Page 22 of Royal Baby Maker

- Chapter Ten -

Bishop

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My thumb rolled acrossmy phone's screen. I kept checking it for new messages, wondering why Nell wasn't replying. After she'd driven off yesterday, she hadn't come back, not even to get the paycheck she'd been going on about.

Something had happened—I just didn't know what.

The lime-green numbers on my alarm clock flashed; six in the morning, the time I'd get up and run. Jogging had become a ritual for me. It was addictive, pushing myself so hard that the only thing that existed in the world was the oxygen scraping through my lungs. It gave me relief from the depressing ins and outs of behaving as my family asked.

I'd been doing it for years. I wouldn't do it today.

I have to see her... find out why she's avoiding me.Sure, it had only been sixteen hours since we'd touched, but she wasn't behaving like normal.

Over the past weeks, Nell and I had gotten close. We texted all the time. My message box was full of our banter, the random chats about movies or dinner plans. Her silence was a warning.

Dressing in designer jeans and a loose, white shirt, I tip-toed down into the kitchen. Morning light streamed through the windows. Touching the dimmer switch, I turned on the recessed lighting.

Jaws and Cujo came shuffling over the tiles towards me. “Shh,” I cautioned them. Kneeling, I scratched their ears, giving them all the attention they needed so they'd stay quiet. I didn't want my mother waking up—I needed to speak with Nell alone.

It was seven when the front door opened. I heard the tell-tale “fwish” of the weather stripping. I'd made a pot of coffee, sipping my second cup as I continued to sit on the cool tile with the dogs sprawled in my lap.

They sensed her before she came around the corner. Yipping, their claws skittered on the floor. Nell bent low, beaming at them, not noticing me. “Hey guys,” she whispered. Cujo and Jaws licked her face, but as much as they cheered her up, I could see the dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't slept well—if at all.

“They really adore you,” I said. The sound of my voice made her jump. Fear made her pupils tiny, her whole body going still as she looked at me. I flashed a comforting smile—all she did was stare at the floor.

Avoiding my eyes, Nell stood, hurrying to gather the dogs' leashes. “I didn't see you there,” she said to the wall.

Bracing my hand on one knee, I pushed myself to my feet. “What happened yesterday? Why are you ignoring my texts?”

“I have to get going. The heat has been bad. Gotta walk them before the sun...”

“Nell!”

My tone was as worn out as my bones felt. She kept facing the wall, the leashes balled up in her hands. I was only a few inches away but I had the terrible premonition that, if I reached for her, I'd discover we were worlds apart. That she was lost to me.

“Please,” I said, “Just tell me what I did wrong.”

Her hair was strewn over her face, hiding her expression under the brunette waves. I didn't need to see, though—her body language was enough. Her voice was so quiet I strained to listen. “I'm the one who made a mistake.”

Fascinated, I watched as she hugged herself. Was I imagining it, or was she holding her belly intentionally? Rapidly, my intuition began to fire. Her behavior made total sense if... if she was... “Nell, are youpregnant?”

Her eyes finally came up to meet mine. Tears pooled then spilled over, her whites bloodshot. “Yes.”

The air went out of me in a big wave. I was lightheaded before I remembered to breathe again; big gulps that turned into laughter. “How can you be crying? This is wonderful news.”

Nell's despair melted into shock. “Wonderful?”

“Yes, wonderful.” Embracing her, I swelled with relief... with joy and fear and excitement. She soothed me just by being in my arms. “It's amazing, you're going to carry our child. It's really happening. Everything is actually going well for once in my life.”

My palm caressed her stomach. She locked up, darting her attention to the floor. “Not as well as you think.” Carefully, she pulled away from me. In the cool-blue and growing orange daylight, she looked so fragile. “Bishop... I heard your mother talking to Iris.”

“What? When?” I knew the second I asked. “You mean yesterday.”

“They were in the foyer as I came down the stairs. Your mom was promising Iris that she'd make sure you two ended up together.”

“That's ridiculous,” I growled. “Mom knows I want to be with you.”

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