style="font-size:15px;"> He didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed at coming within a hairbreadth of insulting her. “Yeah, I know. I just didn’t...” He waved a hand in her general direction.
She blinked at him. “If you’re implying that I was lying about being pregnant—”
“No, no. I believe you. You just look...”
How had she ever thought she could love this man? It’d been a crappy lie that she had forced herself to buy into because, for some reason she still didn’t understand, her dad liked this man. Maybe it was because Roger and her father were too much alike. And Kate did exactly what her mother had done—shut up and went along with what her father wanted.
Well, no more. Seth had spent months telling her how gorgeous she was, how beautiful she looked—even as she got huge. She was carrying Roger’s daughter and all he could think about was that she’d gotten fat.
He could go to hell.
“Did you have a reason for being here or did you just feel like insulting the mother of your unborn child?”
Roger recoiled.
“And I swear to God, Roger, if you ask if I’m sure it’s your child, I will not be held responsible for my actions.”
“Jeez, Kate—calm down. I didn’t come here to pick a fight.”
When, in the history of womankind, had telling a woman to “calm down” ever worked? Because it sure as hell didn’t now. “Then why are you here?”
He scrubbed at the back of his neck. “Listen, I’ve been thinking—that kid’s not even born yet. You’re not going to need any child support for what, another year or so?”
Good Lord, just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard you had a few big sales,” he went on, completely missing the horrified shock in her voice. “To Bolton, of all people. I would’ve thought he’d come to me if he needed something—we’re friends.”
Liar, Kate thought. She’d been spending nearly every waking moment with Seth for the last several months and not once had Roger made an effort to talk to either of them.
She didn’t say that, though. Instead, she focused on what Roger was really saying. “Yes, I sold some property. I happen to be a real estate agent. What’s it to you?”
“You don’t have to get all upset,” he said, his eyes darting around the office. “I’m just saying, it would probably be best if we delayed the child support payments for a little while. That’s all.”
“Best for who?” Roger tried to smile, but it was more of a grimace. “Roger, what the hell is going on? I’m pregnant and you rolled in here to insult my appearance and try to get out of your financial obligations to a child you helped create?”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to get pregnant.”
“News flash, I didn’t ask to get pregnant. It was an accident, but if you’re going to act like I did this all by myself, I’m going to have to explain some basic biology to you. What do you want?”
The silence was awkward, but she debated whether or not she needed backup. How fast could Seth get here?
“See,” Roger began, and she heard the whine in his voice that made it clear that he hadn’t gotten his way with something, “there were some investments that didn’t pan out and business has been slow and...”
“And you’re suddenly broke?” she supplied.
“Broke is a strong word. But there have been some cash flow difficulties.”
She mentally translated those passive statements. Why hadn’t she ever noticed that when Roger screwed up he never owned his mistakes? “You lost all your money, didn’t you? What’s the matter, my dad cut you off?”
That grimace again. Roger looked like a cornered animal trying to bluff its way out of a dangerous situation. “Look, are you going to help me out or not?”
The nerve of this man. And to think, she might’ve been stuck with him. “You want me to help you out by releasing you from your financial obligations to your own child for an indeterminate amount of time because you made some unwise investment choices and you don’t have me to bail you out—am I getting all of this right?”
Finally, he looked ashamed of himself. As well he should. “I wouldn’t put it quite like that. We could get married, you know.”
She almost gagged. “No,” she said with as much force as she could. “I don’t have to take your crap, Roger. I don’t love you. You never loved me. And if you try to bail on child support, I will sue you back to the Stone Age.”
“Come on, Kate—”
“No,” she repeated again. “You kept the house. You kept the wedding gifts. You went on the honeymoon without me. What do I get? Child support. I had to rely on a family friend to give me a job. You gave me nothing, Roger. You are legally obligated to provide for your child. And I will hold you to it. There’s nothing else I want from you.”
He jerked as if she had slapped him. “When did you get so bitchy?”
Oh, that just did it. “Get out. I’m not your doormat anymore.”
“But—”
“Now,” she repeated, putting as much menace as she could into her voice.
The jerk had the nerve to just stand there and stare, his mouth open in shock.
She was reaching for her phone when the door behind him jingled and suddenly, there was Seth Bolton, stepping around Roger and putting himself in between that jerk and Kate. “Roger,” he said, his voice cool. He looked back at Kate. “Everything okay here?”
“Yes,” Kate said before Roger could attempt to turn on the charm—not that Seth would fall for it. “Roger was just leaving, after renewing his commitment to paying child support.” She left the or else hanging invisibly in the air.
Roger was an idiot, but not such a great idiot that he was going to argue with her in front of an audience. “We can talk later,” he said in a conciliatory tone.
“No,” she said, standing up as straight as her belly would allow. “We can’t.”
“Let me see you out,” Seth said, almost—but not quite—sounding friendly. He crowded Roger toward the door and opened it, waiting.
Roger’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He looked back at Kate and said, “You look great, you know.”
There was a time when Kate would have clung to that halfhearted compliment as proof that Roger did care for her, that she was doing the right thing staying with him. Now?
Too little, too late. She did not return the compliment.
Roger opened his mouth as if he were going to say something else, but Seth cleared his throat. It was the most menacing
