows up there. I don’t want to explain why I’m not drinking when I always drink at the teambuilder.

I guess I’m just not in the partying mood.

Instead, I sleep the afternoon away. I’m exhausted all the time—a symptom I remember well from the first time around. It’s like your body is warning you that sleepless nights are ahead…not that I ever had those after my pregnancy the last time.

At least not because I had a baby’s cries waking me.

I shake off the thought.

Weeks go by, and I find myself celebrating Thanksgiving with Sara and Shane at Sara’s parents’ house shortly after my confirmation appointment.

I’m due in the middle of June. Thanksgiving marks slightly over nine weeks of pregnancy.

I can’t keep this secret much longer.

I have to figure out what the hell to do.

My mom declined my invitation to travel to Chicago to give thanks with us, and instead she said she and Sue had a long talk and she was spending the holiday with them watching Tristan play at a sports bar near Davenport.

The thought of watching Tristan play with his parents nearby is the main reason why I opted to stay in Chicago rather than heading to see my mom for the holiday, but I told her it was because I had to work on Friday.

Cam has ignored me at work, and I’ve avoided him at all costs. I’ve avoided all mention of him. I’ve tried to avoid even thinking about him, but that hasn’t been quite as successful, particularly because he has added additional office hours and is now meeting with patients for consultations every morning except Fridays in our office.

I haven’t figured out how to tell him, but as the first weekend in December hits and my pants start to feel tighter and tighter, I know I’m running out of time.

On a snowy Sunday afternoon, I sit in the recliner in the family room staring out at the soft snowfall with a blanket draped over my shoulders and a fire crackling in the fireplace. Sara went to the bar with Shane to watch football, so I’m by myself.

I’m going to tell him this week.

I have to.

It doesn’t matter that it’s half his. It’s also half mine, and no matter what happens when I tell Cam, I will love this baby with my whole heart.

Well, the pieces that are left of my heart, anyway.

I will work up the nerve to tell him tomorrow morning at the office.

I have no other choice.

Just as I make that decision, a knock sounds at my door.

I get up and move across the room to answer it, pulling the blanket a little more tightly around my shoulders.

I peek out the peephole, and I gasp.

I open the door. “What are you doing here?” I ask, and it’s reminiscent of the day I got back into town after my father’s funeral.

“I can’t put on this act anymore, Tessa,” Cam says. “I can’t keep ignoring you. I should, I really, really should, but I just can’t.”

“Thank God,” I breathe, and I fall into his arms. I shouldn’t. I should make him grovel. I should make him beg.

But it’s such a relief that I’m not going to have to do this alone…that I can finally unload the secret I’ve been carrying around for weeks. I’m just glad he’s here.

He catches me and we cling to each other for a beat, relief settling onto my shoulders. He wants to be with me.

Maybe he’ll want this baby, too.

He pulls back just enough to prompt me to look up at him, and his gaze burns hotly at me. He breaks the stare, and his lips fall to mine in a messy, wet, sexy kiss.

I should warn him before he strips me naked.

I pull back.

“Can we talk first?” I ask softly.

He doesn’t hide his disappointment as he lets me go and walks into the apartment. I close and lock the door behind him, and he settles onto the chair where I was sitting a moment ago.

I think about sitting on the couch across from him, but I’m too antsy to sit right now. I need to get this secret out in the open.

“Why’d you change your mind?” I ask.

He draws in a deep breath. “What we have, Tessa…it’s special. I see you at work and I force myself to stay away, but I can’t do it anymore. I can’t stop thinking about you. About us. About being with you.”

“I have something I need to tell you. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up after you, uh…broke things off.”

“Go ahead.” He leans forward, clasping his hands in front of him while he waits for my words.

I glance out the window. The snow is falling a little harder now, blanketing everything in soft white. I hate driving in it, but it’s beautiful. What tends to be dark and dingy turns bright and clean with just the tiniest bit of snowfall. Soon the cars will turn that fresh blanket into dirty slush, making both walking and driving dangerous, but right in this moment, I see beauty.

And maybe that’s my signal that it’s time to tell Cam about the thing of beauty we created.

“I’m pregnant,” I say softly.

All the color seems to drain from his face, but he doesn’t otherwise react for a beat. “You’re what?”

“Pregnant.”

He shakes his head. “No. No, you can’t be.”

“I am.”

“But we’ve been careful.” He stands and paces in front of the fireplace. “We’ve worn a condom every time but the first. If you were pregnant, hell, you’d be two…almost three months along.”

I nod and press my lips together. “Ten weeks five days today.”

He shakes his head as the warmth that has been in his eyes since he walked in today slips. “You can’t have my baby.”

I snort. “Well I am. You’re going to be a daddy, Cam.”

He stops pacing and gives me a sideways smile that’s more hysterical than happy. “I already am.”

My brows dip, and it hits me in that moment how little I know about the man who knocked me up. I’ve been so enraptured by his seduction that I didn’t really bother to get to know anything about him.

“I have four children,” he says, his tone flat. “Charlotte, Carter, Colton, and Caroline. They range in age from twelve to six.”

“Oh,” I manage on a grunt as if I’ve been punched in the stomach. “How come you never told me?”

He grunts out a mirthless chuckle. “Because that’s what you do when you’re having an affair, isn’t it? You keep secrets and you tell lies.”

“An…an affair ?”

He takes a few steps closer to me, his eyes hard and unforgiving. “You cannot have my child. You need to take care of it.”

“Excuse me?” I say, my hand moving protectively to my stomach.

“You heard what I said. I’m up for an award from the United States Medical Association that recognizes, among many things, dedication to family. What we do in our private time cannot be made public. Nobody can know that you’re pregnant with my child, which is why I need you to take care of it .” He repeats those same words again, and nausea clamps onto my stomach.

“Dedication to family?” I repeat. “Wait a second,” I say, trying to come to terms with what the hell I’m hearing. I feel sicker and sicker as the truth dawns on me.

I’m the other woman.

I’ve been the other woman this whole time, and I didn’t even know it.

“Are you married ?”

He glances away from me and at the fire. “Yes.”

“How long?” I ask, not that it matters.

His brows dip. “Thirteen years.”

“Jesus, Cam! And you’re just…fucking around with a twenty-five-year-old? Like that’s okay?” I can’t seem to control my voice as I yell at him.

He lifts a shoulder. “You didn’t seem to mind it when I had you bent over my desk, did you?”

Guilt creeps over me. “Fuck you,” I spit.

“I tried to stay away. I tried to treat you like shit so you wouldn’t be interested. And you know what happened? It made you want me more. It made me want you more, too. I’m weak, Tessa. I’m only human. I make mistakes.” He glances down at my stomach.

“This baby is not a mistake,” I hiss, defending the little peanut I already love. “But being with you sure as hell was.” I point to the door. “Get out.” There is no tremble to my voice as I protect this little life growing inside of me, and it marks the first moment in this pregnancy when I actually feel like a mother. I will do whatever it takes to protect this baby.

Even if it means protecting it from its father.

He shakes his head in disgust, but he doesn’t move toward the door despite my warning. “Think about what making a scandal like this public would do to Lakeshore Pediatrics. What it would do to Paul and Marsha.”

“Don’t you dare bring them into this,” I say, pointing my finger at him as I glare.

“The award I’m up for is prestigious. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and receiving the award comes with grant money. It comes with recognition. If you tarnish my name by going public, you’re not hurting me. You’re hurting Paul, the man who’s been like a father to you since you’ve worked for him. Consider that as you stand on your moral high ground, Nurse .”

With those words, he turns to leave.

“I hate you,” I say.

He shrugs. “You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.”

He walks out my door with those words, and I can’t help but wonder whether he means I’m not the first to hate him…or I’m not the first woman he’s put into this exact same situation.