Chapter 86

Sadie glanced at her watch. “Why don’t you get your purse together? I’ll meet you in the car. I’m parked out front.”

Alyssa tried to stifle her disappointment at Luc’s no-show long enough to smile for her friend. “Sure. Thanks.”

As soon as she heard the click of the door behind Sadie, Alyssa felt pesky tears sting her eyes. Damn it, she had a doctor to see, a baby to confer about. If Luc had suddenly embraced the annulment . . . well, maybe it was for the best. At least she tried to tell herself that. The last week without him, she’d come to realize that she would never be completely happy or completely whole without him.

But she also knew that she couldn’t be married to a man she loved this fervently who remained only to be with the child he’d always dreamed of having. Without Luc’s love, sharing a home, a bed, and a last name would be hollow. Eventually, it would tear them apart. If he didn’t truly love her for her, better that she know now—not when the child was