Fresh Temptation

went to the student health center. Found out I was pregnant. I left him the very next day.” She shook her head. “Should’ve left him long before then. But when I found out I was pregnant I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer.”
    “How’d you leave, exactly?”
    She sighed. “It was tricky. I had to act like everything was okay that morning. But instead of meeting him after class in our same spot, I went out the other side of the building. Ran to the police station. That night I was sleeping on my old roommate’s couch and I had a protective order against Marcus.”
    “Did he try to contact you again?”
    “Yeah. Once. Showed up drunk outside the apartment. Got him arrested for violating the order, and for public intoxication.”
    “And you didn’t tell him you were pregnant?”
    “No. Didn’t tell my friends, either. I didn’t want anyone to know it was his baby. I was afraid he might try to get custody if word ever leaked out. So, I waited a good bit after graduation before I told anyone. I made it sound like it was some guy I hooked up with after the break-up. With the timing, my friends probably suspected it was his baby but they never questioned me. Mom never knew about the abuse, so she never questioned it either. Probably figures I had no reason not to tell Marcus.”
    “Aren’t you afraid someone might tell him?”
    “No.” Her head gently shook. Her eyes became wide. “He’s dead.”
    Victor gasped. “What?”
    “Right after we broke up he started drinking a lot more. Dropped out of school. Wasn’t long till he got with this girl named Larissa. They were both alcoholics from what I understand. One night in a drunken rage he shot her then shot himself. Isaac was two months old when I found out. I can search for Marcus’s name and probably still find the story online.”
    “Oh my God.” Victor’s mouth fell open. His eyes wandered around the room as he thought about it. “It’s hard to believe sweet little Isaac came from someone with such a gruesome story.”
    “I know.” Cara’s eyes were teary again, thinking of her son. “The best thing that ever happened to me came from the worst thing that ever happened to me.” She let out a quiet laugh. “I knew he was special the second I learned I was pregnant. I can’t describe it. I know it sounds crazy.” She wiped her tears away with her hand. “My friends all thought I was insane for wanting to be a single mom right out of college. Going on maternity leave when I wasn’t even a year into my first job. But it all worked out, somehow.” She breathed a dramatic sigh. “And I’m so grateful to have him.”
    Victor kissed her cheek, then looked at her, grinning. “I’m very grateful you have him, too.”
    She smirked. “Of course, I say that as I sit in a hotel room eight hundred miles away from him.”
    He laughed. “It’s okay. You need time for yourself once in a while. Doesn’t mean you’re a bad mother. Besides, you left him in good hands.”
    “Yeah.” Cara frowned as she pictured the heartbroken look on her mother’s face that afternoon when she told her she was moving back to Chicago.
    He kissed her cheek again, then let his head rest next to hers on the pillow as his arm rested across her bare stomach. His voice was soft in her ear. “I’m going apartment hunting with you tomorrow.”
    “What?” She rolled over to face him.
    “I’m going with you tomorrow. We need to make sure you find just the right apartment. There absolutely must be a park nearby where Isaac can play with the neighborhood kids his own age. A nice family-friendly community.” His lips pursed, thoughtfully. “You need enough bedrooms for Marcy and Patty to stay comfortably if they visit.”
    “No, I can’t have that many bedrooms in a nice neighborhood. That’s three or four times what I was planning to pay—”
    “Housing is a benefit of your new consulting job, querida .” He flashed a wicked grin. “You’ll be spending half of your time here, training a new employee to do your old job, and the rest of the time you’ll be in New York, with me.”
    “What? No. My boss, Justine, begged management to get me this job. I’m sure she won’t go for that.”
    “Oh, she will.” He nodded. “She’ll have no choice, but it’ll be best for her and everyone else involved.”
    Cara raised herself up on her elbows. “Excuse me? How in the world is that possible?”
    Chuckling, Victor sat up. “The world’s a much