Page 160 of Kai
“Wait.” I caught her wrist and held on to it. “You’re not…Oh. My. God. Can it be?” I looked at Missy before I returned my shocked stare to Thena and gasped. “Are you… pregnant?”
Thena’s eyes filled up. She pressed her lips together and nodded.
“You and Dash are pregnant!” I seized my sisters again and clutched them to my breast. “I’m going to be an aunt!” I looked at Missy. “We’re going to be aunts!”
Missy laughed. “We are.”
“When?” I demanded.
“Five months, give or take,” Thena said, laughing at my reaction.
“I’m so happy for you!” I swallowed an emotional sob. “You always told us that what you really wanted in life was a family with Dash.”
“Yes.” A rueful smile curved her lips. “I almost missed out.”
“But you didn’t,” I reminded her. “And now we’ve got a baby on board. This is wonderful news.” I settled my hand over my joy-filled heart. “But I’m surprised your ultra-honorable baby’s daddy hasn’t dragged you to the altar yet.”
“Dash and I promised each other that we would wait until the four of us sisters are together again. Affie is not here. So, the wedding is on hold. However, Dash and I also agreed that, given all the time we’ve lost, not to mention the biological clock ticking in our heads, if we got pregnant, we’d be happy.”
“This is so great. Things are finally looking up in Astor Land.” I tossed Missy a suspicious look. “Are you pregnant, too?”
“Not yet, but—”
“But?”
“Soon.” Missy’s brown eyes shimmered with anticipation. “Javier and I don’t want to wait too long. I want Thena’s kid to grow up with mine.”
Why did that simple statement strike me so hard?
Because Kai deserved an opportunity to live his dream of being a dad. And maybe, since I had blue eyes, the blue-eyed baby he dreamed about could one day beourchild. The realization made me gasp. Perhaps if I bent a little, one day, our son or daughter could join my sisters’ kids—
A stern knock rattled the door exactly three times.
“Micah.” Missy got up and tossed me my robe on the way to the door. “I told him to come at his earliest convenience. He’s as literal as they come.”
I stuffed my arms into my robe and had it tied by the time Missy opened the door.
She waved him inside. “Come in.”
The man took a few steps into the room, braced on legs thick as trunks, and inclined his chin. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, would you like to sit down?” Thena suggested with her usual poise.
“I’m fine standing, but thank you, ma’am.” The man displayed impeccable manners. He cocked an eyebrow as he watched Missy settling down on the bed next to me, then roamed his cunning gaze over the three of us. “A bed is a highly unusual location for a meeting.”
“Yeah, sorry, it’s me,” I ventured. “You know, not a social butterfly and all of that.”
“I understand, Ms. Astor,” he rumbled in his low voice.
“Please call me Cece.”
“I shall try.” His tone said otherwise. “Was there something you all required of me?”
“We have a question for you.” Missy elbowed my ribs a little too hard. “Cece?”
“Oh. Yes. Well…” I’d been prepared to call his aura, but now I had to think of some questions to ask. “Err…”
“We have heard nothing new today,” Thena jumped in, ready as always. “Do we have a report from Trev?”
