Page 84 of Amore
“Okay. I’ll start packing our bags.”
* * *
Hours later,we were walking into the hospital in Kansas. I’d already gotten word Lucy had her baby boy, but they didn’t know we were coming. We’d checked into our rental home, leaving Amore there while we went to the hospital. We’d also rented a car.
After getting Lucy’s room number from the nurse’s station, we headed to her room. My mother saw us first, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Luke!” she beamed. “We didn’t know you were coming.”
“I needed to meet my nephew.” I hugged my mother.
“Lucy is feeding the baby. Let’s give her some time.” She turned to Frankie and hugged her too. “It’s good to see you, sweetie.”
“I’m glad we could come,” Frankie replied and took a sip of her ginger tea we’d made before heading to the hospital.
“Is that ginger tea?” Mom questioned. “Did you get it here?”
Frankie’s eyes widened as she looked at me. I said, “It‘s ginger tea, but we brought it with us.”
“Oh, darn.” Mom snapped her fingers. “I would love some tea.”
“I can go check the cafeteria and see what they have,” Frankie offered.
“No, sweetie, that’s okay. Visiting hours are almost over. I’ll just make a cup when we get back to Lucy’s.”
“Are you sure?” Frankie persisted.
“Yes, thank you, though.”
Dad came around the corner. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”
“Hey, Grandpa,” I greeted, reminding him that Lucy made him a grandpa.
“Hey, now. Nothing wrong with that.” He beamed, clearly proud he was a grandfather, which excited me since we were going to add another one to his list.
“Frankie, you look pale. Are you feeling all right?” Mom asked.
“I ... ah …” She swung her gaze to me, and I stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“We were going to wait to tell you, so we didn’t take away from Lucy.”
Shane walked out of Lucy’s room, the door staying open, but I couldn’t see my sister.
Mother gasped and looked at Frankie. “Wait. The ginger tea and not looking well. Are you pregnant?”
I grinned at Frankie, my arm still around her as she replied with a smile of her own. “Yes, we’re pregnant.”
“What?” Lucy screeched from inside the room, and her baby boy, Shane Jr, started to cry.
25
FRANKIE
A few daysafter Lucy had her baby, Luke and I had the plane take us to Nashville, where we told my parents the big news. Once all the important people knew, I texted Rachel to let the media know I was pregnant. There would be no way for me to hide a baby bump, and I wasn’t sure how big it would be when I attended the movie premiere forThe Whispers Next Door, the movie I’d filmed with Nick. It was about two newlyweds (me and Nick) who move into a new home as a married couple, and they learn their nice next-door neighbors have a secret worth killing for. It was the complete opposite ofSnowballs in December, but that was what I loved about being an actress and playing different roles.
A few weeks after we got back from Nashville, Luke and I finally moved into our new home. Luke made sure to secure it with all the bells and whistles, plus the safe room. Even after the incident with Clark when I was having brunch with Tori, I still felt safer living in a gated community with my home secure. Of course, no house was secure unless we wanted to put steel bars on windows, but Luke had made it so that if anyone were to break in through a window again, the sound would trigger the alarm.
A few months had passed, and everything was perfect. Luke and I cuddled each night on our couch with Amore at my side, watching TV and eating popcorn or whatever else the growing baby in my belly wanted. We started to plan our wedding that would take place in December of the following year after the baby was born.
