“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m at my apartment right now.”
“Sienna there?”
“She’s in the shower.”
There was silence on the other end of the line and it dawned on me that Grayson might have gotten the wrong idea.
“Alone,” I added. “She was here when I arrived.”
“I would ask you why she has a key to your apartment, but I’d rather not know. As long as you’re not having second thoughts…” His words drifted and he allowed the incomplete sentence to hang in the air.
“Hell no!” I replied harshly, earning a chuckle on the other end. “It will take me some time to wrap shit up here, but there’s no looking back now.”
“Glad to hear it,” Grayson said. I could practically hear his shit-eating grin on the other side. “Looking forward to having you back home, man. We can finally start working out the plans for the ranch.”
“As soon as I have all my shit together here, I’ll be on the first flight out. I just have a few things to take care of, you know.”
“You know where to find me if you need help, bro. Just call.”
“Yeah, man. Thanks.” Just then Sienna’s phone started ringing and I grabbed it from the bedside table, frowning when I didn’t recognize the number. “Listen, I have to go, but we’ll catch up again tomorrow,” I told Grayson. He said goodbye and I immediately answered Sienna’s phone.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice came through. “Good evening, I’m looking for Sienna Johnson.”
“She’s not available right now, but I’d be happy to take a message.”
The woman’s voice became muffled and she said something to someone else in the background. I waited for a second before she spoke to me again. “I’m calling from the River North Fertility Clinic. I was hoping to confirm Miss. Johnson’s appointment for tomorrow at ten a.m.”
Fertility clinic? What?
“I’m sorry,” I replied, “but you must be mistaken. Are you sure you’ve called the right Sienna Johnson?”
Something felt off and alarm bells starting going off in my head. Finding out that Sienna was supposedly pregnant had been a shock, and one of the reasons I’d wasted little time coming back to Chicago.
The woman hesitated, and I imagined she was checking the information they had on file. She then read Sienna’s address through the phone and assured me she did in fact have the right person.
“Can you tell me what treatment she’s coming in for?”
“I’m sorry sir, but I’m not allowed to disclose patient information unless it’s a spouse.”
“I’m her husband,” I lied quickly, growing more and more unsettled with the conversation.
“That’s strange, Miss. Johnson failed to mention a husband.”
“We’re newlyweds, she hasn’t a chance to change any of her information yet.” The lie fell from my lips easier than I felt comfortable with.
“It appears Miss Johnson has only made an initial consultation, after which we can determine her course of treatment,” the woman said.
“So she’s not pregnant?” I asked dubiously. I probably sounded like an idiot, judging by the woman’s growing exasperation on the other end.
“No,” she replied, “I’m guessing that’s why she contacted us. Our patients are generally those who struggle to conceive.”
I swallowed, and pinched the bridge of my nose. It was all starting to make sense to me now.
“Okay, thank you. I will be sure to relay the message.”
I ended the call and sat down the bed. I heard the shower turn off – finally – and waited for Sienna to come out of the bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later, a towel that left much to be desired wrapped around her body and her head. She knew she was a gorgeous woman, and never hesitated to use it to her advantage. Unfortunately, I had been one of the stupid fools to fall victim to that.
“You’re home early,” she said in greeting. “I thought you would be a few more days.” She dropped her towel and sauntered towards my closet in all her nude glory. Her lack of modesty came of no surprise, and yet it did nothing for me.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I replied, just as she reappeared wearing one of my shirts.
“I’m not disappointed.” She made a move to climb onto my lap but I gently pushed her away. She scowled, and just like that the alluring seductress she wanted to be was gone.
“We need to talk.”
Sienna huffed, and crossed her arms over her chest. “About what?”
“Your phone rang while you were in the shower,” I said, rubbing my jean-clad thighs. “I answered it.”
“Who was it?”
“River North Fertility Clinic.”
Sienna’s face dropped momentarily, and then the cold, calculating mask slipped carefully back into place.
“Why on Earth would they be calling me?”
I watched her carefully, my eyes scrutinizing her face first and then dropping down to her flat stomach. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t thrilled to hear that she was pregnant, or that she chose Huntley and Grayson’s rehearsal dinner to share the news. It was like her to do that kind of thing, make herself the center of attention when someone else was in the spotlight. Hearing that she’d lied had only shown me what kind of heartless, conniving person was hiding behind her perfect exterior. All I could say was she had some major issues and I was done dealing with them.
“They wanted to confirm your appointment for tomorrow morning,” I said.
“I didn’t make an appointment - “
“Stop lying,” I snapped. I stood up and walked closer to her. “Just stop lying, and for once tell the truth! You’re not pregnant, are you?”
“Brody, I can explain - “
“No, I’m done listening to your bullshit, Sienna. You lied to me, and you did it in front of my friends and family. I.Am.Done. Do you hear me? No more! Tell me why you did it?”
“I…” her mouth opened and closed before she grew completely silent. We both knew that I’d caught her, and that it was the final straw.
“I can’t believe you’d go so far,” I said, “but the really sad part is that you thought I’d ever want to have a family with you. Did you think I was so gullible to believe you?”
Sienna’s eyes grew hard, and her spine straightened. She wasn’t giving up that easily. It wasn’t in her nature, not even when she knew she’d already lost.
“I knew what would happen when you saw your ex. You’d go right back to her and I wasn’t willing to give you up without a fight.”
“I’m not yours to fight for,” I argued. “We aren’t a couple!”
Sienna reared back as if I’d slapped her, and it crossed my mind that she was a brilliant actress. We’d agreed from the beginning that this was nothing more than a relationship of convenience, nothing more than two people satisfying physical needs and temporarily filling a void that would have otherwise stayed empty. Somewhere along the way though, something changed, and I’d obviously been too busy to notice. Or maybe I simply chose not to notice.