Page 51 of Pregnant by the Texan
The idea shook him. He went to his kitchen and got a beer and then walked back to the guest bedroom downstairs where she had stayed when she had been at his house. He thought about being in bed with her, holding her in his arms.
He missed her terribly and he didn’t want to tell her goodbye. It shocked him to think about it, and decided that he was in love with her. Why hadn’t he seen it before now? He’d wanted to be with her day and night.
When he recognized that he loved Stella, he also saw he might be on the verge of losing her. She was a strong woman with her own standards and views and so far she had turned him down on marriage. Plus, she was considering accepting a very good position in Houston, which was a long way from Dallas.
He was in love with her and she was going to have his baby. He didn’t want to lose her. He ran his hand over his short hair while he thought about what he could do to win her love. She’d accused him of proposing out of a sense of duty instead of love, which was exactly what he had done at the time. But he had spent a lot of time with her since then. There had been intimacy between them, hours together. They had worked together regarding Royal, had fun being together.
Why hadn’t he seen that his feelings for her were growing stronger? He admired her; he respected and desired her. She was all the things he wanted in a woman. He had to win her love.
While he had never heard a declaration of love from Stella, she had to feel something for him. She acted as if she did. He was certain she would never have gone to bed with him with only casual feelings about him. That would be totally unlike her. Was she in love, too?
Had he already tossed away his chance with her?
He stood and moved impatiently to a window to gaze out at the lit grounds of his estate. If nothing else he would see her Tuesday night when he took her to the TCC Christmas festival. He wished he could move things up or go back to last week, but he couldn’t.
He walked down the hall to his office. Crossing the room, he switched on a desk lamp and picked up a picture of his wife and child. “Paula, I’ve fallen in love. I think you’d approve. You’d like Stella and she would like you.”
He realized that the pain of his loss had dulled slightly and he could look at Paula’s picture and know that he loved Stella also. He set the picture on the desk, picked up his beer and walked out of the room, switching off the light.
He wanted to see Stella, to kiss her, to tell her he loved her. This time when he proposed, he would try to do it right. Was she going to turn him down a second time?
Next Tuesday was the TCC Christmas festival, a special time. The town was getting ready to appoint an acting mayor and they wanted Stella, but she just didn’t realize how many wanted her and how sincere they were about it.
If he had lost her love, there still was something good that he could do for her.
* * *
Saturday morning Stella selected a Christmas tree, getting one slightly taller than usual. As soon as she had set it up on a table by the window across the room from her fireplace, she got out her decorations. Her phone chimed and she glanced at it to see a call from Aaron. She didn’t take it. She would talk to him soon enough Tuesday night; right now she still felt on a rocky edge. Aaron could get to her too easily. She wanted to be firm when she was with him. After Tuesday night, she really didn’t expect to go out with him again except in the new year when she had to talk to him about their baby.
She placed her hand on her tummy, which was still flat. Her clothes had gotten just the slightest bit tighter in the waist, but otherwise, she was having an easy pregnancy so far.
She was excited about the Christmas drive, which was going even better than she had expected. The presents were piling up at the TCC. Paige had told her that each day now, TCC members picked up presents from drop-off points around town and took them to the club to place around the big Christmas tree.
She tried to avoid thinking about Aaron, but that was impossible. She wasn’t sleeping well, which wasn’t good since she was pregnant. After Tuesday, maybe it would be easier to adjust because they wouldn’t be in each other’s lives as much.
She talked to her sister and learned their mother would be in Austin Christmas Eve, too. Stella checked again on her flight, scheduled to leave Christmas Eve and come back Christmas afternoon.
Aaron finally stopped calling on Monday and she heard nothing from him Tuesday. He must have caught on that she didn’t want contact with him. She assumed he would still pick her up, but if he didn’t show by six-thirty, she would go on her own. According to their earlier plans, he would come by for her at 6:15 p.m., which was early because the celebration did not begin until six-thirty. Her anticipation had dropped since she had parted with Aaron. She just wanted to get through the evening, leave the next day for Austin and try to pick up her life without Aaron.
For the first time in her life, Stella had her hair done at the Saint Tropez Salon. The salon was on the east side of town, which had escaped most of the storm damage.
As she dressed, a glimmer of the enthusiasm she had originally experienced for the night returned. It was exciting to have a party and to know it would be so good for so many people who had been hurt in the storm. It cheered her to know that all the families would have presents and money and hope for a nice Christmas.
On a personal level, she hoped things weren’t tense all evening with Aaron, but she thought both of them would have enough friends around that they could set their worries aside and enjoy the party. And Aaron might not care as much as she did that they would be saying goodbye.
She guessed Aaron would ask about her job offers. She still had not accepted the job offer in Houston. Every time she reached for the phone to talk to them, she pulled back.
Getting ready, she paused in front of the full-length mirror to look at herself. She wore the red dress she had worn before. One other new dress still hung in the closet, but the red dress was a Christmas color and it should be fine for the evening. When she put it on, the waist felt tighter. It was still comfortable, but she thought this was the last time she would wear the red dress until next winter.
Thinking it would be more appropriate for this party and also draw less attention, she wore the gold and diamond necklace. Once again, she wondered if Aaron was more interested in the person she had become after the makeover and all that had happened since, or the plain person she really was.
She made up her face as they had taught her at the salon, but when she started to put something on her lips, she stared at herself and put away the makeup, leaving her lips without any. She studied herself and was satisfied with her appearance.
She heard the buzzer and went to the door to meet Aaron. When sadness threatened to overwhelm her, she took a deep breath, thought of all the gifts people would be receiving tonight and opened the door with the certainty that this was the last time she would go out with Aaron Nichols.
Nine
Looking every inch the military man in civilian clothes, ready for a semiformal party, Aaron stood straight, handsome and neat with his short dark blond hair. Wearing a flawless navy suit and tie and a white shirt with gold cuff links, he made her heart beat faster.
