“What’s there to be adults about, Erik? You don’t want to be with me. You don’t want to have this baby, and you for sure don’t love me, so what else is there? We are just two people living in a house together, putting on a show for the world. The end is near, don’t worry, then you can go on with your amazing life with a different girl every night of the week, but until then, keep your dick in your pants and keep the hell away from me.”

He was dumbfounded. How the f**k did she get so mad?

“You are being childish.”

“Childish would be me smacking you upside your head and telling you to f**k off. Instead, I did not hit you, though I more or less told you to f**k off.”

Erik couldn’t believe what had just happened, but then again, this could be a good thing. Maybe this would soften the blow for her in the end.

However, something wasn’t sitting right. What the hell did she mean she didn’t want to talk to him? That was ludicrous given their situation!

“Can we still talk about upcoming events?” he found himself asking.

She let out a groan as if it pained her to say, “What do we need to talk about, Erik?”

“I have the NHL awards next week. We have to leave Monday for Las Vegas.”

“And why would I have to go?”

She didn’t, really, but Koey thought it would be good for Erik’s image. And now Erik just wanted her there. Her anger made him uncomfortable and if they were apart for a week it would make it even harder to make amends. And again, why he wanted to fix them was beyond him.

“Because all the wives go, plus Elli is going to be there.”

“Fine.”

Fine? That was it? That’s all she was going to say? She drove him insane!

“I’m so glad you are excited about this,” he muttered.

“Oh, I am excited,” she said turning to him with a condescending smile, “about the slots, of course.”

Yup, Erik was f**ked.

Chapter 10

It was a beautiful hot summer day, and Piper had been out working in the yard all morning. Even though they were supposed to be flying out that afternoon for the NHL awards, she decided that she needed to get rid of some of the frustration that was building up inside her. With all that had been going on the last weeks she had been neglecting her yard. Slamming the shovel into the ground to break up the dirt was awesome, and it also helped her relieve the tension and the ongoing obsession she was developing to gouge out Erik’s eyeballs.

God, she was so mad at him.

She had been so naïve, so stupid, thinking that maybe he was starting to care, when the evidence to the contrary was right there. He was counting the days until he was out the door. Nothing between them was real except for their child. She was livid with him, and with herself, because a small part of her still thought maybe he would change. Maybe when he saw the baby during the ultrasound or when he held it for the first time, he would realize that this was the life he wanted.

Sometimes he made her feel like she was nothing, like when he made that comment to Phillip about leaving, and when he yelled about wanting his life back. But then sometimes when he would look into her eyes she felt like she was the only person in his world. He confused the living shit out of her and she just wished he would do what he truly felt, and stop hiding behind those walls he’d built to protect himself. God, it was so frustrating because she could see his potential. He could be a great guy, but instead he chose to be this insensitive jerk!

Ahh! How was she going to make it without killing him?

Piper was elbow-deep in dirt, slamming her shovel into the soil when her phone rang. It was Reese, and since Piper hadn’t talked to her in a couple of days, she hurried to get the phone out of her pocket.

“Hello?”

“Hey, what are you up to?” Reese asked.

“I’m working in the yard; what are you doing?” Piper asked, falling back onto her haunches before wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Reese let out a long breath. “Did you forget about me?”

Piper paused as she thought really hard. Did she forget what? “Huh?”

“Are you not coming to the studio today to help me out?”

Shit! Reese was about to get really mad at her and that wasn’t good; with all that had been going on things seemed to be a bit strained between them.

“Shit, Ree. I totally forgot, I’m sorry. What time do you need me?”

“Eleven to three.” She sounded annoyed.

Piper pulled her phone from her ear to check the time, and saw that she had to leave in the next twenty minutes. Ugh, with her plane leaving at five that would give her no time to pack.

“Shit balls, okay, I might be a tad bit late, I’m leaving for the NHL awards at five today and I haven’t packed, so I’m gonna take a quick shower, throw a few things in a bag, and then I’ll be there.”

“Whatever,” Reese said with a snappy little attitude.

“Whoa, I don’t have to come at all, thank you. I’m sorry that I have a lot on my mind.”

Reese let out another annoyed breath and said, “I know you do, and it pisses me off that I’m at the bottom of your priorities. You are the only one who can help me with this. I depend on you.”

“Okay, and I’ll be there; I can learn the dance in an hour before the girls get there, relax.”

“All right, see you soon.”

“Bye,” Piper said as she tried to hop up.

Hopping didn’t work very well at this stage of her pregnancy, so she stood up slowly. She really didn’t know how she was going to help Reese with choreography when she couldn’t even get up off her knees. With a shake of her head, she headed inside to be greeted by Stanley. He barked happily at her as she moved past him, giving him a little love before going to the kitchen to wash her hands. As always, Erik was engrossed in his game and paid no attention to her as she moved around him collecting the things she would need. Going into her room, she packed up a few dresses, some matching heels, and a few casual clothes, too. They would be there for a few days and she was just as excited about this trip as she would at being scheduled for a barium enema.