Now that was a thought.


    Connor, unable to help himself, asked another question. "Have you told Hawthorne he''s going to be a father?"


    Gwh''s silence was answer enough. She had no intention of telling him.


    "Are you really nning to be a single mother?"


    Was she going to be like that legendary female racer? He''d heard she divorced her husband, whoter ended up in a vegetative state. The goddess herself never remarried, raising her ex-husband''s three children alone. In all these years, she was never seen with any malepanions. It was a different era, and Connor was astonished that a woman would remain so faithful to an ex-husband. It was clear that Gwh would make a good woman, a good wife.


    "We''ll see," she said vaguely.


    Right now, she was still trapped in a half-dead marriage with Hawthorne, with no salvation in sight. Who knew what the future held?


    "That''s perfect! Just have the baby in secret, and when the timees-say, when he''s about to marry some other woman-you can just crash the wedding with the kid in your arms. Tsk, tsk..."


    Connor grew more excited as he spoke, leaving Gwh dumbfounded.


    Had he been trying to trick her into marrying him, just so he could unt Hawthorne''s wife and child in his face? A sudden chill ran down her spine. The saying that men never really grow up was true; theirpetitive streak was relentless. This was not a creature you could win over with emotion. Gwh stood up and left the café, with Connor offering to drive her home.


    Liam and the others had been waiting for Connor to join them for dinner. He had texted them saying he''d run into someone and would just be a minute. They waited until they were about to give up, only to see Connor''s car drive by with Gwh in the passenger seat.


    "What''s Connor doing with Hawthorne''s wife? Did he dump Leonie?"


    "Forget it. Connor has his own ns. Let''s not get involved."


    Seeing Connor drive off with Gwh in the opposite direction, they resigned themselves to finding their own entertainment for the evening.


    Connor dropped Gwh off safely at Hawthorne''s vi. As she was about to get out, he called to her.


    "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."


    Gwh offered a faint smile and turned to go inside.


    From the second-floor balcony, Hawthorne watched the woman below and the man who had brought her home. His dark eyes were heavy, simmering with a venomous glint. He crushed the cigarette in his hand and headed downstairs.


    When Gwh entered the living room, she found Hawthorne sitting on the sofa. Unwilling to engage with him, she started for the stairs.


    "Where have you been?" Hawthorne''s voice stopped her. Gwh frowned. "Does it matter?"


    He pulled her into his arms. "Mrs. Everhart, I am, at the very least, still your husband. Am I not even allowed to ask?"


    Hawthorne had to admit that seeing Connor drop her off had left a sour taste in his mouth. His woman, sitting in another man''s car,ughing and talking. In all the time they''d been fighting, Gwh hadn''t given him a single pleasant look.


    "Husband? Whose husband? Where''s Patti? Is she pregnant and too busy to entertain you, so you decided toe home?"


    Gwh''s tone wasced with sarcasm. The part of her that used to wonder when he''d be home had died after he''d stayed away for two full days and nights. His affairs were no longer her concern.


    "I waited for you all day."


    He had brought her a gift. He just needed to get through this difficult period, and


    then he would do whatever it took to win her forgiveness.


    "And? Hawthorne, if you have something to say, just say it."


    She was tired and wanted to go upstairs to rest. She had eaten not long ago, but she was already feeling hungry again. She should have gotten some food to go from the cafe. The little ones in her belly seemed to need constant fuel. Her days had been reduced to two primary activities: eating and sleeping. Fortunately, she hadn''t experienced any morning sickness, or Hawthorne would have surely found out by now.


    "Butler Parham found a piece of paper under the bed while he was cleaning the room today."


    Gwh froze. A piece of paper


    from under the bed? She


    remembered it then-the pregnancy


    test results from herst check-up. It


    must have fallen under there. The bed in their master bedroom was massive and heavy carved from solid mahogany, and she couldn''t move it an inch on her own.


    So, he knew she was pregnant. Was that why he''d waited for her all day?


    "What do you want?" Gwh took a deep breath. Surely he wouldn''t demand she get rid of her child for the sake of Patti''s.


    Hawthorne, seeing her look of grim resolve, couldn''t guess what was on the paper He had initially told Butler Parham to throw it away, but then wondered if it might be something important of Gwh''s By the time he went to look for it, the trash had? already been collected by the sanitation workers. Finding it now would be like searching for a needle in a haystack-next to impossible.