“How long?”

  Ali grasped the edge of the island and looked across it at her. “It could be a few weeks.”

  “Oh,” Alyssa said. Her voice was small, but, really, she did not know how she felt about the news.

  “Are you upset?”

  She blinked and thought about it. “No. Of course not. You should go. Stay however long you need to.”

  She told the truth. Ali’s family business, over the last few months, had become important to him. Before, tending to the family’s assets in the United States had merely been a chore. Since he’d taken on more responsibility, he’d also gained more passion for the job.

  Ali nodded, his jaw tense. “I’m sorry to drop this on you so suddenly.”

  “Really, Ali. You have to do what you have to do.”

  Ali pocketed his phone. “I need to pack.”

  “I’ll help.” Alyssa slid off the bar stool.

  “No, darling. You rest.” Ali came around the island and cupped her face in his hands. “You must take it easy until you are feeling one hundred percent yourself.”

  Alyssa’s breath hitched. She wouldn’t be feeling one hundred percent herself for months more. In fact, maybe she’d never feel herself again. When the baby came, she’d be a whole new person. She’d be responsible for someone else’s wellbeing.

  Ali’s warm hands left her face, leaving a cold spot in her heart. He walked down the hall at a clipped pace, and Alyssa followed close behind.

  In the master bedroom, Ali went straight to his closet. There were two of them, both walk-in, sitting on opposite sides of the room. The first time Alyssa had gone into the bedroom, she’d been blown away at all the space. Not only was the master bedroom itself two-thirds the size her whole apartment on the west side had been, it had giant windows, closests that a person could get lost in, and a bathroom that was separated into three sections: one for his and hers sinks, one for the toilet area, and one for the shower and giant jet tub.

  Her first week living there, Alyssa had taken so many soaks in that tub, she’d had permanently wrinkled fingers and toes.

  No more hot baths, she remembered. That message board said it’s not a good idea while pregnant.

  Getting on her hands and knees, she pulled Ali’s suitcase out from under the bed, set it on top of the mattress, and opened it up for him. He was already coming forward, dropping rolls of pants in.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Are you bringing any jeans?” Alyssa asked. “Something casual?”

  “Yes. Good idea.” He licked his lips, his gaze darting around the room like it was foreign territory. Alyssa could nearly feel the stress wafting off of him.

  “I’ll get them.” Alyssa went for his closet.

  Ali’s casual clothing, as she’d predicted when she’d moved in, was considerably more limited than his selection of business attire. Even though he hadn’t been as into his work when they’d met, he’d had a taste for dressing well. Taking a couple pairs of jeans off their hangers, Alyssa paused for a moment to close her eyes and inhale deeply. The closet smelled fresh, thanks to the housekeeper who came twice a week. Ali’s cologne lingered in it, as well. Alyssa had said that she would be fine on her own for a few weeks, but would she?

  “Alyssa.”

  She turned around, finding Ali in the closet doorway, a frantic look on his face. “What are you doing?”

  “I…” She clutched his jeans tighter. “Just wondering how many T-shirts you should pack.”

  He grinned. “One.”

  Alyssa chuckled. “Yeah. I mean, you only have like, three, anyway.”

  Stepping into the closet, Ali reached over her head and took one of the T-shirts down. Instead of going back out, though, he paused. They stood inches away from each other, the heat of Ali’s body wrapping around Alyssa.

  “I’ll miss you,” Alyssa murmured, splaying her fingers across his chest.

  Ali chuckled. “I hope you will.”

  Alyssa grinned and lifted her chin. “And will you miss me?”

  Dipping his face, Ali kissed her deeply. “Every moment,” he whispered against her lips.

  Alyssa nodded and wrapped her arms around him. Pressing her cheek to his chest, she closed her eyes. He was leaving in a few minutes. Now was the time. She had to tell him the news.

  And yet…she couldn’t.

  When the nurse had told Alyssa the news, she’d been elated…and terrified. So far, her feelings hadn’t changed.

  In Costa Rica, Ali had been clear about his desire to wait a few years to have children. And he was so busy with work, she couldn’t imagine that desire changing anytime soon.

  She had to tell him. Duh, on that. But…how? It couldn’t be as simple as a, ‘Hey, I’m pregnant! Isn’t that great?’ Because it was a complicated situation. The kind that warranted more than a quick announcement.

  She had to work on how to break the news. She had to pick the right time. And now, minutes before he left for several weeks, was not that time.

  Planting a kiss on top of her head, Ali stepped away. “I need to get going.”

  “I know,” Alyssa said, taking the jeans to his suitcase.

  Ten minutes later, he was all packed. They stood in the foyer, his suitcase at the door. He’d already made the call for his aircrew, and his jet would be waiting for him on the tarmac by the time he made it to the airport.

  “I love you.” Ali kissed Alyssa one last time, and she drank in the taste of his lips, aware that she’d have to make the taste last for several weeks.

  “I love you, too,” she said.

  And then, he was gone.

  Alyssa stood in the foyer for a minute, her fingers pressed to her lips. Had she done the right thing? She didn’t want to tell Ali about the baby over the phone or email. That wasn’t how such a happy moment was supposed to go. Especially when the event occurred during such a questionable time.

  The intercom buzzed, and Alyssa’s heart jumped. Was Ali returning for something he’d forgotten? Did he suspect something was off with her? If he confronted her on that, she’d have no choice but to tell him about the pregnancy.

  The thought comforted her. Sometimes, having choices wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

  Alyssa hit the answer button. “Hello?”

  “Delivery,” a man’s voice said. “From the Cuban Cabana.”

  Every part of Alyssa sank. “Come on up.”

  CHAPTER 6

  ALYSSA

  Eight weeks. That’s how pregnant she was.

  Her estimation, it turned out, had been pretty spot-on. At her first OB-GYN appointment that morning, she’d heard her fetus’s heartbeat. The moment had been…complicated. Emotional.

  More than anything else, she had wished that Ali was there for it.

  So, I’ll probably be somewhere around eleven weeks when Ali returns. That’s almost three months. I won’t be showing by then.

  Or would she? Would she have gained weight? Would the change in her body, even if she didn’t have a protruded belly, be obvious?

  She imagined Ali returning from Baqar and her saying “I’m pregnant!” when that was oh-so obvious. What a nightmare.

  Alyssa looked out the window at the foot traffic on the East Village street. She’d arrived at the coffee shop ten minutes before, ordered a latte, then remembered she needed to cut back on caffeine and made it half-caf instead, taken a seat in the window, and tried to not overthink her entire life.

  Glancing at her phone, she checked the time. Forty-five more minutes until her lunch break was over and she needed to be back at work. Her mother had come to Manhattan for the day—looking for some specific shoes for Alyssa’s dad that apparently only this one store downtown carried—and she wanted to meet up with Alyssa.

  The pregnancy, with Lucy as the exception, was still a secret. There was no point in asking for advice on keeping the news from Ali, because Alyssa had already made the decision to do just that. So, for the time being, all she could do was sit on her choice.

  The door opened, and Alyssa’s mother waved at her before going to the counter and getting a cup of coffee. Hauling a big shopping bag with her, she made her way through the busy coffee shop and to Alyssa’s table.

  “Mercy,” she said, setting the coffee and bag down and unwinding her scarf. “That wind nearly blew me over.”

  “It is strong today,” Alyssa agreed, though she really had no idea. It had been three days since Ali had left, and she hadn’t been able to pay much attention to anything happening around her.

  Alyssa’s mother eyed her. “You getting sick?”

  Alyssa blushed and looked down. Leave it to the woman who birthed and raised her to notice something was different.

  “I was earlier in the week,” Alyssa said. “So maybe I’m still recovering.”

  “Hm.” She sipped her coffee. “And how is Ali? Did he also get sick?”

  “No. And, uh, he’s actually gone for a while. He’s in Baqar for three weeks. He left a few days ago.”

  “Oh.” Laurie Cambridge frowned.

  “What?” Alyssa sipped her latte, which had already turned lukewarm.

  “He travels a lot.”

  “Yeah, but it’s fine.” Alyssa waved her hand. “I’m glad that he’s taken on more responsibility in the family business.”

  “It’ll be good for him,” her mother agreed with a nod. “Here. I need to show you something on Pinterest.”

  Alyssa suppressed a laugh. She’d introduced her mother to the app a month before, and it had been non-stop with the crafty wedding ideas since.

  “Okay.” Alyssa nodded, glad to have whatever distraction her mother was about to provide her with.

  Putting on her reading glasses, Laurie did some tapping on her phone before handing it over to Alyssa.

  “It's a mermaid wedding,” she explained. “You always wanted to be one when you were a little girl.”

  A mess of emotions rose in Alyssa as she looked at the pictures of wedding dresses, bonfires on the beach, and cocktails served in martini glasses decorated with shells and strands of fake pearls.

  “It’s…nice,” Alyssa said.

  “Just nice?” Her mother took the phone back. “Have you and Ali been talking about the wedding?”

  “Some.” Alyssa took a drink of her latte to buy herself some more time. “We’re really loving being engaged, Mom. It'll be great to be married, but neither one of us is eager to jump ahead.”

  “You're…loving…being engaged.” Alyssa’s mom slowly repeated the statement in a clipped tone, making it abundantly clear she didn't understand what Alyssa was talking about.

  “Yeah,” Alyssa said. “We were thinking we might wait a while. Maybe even take some other steps before we get married.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like…” Alyssa ran her thumb over her latte cup's handle. “Get a dog.”

  Have a baby. Intentionally, of course. Before we’re married. Because you can't judge me too harshly if everything I do was planned in advance!

  Alyssa smiled, trying to keep her cool, but already worried she was casting that first stitch for a web of lies.

  “You already have two cats.”

  “Yeah, but they’re lonely.”

  “Cats and dogs hate each other.” Her mother folded up her reading glasses and put them in their checkered case.

  “Come on, Mom. It’s the twenty-first century. Cats and dogs can be friends.”

  Alyssa smiled at her joke, but her mother pursed her lips.

  “Are you sure you’re all right, Alyssa?”

  Alyssa looked away. “Yes. Completely.”

  “You’re not…” She sighed.

  “What?” Alyssa’s gaze snaked back to her mother, and a tingle went up her back.

  “Having second thoughts, are you? Because it’s all right if you are.”

  Alyssa blinked. “What? No.”

  “It is. Don’t get married just because you’ve found yourself a handsome, kind man with money.”

  Alyssa laughed so hard her stomach hurt, and her mother joined in with a giggle.

  “You know what I mean,” Laurie said. “You’re of a certain age, now, and I know most of your friends are married.” She paused. “Even Lucy, in a way. That girl is married to her work.”

  “True,” Alyssa agreed. “And thank you for your concern, Mom, but…you’ve wanted me to find a guy for years.”

  Her mother clicked her tongue. “Oh, but it had to be the right guy. And you found him!”

  Over her mother’s shoulder, a familiar figure entered the coffee shop and walked up to the counter. Alyssa sat up straighter, trying to get a look at the man’s face—and the second she did, she shrank back into her seat.

  “Oh, God,” she muttered.

  “What?” Laurie frowned and followed Alyssa’s gaze. “Oh, goodness. Isn’t that what’s-his-name?”

  “Derek Jones,” Alyssa said, hating that she even had to say his name.

  “Your high school boyfriend.”

  As if Alyssa could forget.

  “What are the chances?” Laurie asked. “Let’s invite him over.”

  “No, Mom—”

  But she was already standing and waving her hand. “Derek!”

  He looked over, and Alyssa’s mom pointed at Alyssa. “Come sit with us!”

  A brief look of surprise flashed across Derek’s features. Paying the barista, he took his paper cup of coffee and walked over to them.

  “Hey there,” he said with a half-grin.

  Man, Alyssa hated that smile. When she’d met him freshman year, she’d thought it was the cutest thing in the world. Now, she had a pretty strong suspicion that it was fake.

  “Hi,” Alyssa said through teeth she couldn’t unclench.

  The last time she’d seen Derek, it had been at the ten-year high school reunion she’d asked Ali to be her fake boyfriend for. It had been a sad move at the time—one intended to impress all the people from her past. It wasn’t until Alyssa and Ali had gotten close for real that she realized what the world thought didn’t matter. It was the opinions of the few people closest to her that carried the real weight.

  “Have a seat, Derek,” Alyssa’s mother said, gesturing at the chair at the end of the table.

  “Thanks.” Derek plopped right down. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Cambridge. How are you doing?”

  “I’m good, Derek,” Laurie smiled at him. “And how are you?”

  “Great.” Derek was already looking at Alyssa. “Twice in one year, what are the chances?”

  “Yeah. Cool stuff.” Alyssa sipped her latte.

  “We saw each other at the reunion,” Derek explained to Alyssa’s mother. “I’m not sure if she told you or not.”

  You’re not that important.

  To sum it up in a nutshell: Derek had broken Alyssa’s heart. Not only that, he’d run over it, backed up, and run over it again. It had been high school. Years ago. But, still…

  Yes, it was immature to hold such a grudge. Alyssa wasn’t proud of herself for doing so.

  Maybe, if she’d arrived at that reunion months ago and seen that Derek was single and working a job of no importance, she wouldn’t have given their past a second thought. But it was his job as a journalist—combined with his beautiful wife and baby—that stoked a fire in Alyssa.

  Derek was one of the bad guys. He wasn’t supposed to finish first.

  “You had your fiancé with you.” Derek’s gaze was laser-focused on Alyssa.

  “Yes,” Alyssa slowly said. Ali hadn't been her fiancé then—he’d been her fake boyfriend, and they’d known each other for no more than half an hour. Oh, how much had changed!

  “I saw an article about your engagement,” Derek explained. “My wife likes to read those gossip columns.”

  Alyssa nodded. Friends had forwarded her a few articles about her and Ali before, basically ones just summarizing the true love the “playboy sheikh” had found. Their engagement had been of interest to some people when its news broke, but Alyssa hadn't heard about anything being written about them for a while, and she was glad. That kind of attention felt way too weird. Strangers didn't need to know about her personal life.

  “And how are you getting on in life, Derek?” Alyssa’s mother asked.

  “Great. As wonderful as I can be. I have a beautiful wife. A happy kid. A great job.”

  “Where are you working?” Laurie asked.

  Alyssa looked at her phone. That morning, Ali had texted her a picture of himself at some business lunch in Baqar, and she was eager to see if he’d sent any more. It was cute seeing him pull silly faces for her in his suit.

  “I'm a journalist,” Derek said.

  “Ooh.” Laurie’s eyebrows rose.

  “Yeah, it's awesome. I get to travel all the time. Life is good. Oh, hey, Alyssa.”

  “Mm-hmm?” Alyssa put her phone away. Ten minutes before she needed to walk back to work. Although, she could always say she needed to go right then…

  “I'm glad I ran into you,” Derek said. “I'm working on a story about ties from high school, and I was looking for my senior yearbook, but I must have lost it during my last move. Do you still have yours?”

  Alyssa hesitated, but of course, her mother didn't.

  “You have it,” Laurie told Alyssa. “I packed it up in that box of books I gave you last year.”

  “Great!” Derek tapped Alyssa on the shoulder, much to her annoyance. “Can I borrow it? I can come and pick it up from you, if that'll make it easier.”

  “Uh…” Alyssa hesitated, but it wasn't like she could say no. He knew she had the book. “Sure.”

  “Awesome. How about tomorrow?”

  “Okay. Yeah. I get home around six.”

  “Six is perfect.” Derek swung his head in a kind of over-the-top nod. “Here. Write down your address for me.”

  He pulled a pen and small notepad out of his jacket pocket, and Alyssa dutifully wrote down her address. At least giving him the yearbook the next day meant she'd be done with him sooner. All she’d have to do after tomorrow was pick it back up from him.