Page 85 of Big Daddy Christmas
Which was exactly what she’d been telling herself for the past two weeks, and still no period.
Better to just find out, once and for all. Once she knew for sure, she could figure out how to tell Ice he was going to be a dad. Or not, if it turned out it was all in her head. Of course, that would be an entirely different can of worms because then she’d have to confess she’d been sick for two whole weeks without telling him.
She was really not looking forward to that conversation.
Pulling one of the tests free, she ripped open the plastic packaging and popped the pink cover off the stick. After several scares when she’d been young and dumb, she was no stranger to the process, but she still read the directions carefully before settling on the toilet to do what needed to be done.
Three minutes. She just needed to wait three minutes, and then she’d know for sure.
Except… it didn’t take three minutes. More like thirty seconds for those two pink lines to show up on the little screen, clear as day. There had been a few times, back in high school, where she’d thought she’d seen another line, albeit very faint, and she’d ended up taking multiple tests just to be sure.
Now, however, there was no question. That second pink line was just as bright as the first, and for several long moments all she could do was stare down at the test.
Holy crap. She was having a fucking baby.
Her knees gave out on her, and she plopped down on the floor, hard enough to send pain radiating up her spine but she didn’t care. She was having a baby. And not just any baby. Ice’s baby. The love of her fucking life, the man who had always been there for her, protecting her, loving her, even when they’d been ‘just friends’. Even when she’d been completely oblivious to her feelings, he’d never faltered.
And now she was having his baby. Their baby.
Tears blurred her vision as she pressed a trembling hand to her stomach. Somewhere in there, a tiny little bean was growing arms and legs and eyes and lungs. Or maybe all of that came later, she didn’t actually know.
Oh, fuck. On the heels of joy came panic, clawing at her chest as she struggled to drag enough air into her lungs.
She didn’t know a goddamn thing about pregnancy or babies or motherhood. When all her friends from high school had been getting married and starting families, she’d been on the road, making a name for herself and her band. And she’d be the first of her friend group here in Charleston to have a baby. Hell, she was an only child so she didn’t even have the benefit of having cared for younger siblings to give her a fucking clue.
Her mom. She should call her mom, ask her what to do.
No. Closing her eyes, Silver let her head fall back against the wall, her hand pressed even more firmly against her stomach. She had to tell Ice first. That was only right.
But what if he didn’t want their child? The tears that slipped down her cheeks at the thought were born of grief rather than happiness. Already, she was head over heels in love with the little bean growing inside her, and the thought of Ice not sharing her joy was more pain than she could bear.
Eyes still closed, she forced herself to drag in a deep breath as she ran through a mental checklist.
She could tell Ice now, and deal with whatever fallout there may be. If things went badly, she’d have her closest friends by her side all day.
Nope. Scratch that. Today was about Lottie, not her. Which meant having a breakdown in the middle of getting ready to walk down the aisle was not an option.
Which also meant telling Ice wasn’t an option, at least not yet. After the wedding, when they’d done their duty by their friends, then she’d tell him. And if the worst happened and she needed an emergency sleepover to cry on everyone’s shoulders, she had no doubt her friends would be there for her in a heartbeat.
That was settled, then. She just had to get through the wedding without Ice or anyone else realizing something was up, and then she could tell Ice everything.
Easy-peasy.
Pushing herself up from the floor, she grabbed the test and shoved it back into the box, which she hid in its original spot in her bottom drawer to be dealt with later.
Okay. That was handled. Now she just needed to get her ass in the shower. But as she turned to flip the shower on, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and paused to run a hand over her round stomach. She’d never been skinny, a fact Ace had lamented every single day they were together. But Ice never complained. If anything, he genuinely seemed to love her curves, spending hours worshiping every inch of her with hands and lips and tongue on a regular basis.
Would he still, when her body changed to accommodate their child? Would he still worship her body when it was riddled with stretch marks and saggy breasts?
Of course he will. This is Ice you’re talking about, not The Asshole.
Right. Ice loved her, and he would always love her, no matter what.
Deliberately turning away from the mirror, she flipped the shower on and stepped under the steaming hot spray, letting the water run over her, pictured it washing away all the stress and worry the morning had brought with it.
She was jolted out of her meditation by the jiggling of the door handle. “Silver? Why the fuck is the door locked?”
If she hadn’t already been so stressed, she probably would have found the annoyance and confusion in his voice hilarious. As it was, though, it only sent her heart racing again as panic once more gripped her lungs in a vice. “Sorry! I’ll be done in a few minutes!”
