Page 80 of Amore
“I think I am pregnant, which is weird since I’m on birth control, as you know.” Starting a family wasn’t in my cards yet. Being part of a couple with Luke while I worked on my career was what I thought we’d be doing.
“Oh,” he exhaled.
“Oh? That’s all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know.” I flailed my arms. “I might be fucking pregnant, and all you can say is ‘oh’?”
“Franks.” He pulled me in for a hug. “I’ve loved you my entire life, and I want to get married and have babies with you. That’s what we’re doing.”
I looked up at him. “I know, but … I didn’t think we’d have a baby so soon.”
“We’re not even sure yet. You’ve been under a lot of stress with Clark and the movie. How about I get dressed and go get you a pregnancy test so we can find out?”
“Okay,” I said against his bare chest.
Like a lot of girls do with their best friends, Lucy and I had joked we would get married and have babies who grew up as best friends, but I didn’t know those babies might be cousins so close in age.
I was certain I was pregnant because the app I used on my phone was very accurate since I’d been tracking my cycles for years. Now, since the world was a cruel one, people were going to think Luke and I were only getting married because I was pregnant, when in reality, we got engaged before we knew. But did I really care what the world thought? The world wasn’t living our story and had no clue what went on behind closed doors. Plus, Emily and Rachel read the celebrity gossip and sent me anything I needed to know. They wouldn’t send me any negative stuff, so I wouldn’t know what the world thought.
While Luke was gone, I sent a text to my friend Tori.
Me:Wanna meet for lunch?
No matter what the pregnancy test said, I needed to have a little girl time with Tori. It had been too long since she’d stayed at my house when I was scared of the mystery person breaking into my house.
It didn’t take her long to reply.
Tori:Yeah. When and where? Cocktails too?
I couldn’t tell her over text I was probably not going to have any alcohol depending on what the test said, so instead, I replied:Of course. Let’s make it brunch and get mimosas. Our usual place.
Tori:See you soon!
I also needed to tell her I was engaged before she read it onThe Daily Gossip. The story was likely to break in a few hours.
There was a drugstore close to our temporary condo. When Luke came back not long after he’d left, he handed me a box that contained three tests.
“Whatever the test says, we’ll be okay. You know that, right?” Luke asked.
“Of course, but I’m honestly not sure what I want it to say.”
“Either way, I want a family with you, Franks.”
“I want a family with you too.” I smiled warmly.
“Good.” He kissed me briefly, and I went into the bathroom.
After setting the timer on my phone once I peed on the stick, I came out of the bathroom to find Luke waiting, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. “We have to wait five minutes,” I informed him and made my way to the small couch.
“Okay. Do you want coffee?”
The mention of coffee didn’t make my stomach swirl, but I didn’t think pregnant women could have caffeine. “I need to look it up and see if I can still drink coffee if I’m pregnant.”
“I’ll look it up.” Luke pulled out his phone, and once he had his answer, he said, “It looks like you can have about 200 milligrams of caffeine a day, which is about twelve ounces of coffee.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god.”
