Page 43 of Keeping Lucy

“Babe! You didn’t!”

“Of course I did,” she said with a grin. “No, sit, I’ll do it. You don’t mind if I make a coffee, do you?”

“Go for it.”

Ally unpacked two bags full of small meals into the fridge, all portioned out and neatly labelled. “I only did four days’ worth, because your hot husband said he was on base over the next few days, but he’d be back after that.”

“Thanks.” Best to ignore the pang at the word husband.

“He is very hot, by the way.”

“That he is.”He’s not mine, though.Maybe Ally sensed the unspoken thought, because she turned from the coffee machine and looked at me for a long moment. It was all I could do not to squirm in the chair.

“Okay. What’s going on?”

“What? Nothing.”

“Bullshit. You look as guilty as sin.”

“I do not!”

She narrowed her eyes at me. I couldn’t help it, I gave in. The tangle of lies and deceit was eating me up inside, and I desperately needed to confide in someone. Ally was the perfect confidant, being on the outer edge of the family. “Dante and I didn’t really fall madly in love in Seattle. Yes, we met up there, and yes, we had a dirty weekend, but when it was over, we parted ways, never expecting to see each other again. Then he got posted to Kingsley and came to see me. I’d only just found out I was pregnant, and I’d already started feeling really sick, so rather than throw myself into his arms, I yelled at him. We had a huge fight, he left, then I felt really bad about some of the things I said, so I went to see him.” I stopped the mad rush of words and took a deep breath.

“Jesus, this is starting to sound like a soap opera.” Ally’s eyes were wide. “What happened when you went and saw him?”

“Well, like I said, I was already sick, and I hadn’t been eating much, so I fainted.”

Bringing her coffee to the table, she pulled out a chair and plonked onto it, resting her chin in her hand and watching me avidly. “Suitably dramatic. I’m loving it.”

I chuckled. “Thanks. Anyway, Dante called the ambulance, I was rushed to hospital, when I was okay again, he was at my bedside, proposing marriage.”

“I’m assuming that’s not the grand romantic gesture it sounds like?”

My smile faded. “No. We were both freaking out, to be honest, and he figured that because the hospital at the base is so good, I’d be better off getting prenatal care and having the baby there. Getting married was the logical way to get the insurance coverage needed for that.”

“So it’s a fake marriage/insurance scam type arrangement…”

I winced and dropped my gaze.

“Hey, no judgement. You gotta do what you gotta do. I’m a bit confused, though.”

“What about?”

“You guys looked pretty good together last night. Are you sure you’ve got the ‘fake’ part of the marriage right?”

“Dante doesn’t want to be a father, so yeah, there’s not much we can do with that hanging over our heads.’

“What, so you aren’t banging right now?”

I shook my head glumly.

“That seems like a heartbreaking waste.”

I nodded even more glumly.

“There’s nothing stopping you, though. It’s not like you can get pregnant again.”

I giggled. “Girl, you’re outrageous.”