Page 20 of Together

Right. That would be easier than him having to search through my purse for my phone for sure. He probably also wants to make sure that I follow through with the whole letting him know if I’m pregnant thing. It’s not like we know each other all that well to know if the other is trustworthy yet. And look at me, possibly having a baby with the man.

I rattle off my number and he plugs it into his phone. From inside my purse, I hear it ping with my text sound and he grins. “Got it. Do you, uh, need anything, though? I feel really weird just sending you away by yourself.”

“Don’t feel bad. Besides, you’re hardly sending me away. If anything, I’m sending you away. It’s just that I know I’ll need time to process whatever the results are and let’s be honest, we really don’t know each other well. I’ll feel more comfortable doing it alone.”

“Promise me that if you get home and you realize it’s too much that you’ll give me a call. I sent you a text so my number is in your phone now.”

It’s really sweet that he’s being so caring. Not that I expected anything different from him. The time we spent together, drunk or not, he was considerate and thoughtful. But if he is going to maintain this level of kindness, I’m going to have to build some serious barriers to guard my heart against him.

“I promise.”

Nik watches me for a few beats then pulls me in for a hug. It’s not sexual or even intimate, however, it is almost too much for me to bear. My emotions are all over the place and this hug feels really… nice. Too nice. It’s what got us into this whole mess in the first place.

I step out of his warm embrace and give him a small smile, hoping it doesn’t tremble or come across like I’m about to burst into tears.

“You okay?” he asks and I nod, not fully trusting my voice not to betray me.

My stomach is in knots and has been since my missed period. I’ve always been very regular so even a day or two off is strange for me. Ten days? That’s unheard of. Deep in my soul, I know I’m pregnant with his child but until I have confirmation of that, I don’t want to continue to shake up both our lives.

I definitely,definitely,do not want to be in the middle of a love triangle between him, Mrs. Maxi Pads, and myself. That’s something I won’t do.

“I’ll talk to you in a bit, then, yeah?”

I raise my eyebrows at him and he shrugs a single shoulder. “In a bit, huh?”

“Not sure about you, but I’m pretty eager to find out the results and I’ve only known about this possibility for a few minutes. Can’t imagine how it’s been for you, knowing this for days now.”

“It hasn’t been a picnic,” I admit.

“Bet not.”

“Okay, well, I guess it was lucky I bumped into you tonight, huh?”

“Lucky or some higher power making sure we were in the same place at the same time,” he suggests.

Hmm. If God had a hand in orchestrating the two of us to wind up in the tampon and pregnancy test aisle at the same time, I do believe He has quite the sense of humor.

Chapter Six

Nikolas

“She might be pregnant.”

“Come again?” my sister asks, digging through the bags of groceries that I brought over tonight. She begged me to stay at her place through the holidays and I finally caved. Her husband, Dean, is now one of my best friends so spending time with them isn’t exactly a hardship. Plus, she’s about a million months pregnant and super crabby — not that I’deversay that to her face — and I didn’t want to set her off.

She finds the box of glazed doughnuts I snatched up on a whim and her eyes light up. Setting it down in front of her at the table, she opens the box and leans over, inhaling the sticky sweet scent of deep fried goodness.

“You gonna just dive in or eat one like a civilized human?”

She glares at me and lifts one out of the box. “Not that I care what you think of me, but I figured I’d better at least take it out of the box.”

I shake my head, laughing, and continue putting some groceries away. Dean would do it but he got called back into work tonight because of the snowstorm. He works for the city and in the winter, he helps make sure the roads are clear of snow and spreads salt. He’s a fucking gem of a man. And not just because he puts up with my sister’s shit, but because he practically raised his siblings when his dad ran off and his mom had to work three jobs to support the family. As the oldest, he stepped up to the plate and finished high school a full year early. Rather than even considering college, he went straight to work.

He’s what I strive to be as a man in general. Loyal, hard-working, caring, humble as a person can be, generous, and fiercely protective of his family. Dean would do anything to ensure his family was not only safe, but also happy, healthy and thriving and now that he and Josie are expecting one of their own, that protectiveness has only quadrupled. There was a point right after they found out she was pregnant after having two miscarriages where it felt like it could become unhealthy, but he reined it in after they hit twenty weeks.

Now, he’s working himself to the bone to make as much money as possible, go to every doctors’ appointment Josie has, building the baby a crib by himself, and remodeling certain rooms in the house. I don’t know how he’s not exhausted, but every time I talk to him or see him, he’s smiling and thrilled as can be that he has the privilege to do what he can to make his family’s life great.

Not to mention, he loves my sister fiercely. He’s a mountain of a man and she’s an itty bitty thing. They look like an odd pairing at first glance, but that’s where it ends. One look at the couple together and it’s impossible to miss the love they share.

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