Spice of Love - Completed

Chapter 1

Two weeks later

"I think I love him..."

Cat recalled the words she uttered to her sisters the very day after she had lost her virginity to a complete stranger. Her lips twitched up at their corners as she glanced down at the stick she held in her hand in sardonic amusement.

Positive.

She shook her head, her heart beating extra fast from fear mingled with ironic amusement. That had been lust talking when she said she loved him. Blind, crazy lust. The power of which she had been sadly unprepared to encounter. The kind of lust that left behind unexpected gifts.

Cat tossed the stick into the bin. It clattered there, nudging aside others before it before settling down with its screen still facing up and showing the results—Positive.

Cat slammed the lid closed and turned to face the mirror. She had suspected a week ago that she was pregnant and had managed to defer from doing the test all of two days before the urge to find out took over. She had diligently run the tests every day since and even popped by the local clinic to get properly tested. It was confirmed, Catherine Little was pregnant. But would she stay pregnant?

Should she stay pregnant?

The first three months were crucial in that the babe may or may not survive. Miscarriages at this point were not uncommon. Neither were abortions. And with her not knowing the identity of the father, the decision for the latter rested with her alone. Being underaged, it also rested with her parents. But Cat was unwilling to discuss this with them just yet... if ever.

She critically surveyed her figure. Her small waist and flat stomach were still the same. Sighing, she turned away from the sight.

It was mid-January, and the new year was already well underway. The sun reigned high in the sky, extending its dominion on Melbourne by several hours. The day had grown almost endlessly long for some, but most welcomed the additional hours to frolic in the sun. Not so with Cat, who lamented the extended hours with a dour disposition that had nothing to do with the sun and everything to do with the letter she now held in her hand. Her admission to med school required only one signature, and that was not her own. Cat sighed, looking at it, then she firmed her jawline. Folding the paper, she packed it into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. A moment later, she slammed out of her door.

Cat moved along the landing, past Lucy's room, and her lips lifted in a half-amused quirk at the sounds that emanated from her room. Jace had slept over again. It was funny how everyone went out of their way tiptoeing about feigning ignorance. Especially when they all loved Jace and were happy for Lucy.

"I'm off!" Cat called out as she reached the front door. Not hearing a response, she shrugged her shoulders and swept on out of the Littles' two-storey home standing precariously on a little hill. Merryville Drive dipped in a sharp slope that took Cat down to the intersection; she turned left there and threaded on. The twenty-minute walk to the bus stop was a necessary evil, but Cat was eager to get a start with her day, so she merely lengthened her strides impatiently. The sun glared down at her, but Cat merely tossed her blond head to the side and fumbled with her bag to dig her sunnies out.

"Catherine."

The softly accented turn to her name should have been enough to still her heartbeat, but it was the husky timbre to his tone that had shock rippling down her spine. She spun around in shock. Her nerves on edge. Could it be? It couldn't be!

Cat gasped, her mouth falling open at the sight of the tall Adonis before her. Gone was his scruffy appearance of that night, gone was his sensual appeal of a man in the heat of passion. Instead, the tall, dark-haired, green-eyed stranger that stood before her looked cold but for the heated intensity of his gaze