Page 55 of Emergency Engagement
And that, she realized, was exactly what she’d hoped to hear. What she wanted to believe. But it felt wrong. Mostly because she knew exactly how she’d feel in six months or a year. She knew her heart. “Wouldn’t that be like accepting what he’s offering under false pretenses? He’s not making any promises about the future.”
“What false pretense? Beau doesn’t own a crystal ball. He can’tsay for certain what changes the future will bring, or how he’ll feel later. Neither can you, for that matter. If you were older, the situation would be different, but you’ve got years before Father Time takes certain trappings off your table. I don’t see it as false pretenses to approach this with the mind-set that you’re both taking time to figure out if ‘I care about you, let’s live together’ is enough. I know you’re a sucker for a sweeping romantic gesture, but given your circumstances, his request is logical and responsible.”
“What do you meanmycircumstances?” Was her sister implying that because she’d misread a relationship in the past, her judgment sucked?
Sinclair took the chair next to her and leaned in. “Because despite your so-called engagement, you two haven’t actually known each other very long. Yeah, you knew each other as kids, but that doesn’t count. Basically you both got thrust into a situation of instant intimacy. Then the whole thing ignited, and now you need to figure out how deep the feelings go. He’s asked you to stay and move in with him. Pretty major gesture, if you ask me, out of a man you’ve been…I’ll call it seeing…for barely a month.”
Well, when you put it like that…A complicated mess of uncertainty and confusion lifted from her shoulders. She felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. “So what you’re saying is, I should slow down, enjoy the trip, and worry less about the ultimate destination?”
Her sister grinned and popped another candy in her mouth. “What’s your hurry? It’s not like you’re pregnant or something.”
“Right.” She laughed. “It’s not like I’m—” Nauseous, tired, sensitive…
Late.
Holy shit.
“Sinclair, I need a ride to the drugstore.”
Savannah held the plastic wand in one shaking hand, closed her eyes, and let out a long, slow breath.Don’t panic.Give it a moment and then look again. Just open your eyes and…
The twin pink lines stared back at her, bold and unmistakable. The darn thing might as well have been a blinking neon sign. You. Are. Pregnant.
Her phone vibrated on the bathroom counter, and an incoming text from Sinclair appeared on the screen.+ or – ???
She reached over and turned off her phone, then rested her forehead against the cool, hard mirror. How? Denial screamed in her mind. She hadn’t missed a pill.
A soft knock at the locked bathroom door had her straightening.
“Everything okay?”
Beau’s voice sent the building wave of panic crashing over her. The test slipped from her numb fingers and clattered onto the granite countertop. She quickly turned off the sink taps, which she’d turned on full blast before reading the test, in some paranoid fit. “Fine!” she called, and winced at the volume of her reply. “I’ll be out in a second.”
Moving in fast-forward, she dropped the wand into the small wastebasket under the sink where she’d already discarded the crumpled box it came in, and tossed a few concealing wads of tissue on top. Then she washed her hands, smoothed her hair, and waited for her pulse to stop hammering. Of their own accord, her hands dropped to the narrow waist of her red off-the-shoulder pencil dress that channeled 1950s glamour bunny in every figure-hugging inch.
A baby. A fragile combination of Beau and her sat nestled in her womb like a seed, deserving of a chance to grow and thrive. Some higher power than progestin minipills had handed them a miracle, and sneaking into the bathroom to take a test, treating the results like a dirty secret to be hidden in the depthsof the wastebasket, suddenly struck her as shameful. Questions likehowno longer mattered. The answers had no impact on the present reality. Her palms flattened protectively against her belly, and her panic subsided a little as determination took root. Ready or not, this tiny life existed. It needed care, and joy, and love. It neededthem. And she wouldn’t let it down.
She stared at her reflection for a minute and accepted another reality. Dropping a life-changer like this on Beau minutes before they were expected at a holiday party wasn’t fair. She needed to pick the moment for this disclosure carefully, when they had time and privacy. A cold, clammy fist squeezed her stomach when she thought about the discussion. The best course of action would be to wait until after Christmas, confirm the pregnancy with her physician, and then have the conversation with Beau.
The fist loosened. She let out a breath and opened the door.
Beau stood in front of a mirrored closet door, knotting his tie, but his gaze roamed over her when she stepped into his line of sight. He gave up on the tie, turned, and faced her. His inscrutable expression put a wobble in her knees. Was he already regretting asking her to stay?
“How do I look?”
“Late.”
Shock caused her steps to falter, and the heel of her black pump snagged in the Berber rug. Two strong arms and a rock-solid chest kept her from face-planting. “W-what do you mean, I look late?”
He stroked a hand down the hair she’d tamed into long, smooth waves to complement the dress. Clear brown eyes homed in on her mouth. “You look like you’re going to be about ten minutes late to the party.” Then he lowered his head and kissed every bit of gloss off her lips. “Make it fifteen,” he corrected when he raised his head.
Relief fizzled through her, along with a hard, fast bolt of lust,but she slapped a hand to the center of his chest until he stopped closing in, and then she got to work on his tie. “Your parents are upstairs, no doubt ready to go. What are the chances they’ll wait patiently for ten to fifteen minutes?”
His hold on her loosened. “Good point. Pencil me in for later.”
She adjusted the knot in his tie to the right position, and then wiped the hints of her Scarlet Santa Gloss from his lips. He used the opportunity to take a quick, hard bite from the pad of her thumb. The move surprised a laugh out of her, along with another ridiculously powerful surge of need.
“Ow.” She rubbed the red skin. “That’s going to leave a mark.”
