Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“I know. I didn’t mean to imply it was, just that it must’ve been difficult.”
“There were many beautiful moments amidst the hard ones.” His eyes returned to the image. “This day was wonderful.”
My heart filled with sadness as I finally witnessed the unguarded and vulnerable Sig.
My phone began to ring, and I fished it out of my purse. When I saw the call was from the medical center, I put it in speaker mode. “Hello?”
“Is this Abby Knickerbocker?”
“Yes. This is she.”
“It’s Dr. Bonner. I wanted to call right away to let you know the results of your blood test were positive. You’re pregnant.”
CHAPTER 16
* * *
Sig
Track 16: “Panic Song” by Green Day
The second Leo opened the door, I rushed past him into his house. “We have a problem.”
“Something happen with the Jenkles project?”
“No—God, who gives a shit about that right now?” Massaging my forehead, I paced. “It’s Abby…”
“What’s wrong?”
Sweat coated my forehead. I stopped and turned to him. “She’s up the duff.” I exhaled. “It happened.”
“Whoa.” His mouth fell open. “On the first try. Okay. Wasn’t expecting that at all.” He patted me on the back. “But congratulations, mate.”
“No!”
“No?” His eyes widened.
“No!” I continued pacing.
“Wasn’t that the idea of the insemination? To get her pregnant?”
“Yes, but…it wasn’t supposed to happen this fast.”
“Well, you must have super sperm, cousin.”
“That’s one accolade I never wished for. I’ve spent my entire life trying not to get women pregnant.” I looked around. “Where’s Felicity? I wanted her to know, too.”
“She’s at my mother’s with Eloise.”
“Oh,” I muttered, still in a daze.
“When did you find out?”
“Just a couple of hours ago. The doctor called after work when I’d stopped with Abby at my apartment on our way home to pick up a laptop. I drove her back to the inn and came straight here.”
“Do Britney’s parents know?”
“We called them together on the way to Westfordshire. But that’s it. No one else knows but you.”
“It’s normal to be in shock,” he assured me. “It will set in eventually. You have a while to get used to it, thankfully. Nine whole months, to be exact.” He led me into the kitchen. “Come have a drink. You could certainly use one, I’m sure.”
“Something strong,” I said as I took a seat on one of the stools.
He opened a bottle of whiskey and poured. “How is she doing?”
“Abby, you mean?” I blinked. “I’ve been in such a tizzy, I never really asked her.”
“Well, that was pretty daft of you.” He handed me the small glass.
“God, it was, wasn’t it?” I downed the liquid in one shot and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I barely said a word to her on the way home because I was in utter shock.”
“Perhaps you should stop back at the inn on your way to London tonight and check on her.”
“You’re right.” I tugged on my hair. “Not to mention, it hadn’t been a good day for us before this.”
“Why?”
I let out a long breath. “I tried to manipulate a situation. I wanted to protect her, but it backfired.”
Leo leaned his elbows against the counter. “What did you do?”
“I told Alistair Jones to stay the fuck away from her.”
Leo bent his head back in laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“Yeah. You don’t like her. Not at all. That’s very clear.”
I ignored his comment. “She and I argued quite a bit about it. She doesn’t like me controlling who she interacts with. But I did it for her own good. He’s a prick.”
“Actually, you’re right. I know of him. He is a prick. But are you sure you didn’t have an ulterior motive? Perhaps on a subconscious level you want to keep all guys away from her?”
“The woman is carrying my and Britney’s child. Isn’t that enough of a reason to protect her from opportunistic snakes?”
“I suppose. But she is your type. And you didn’t know she was pregnant earlier when you acted out.”
He had a point.
“Also…I saw you on the security camera leaving quite late the night you came to pick up the Fiat,” he added. “You mean to tell me there’s absolutely nothing there?”
“There isn’t.” I felt my eye twitch, as it sometimes did when I wasn’t completely honest. “But it wouldn’t matter if there were. She’s the last person on Earth I would pursue. End of story.”
“Obvious conflict of interest aside, what if she weren’t the surrogate? How would you feel about her?”
“What’s the point of even considering that?”
“I think it’s relevant, actually.”
I stared at him for a moment and decided to entertain his question. “She’s funny. Witty. I’m comfortable around her. I like her as a person, and most of all, I respect her. Current situation aside, that’s enough of a reason to spare her the misery of getting involved with a fucked-up man.”
“You’re not fucked up just because you’re still a bit broken over losing your wife. You might never get over Britney. She’s part of you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t move on and live. She’d want you to. You know that. She told you so.”