The Party (7 page)

Glancing down at her phone, Emma grimaced.
Stupid Atlanta traffic. It didn’t matter if she left thirty minutes
or an hour before she needed to be somewhere, it never failed that
she would be late because of gridlock. Her heels clicked along the
pavement as she hurried down the sidewalk to It’s a Grind
Coffee-Shop. Her face broke into a wide grin at the sight of Connor
waving from a table by the window.

As she pushed through the door, the familiar
bell tinkled over her head. She powerwalked over to Connor. “I’m
so, so sorry! I left in plenty of time, I swear.”

He smiled. “It’s okay. I went ahead and
ordered for you.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet.” She leaned in and gave
his cheek a kiss. Easing down in her seat, she shrugged out of her
coat. When she caught Connor’s gaze, she cocked her eyebrows as
concern flooded her. “Are you okay?”

Connor sighed. “Jeff and I have been
fighting.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear that.” Emma
reached out and squeezed his hand. “You’re not breaking up, are
you? I mean, you two seemed so perfect and happy.”

Tears shimmered in Connor’s dark eyes. “Not
if I agree to his ultimatum.”

Emma’s brows furrowed. “Please don’t tell me
he wants you guys to move again. I couldn’t bear the thoughts of
you living in Savannah. It’s too far away.”

“It’s not about moving.”

“Then what is it?”

A strangled cry erupted from Connor’s lips
before he turned away from her. “Please tell me what it is,” she
begged.

Connor finally brought his haunted gaze to
hers. “He says he’ll leave me if I go through with fathering your
child.”

Emma jerked her hand from his and covered her
mouth in horror. “But why would he demand something like that of
you?”

Connor shrugged and ran his hand maniacally
through his hair. “He’s always been a little jealous of my feelings
for you. He thinks if I have a kid with you, that’s just going to
make our bond even stronger.”

Biting down on her lip, Emma didn’t dare
argue the truth in Jeff’s assumptions. Having her child be part of
Connor would always bind them together. “But he knows you’re going
to sign a contract saying you won’t have any financial or emotional
obligations.”

He shook his head. “He’s not stupid, Emmie
Lou. He knows the minute my child is growing inside of you, I’ll be
emotionally invested.” He gave her a sad smile. “And how could I
not? I love kids, and I love you.”

“But it doesn’t have to be something that
tears you guys apart. What if I talked to him? What if I—”

“It’s not going to change anything.”

A jagged, agonizing pain tore through her
chest, and she had to fight to breathe. “You aren’t going to be my
sperm donor anymore, are you?” she questioned in a whisper.

“I’m sorry, Em, but I can’t,” he replied with
tears once again in his eyes.

Her emotional torment quickly turned over to
anger. “Yes, you can! You’re just being selfish and won’t!” she
snapped.

Connor jolted back like she had slapped him.
“Em, please. I’ve been with Jeff for three years. I love him. I’m
committed to him, and he is to me.”

“And I’ve loved you and been by your side for
eighteen years. If Jeff really loved you, he wouldn’t make you
choose between us or deny you the opportunity to be a father.”

“He’s not ready to be a dad yet. I have to
respect his wishes.”

Emma threw up her hands. “Fine, then he
doesn’t have to be a father and neither do you. All I need is your
DNA from a clinic!”

“I can’t.”

Tears stung Emma’s eyes. “You’re really going
to keep me from becoming a mother?”

With a scowl, he replied, “I’m not the only
option. There are thousands of donors out there you can pick from.
You don’t have to have me.”

“I told you before that I didn’t want to have
a baby with just anyone. They could mix up the samples, and I could
end up having some serial killer’s kid. More than anything in the
world, I wanted to know and love the person—just like a do
you.”

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to find someone
else.”

Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. “How
can you do this to me? You
promised
that you would help
me—that Travis was telling you to do it—and now you’re just going
to turn your back on me?”

“It’s not that easy, Em.”

“It seems pretty cut and dried to me. I guess
that’s what hurts the most. I don’t know why you won’t fight for
me—to make an ultimatum with Jeff.”

Connor’s dark eyes narrowed at her. “Don’t
you get it? I
have
fought for you! I’ve argued with Jeff
until I’m blue in the face, but this is where we’re at now. I can
either chose you and lose the man I love, or I can chose not to be
your sperm donor.”

Emma shook her head. “You forgot one part of
that last statement. If you choose not to be my sperm donor, then
you lose me too.”

When she started to rise out of her chair,
Connor grabbed her arm. “Emma, don’t do this!”

“I’m sorry. But that’s just the way I
feel.”

“But you know how much I love you,” Connor
protested.

“Maybe. I mean, I thought you loved me, but I
guess just not enough.” She then slung out of his grip and stalked
out of the coffee-shop. Fumbling in her purse, she dug out her
phone as she hustled down the sidewalk to her car. She could barely
hold down the sobs as she dialed the familiar number. “Hey Case,
it’s me. You got a minute?”

Visit Katie Ashley’s website,
www.katieashleybooks.com, to stay up to date on her upcoming events
and new releases.

***

Katie Ashley is the New York Times
Best-Selling author of The Proposition. She lives outside of
Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs and one outnumbered
cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls,
Shakespeare, Supernatural, Veronica Mars, Designing Women, and
Scooby-Doo.

She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of
America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full
time in December 2012.

She also writes Young Adult fiction under the
name Krista Ashe.

***