Tainted Love

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Excerpt

The woman’s heart raced. Her mouth went dry. She took a deep breath and paced the park. Nerves always got the best of her at this point in the game.

But it wasn’t a game. Not really.

Well, maybe.

She rubbed her rounded belly. It felt awful, like every other time. Itchy. Heavy. Awkward. Somewhat stiff. Not like the real thing would be.

The fake pregnant belly was the closest she would ever come to actually having a child grow inside her. But she would be the only one to know that.

She continued rubbing as she walked the perimeter of the playground. Looking. Waiting.

Still no security cameras—that was why she’d chosen this one. And because a lot of young moms frequented it. She’d done her due diligence. Trees blocked the view of the street. Nothing to get in the way. Moms with baby strollers came as early as the sun lit the sky to get out of the house, away from their husbands. Not that she blamed them.

The woman adjusted her floppy hat on the brown wig. The fake hair was even itchier than the belly. She hated the whole getup, but it was part of the process.

How else would she get—and be able to keep—her next baby? Nature wouldn’t help her out. The most advanced medical technology hadn’t done squat.

And best of all, this way she didn’t need a man to get what she wanted. Dealing with her exes had been the worst part of the ordeal, other than the heartbreak of not being able to pass on her DNA. She couldn’t push a kid out between her legs and she couldn’t adopt because of… Well, she didn’t want to think about that.

None of that mattered anymore. The only thing that did was getting a baby, and this was her day. She could feel it. Something good was in the air.

Her heart sped up again at the thought.

If anyone would get to the park. She glanced around, not seeing a single soul.

Where were the new moms? The other mornings, they straggled in one at a time before things got busy after breakfast.

At this rate, there wouldn’t be any stragglers. She’d have to wait for nap time when things thinned out.

She took a deep breath. It would be fine. One way or another, she’d return home with a baby to put in the empty crib. A baby to dress in the clothes already hanging in the closet.

It was all a matter of patience. She’d done this before and she’d do it again.

A crow flew down near her, cawing loudly.

She jumped and walked over near the trees. The sun was already getting warm. Between that and the fake belly and wig, she would overheat before too long.

Crunch, crunch!

A car in the parking lot.

Squeal! Crunch!

Brakes.

Her heart nearly jumped into her throat.

This was it! The first opportunity of the day. She pulled a mirror from her purse and practiced her sweetest smile. It was perfect. She looked innocent and trustworthy.

The chestnut wig even made her resemble an actress who was famous for being kind-hearted and generous. It gave others a sense of familiarity, made them feel like they already knew her. Like they could trust her.

A wicked smile slowly spread across her mouth, but she quickly covered it up.

Footsteps sounded.

Her pulse drummed in her ears, making it hard to hear anything else for a moment. She pressed a palm against a tree and pretended to stretch. So freaking awkward with the belly and the hair getting in the way.

No matter. It would all soon pay off.

Assuming the person walking her way had a baby.

Squeals and the patter of feet sounded.

The woman turned around. Relief washed through her.

A baby stroller and a mom with dark circles under her eyes. Two little kids ran ahead of her, heading straight for the toddler playground. She called to them to be careful.

A tired, distracted mom. Could this get any better?

The woman glanced back at the trees to the path she’d take to her car. She hadn’t parked in the lot, so nobody would be able to describe her vehicle to the cops, but she was close enough that no one on the road would notice her racing away from the park.

She continued pretending to stretch before jogging delicately over to the bench where the mom sat, yawning.

“Long night?” She gave her rehearsed sweet smile.

The mom nodded and rubbed her eyes. “I always forget how much newborns wake up at night. Your first?” She glanced at the fake pregnant belly.

“Yeah. We’re so excited.”

“Congratulations.”

She sat and held out her hand. “Thanks. I’m Jessica.”

“Lauren.”

They shook hands and made small talk while she peeked at the sleeping baby. Couldn’t be more than a month old.

“How old?”

“He’s nineteen days. No, twenty. Is it Wednesday?”

Jessica gave the mom her most sympathetic smile. “Thursday.”

Lauren’s eyes widened. “Really? The days really do run together. I better order groceries before the weekend.”

“It’ll be here before you know it.”

Crying sounded near the slide. Lauren jumped up, keeping a hand on the stroller, and looked in that direction. “Are you okay, Brooklynn?”

The toddler wailed. “I bleeding!”

Lauren leaped over to the slide and knelt over the fussing girl.

Jessica looked back and forth between the baby and Lauren, who was now dealing with two crying tots.

It didn’t get any better than this.

Jessica leaned over toward the infant while watching Lauren from the corner of her eye.

Still distracted.

Hands shaking, Jessica undid the buckles. They were the same as those on the car seat in her backseat. She scooped the baby into her arms. Shot a glance at Lauren, who still had her back to them.

“Stay quiet, Sammy,” she whispered to the baby.

Then she ran.