Chapter 2

I started to head back to my room, but my mom called after me.

"Maya, grab that bottle of wine for Mrs. Harrison. Take it down to the car so Mr. Harrison can try it too."

By the time I found the wine gift box, my mom and Mrs. Harrison were already at the elevator.

Ethan let out a sigh and walked over.

He knelt down, gently taking my ankle in his hands. Rested my foot on his knee.

His hands were warm. The touch sent an unwanted shiver up my leg.

"When did you get the cast off?"

"Is it healing okay?"

He examined my ankle with this serious, concerned look.

The wrong ankle. He was holding the foot that was never injured.

I could tell he was trying to make things right between us, patch things up.

But what was there left to patch up at this point?

He was about to be a father.

The front door was wide open.

My mom and Mrs. Harrison were right outside chatting.

One glance back and they'd see us.

I jerked my foot away, panic rising as I turned to put on my shoes.

"Don't worry about it."

He gripped both my shoulders, forcing me to turn and face him.

"I had back-to-back flights that week. The next day I flew to Brussels—"

I shoved his hands off.

"Don't. If someone saw us, they might get the wrong idea about our relationship."

He lowered his voice.

"Maya, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I finished putting on my shoes quickly.

"We already broke up. No point letting people get the wrong idea."

"Especially now that you've got a new role to play."

Irritation crept into his voice. "What role?"

I watched him play dumb, the words on the tip of my tongue. I swallowed them back.

The whole thing was pathetic, really.

Ethan didn't have a single photo of us together on his phone.

Not a trace of me anywhere on his social media.

When we traveled together, he never let me post anything.

Before, he always said our families were too close, that we'd go public when the timing was right.

It wasn't until we broke up and I heard what he really thought that I understood—he'd always been too embarrassed to be seen with me.

Ethan frowned, forcing patience into his voice.

"Maya, I just got back from an international flight yesterday. First thing this morning I went to buy you calcium supplements."

"You're at a stage where you're prone to calcium deficiency—"

His phone cut him off mid-sentence.

He pulled it out. Michelle's name flashed across the screen.

My voice came out flat, emotionless.

"Better answer that. Don't keep her waiting."

He stared at me, then deliberately hit speaker phone.

A woman's laugh came through first.

"Ethan!"

"Why'd you leave in such a rush yesterday?"

"Your co-pilot got my number and texted me all night."

"He asked me to go to this bar tonight. You should come with me!"

Ethan didn't respond. Just watched me with an amused look, waiting.

"Why are you looking at me? What does this have to do with me?"

A soft laugh escaped his lips.

"You're the one who said it had nothing to do with you. Don't regret it later."