One Night, So Pregnant!
Шрифт:
Tess’s rambling thoughts skidded to a stop. She didn’t think she could stand to see Carmine, not right now. She glanced at her watch. No, no, it would be fine, Carmy would be having his afternoon nap. Eva was a complete stickler about her son’s routine.
Tess pushed her shoulders back and let out a shaky sigh when she heard the thud of footsteps. The latch clicked, the door swung open and Tess’s gaze landed on baby Carmine’s moonlike face, his round cheeks flushed pink and the soft brown curls stuck down on one side of his head.
‘Tess! Hi. Oh, my goodness, we didn’t have a lunch date, did we? I must have forgotten.’
Tess heard her friend say the words. But all she could see was the perfect little person in Eva’s arms. And then Carmine grinned, held up his chubby little arms towards Tess, as he always did whenever he saw her, and let out a belly laugh.
And the black hole of guilt imploded inside her.
Tess placed the gift on the kitchen counter in a trance as Eva popped Carmine into his baby swing. Her friend wound a dial on the swing and a piped version of something vaguely reminiscent of ‘Lullaby Baby’ tinkled out.
‘Look at him!’ Eva exclaimed as the baby chortled and pumped his arms up and down like a sumo wrestler. ‘Wide awake again after a twenty-minute nap.’ She wagged a finger at him, which made him giggle. ‘Your father is going to have words with you, Buster.’
‘I came to drop this off. But I have to go…’ Tess paused, struggling to think of an excuse as the tears and the nausea welled up at the same time.
Get a grip. Please, get a grip. It’s a bundle of cells. Not a baby. It can’t be.
But she couldn’t seem to feel anything but numb as Eva frowned. ‘Tess, what’s the matter? You look shell-shocked.’
Tess dropped onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter, the urge to escape replaced by the desperate need for comfort. For understanding. For an answer that wasn’t the one she most feared.
‘I’m pregnant.’ Her hands trembled so she clutched them in her lap.
Eva sat on the stool next to her and settled her hand over both of Tess’s. ‘I’d say congratulations, but you don’t look much like celebrating. When did this happen?’
‘Six weeks ago. Exactly. The night Dan dumped me.’
‘I see. I guess that’s not the best timing,’ Eva said gently, the sympathy in her voice and the stupid sound of the piped lullaby making emotion close Tess’s throat. ‘Have you told Dan yet? About the baby?’
‘It’s not a baby,’ Tess said automatically, although she already knew that desperate deception had stopped working the minute she’d laid eyes on Carmine. ‘And it’s not Dan’s.’
‘Ah,’ Eva said, but refrained from asking the obvious next question.
‘The afternoon he dumped me, Julie got the flu and asked me to help host an event she’d been organising for Galloway. It was a great opportunity to make some new contacts, so I couldn’t really refuse…’
Stop rambling. Stop justifying. You did what you did. Eva won’t hate you.
‘I was stressed out and I guess still in a state of shock about Dan. And when I got invited to the after-party, this guy hit on me. In a big way. And I hit on him right back.’ She shut her eyes, picturing Nathaniel Graystone’s focused gaze, the melting look that had made her pulse skip, and cursed the shaft of heat that washed through her, even now. ‘He was sexy and gorgeous and so focused on me, I was stupidly flattered.’ She opened her eyes to find Eva staring at her in disbelief. ‘And after two solid hours of flirting and touching and tempting each other—we just sort of went off like firecrackers.’ She paused, gulped in air to push the last of the words out. ‘In a utility cupboard.’
‘I see,’ Eva said.
‘He used protection, but it was all so hot and mad and rushed and…’ She threw her hands up. ‘Basically, it must have failed. Somehow. Because I didn’t get my period and I took three pregnancy tests this morning and they were all positive.’ The frantic confession came to a babbled and humiliating halt.
‘Okay,’ Eva murmured. ‘But how can you be absolutely sure it isn’t Dan’s? Your protection may have failed with him.’
Tess cocked her head to one side. ‘Highly unlikely, seeing as the last time we made love was approximately three months ago.’
Eva’s lips twisted. ‘There’s a surprise.’
‘Sorry?’ Tess said, a little taken aback by the sharp tone. Eva had always liked Dan. Hadn’t she?
‘Well, you and Dan generated about as much sizzle as a wet flannel.’
Tess didn’t know what to say to the matter-of-fact statement. ‘Was it that obvious?’
Eva sent her a level look. ‘What on earth did you see in him anyway? He bored Nick and I to tears, but we figured he must be a wild man in the sack. Although apparently not.’
‘I thought we were well suited,’ she mumbled, realising how lame and ridiculous that sounded. What had she been thinking? Sticking with a guy for so long who did absolutely nothing for her, in bed, or out of it? Had she actually been that shallow? That obsessed with appearances? That desperate to have what she considered a suitable boyfriend? No wonder she’d gone off like a firecracker with Graystone without any encouragement at all. She’d been sex-starved and desperate.
‘Hmm.’ Eva gave a low hum, her eyebrow lifting in a sceptical frown. ‘But not all that well suited in one particular area.’
‘Not in any area really,’ Tess agreed, ashamed of herself. How could she have spent a whole year dating a guy who didn’t mean that much to her?
‘Enough about Dan.’ Eva leaned forward. ‘Tell me about Firecracker Guy? Who is he?’
Tess huffed. ‘He’s not Firecracker Guy. He’s Complete and Utter Disaster Guy. His name’s Nate Graystone. And I stupidly went to see him first thing this morning after taking the pregnancy tests, because I thought it was the logical next step…’ Tess paused, gulped down the swell of nausea, and finally admitted to herself that was a big fat lie. She hadn’t rearranged her appointments for today and hightailed it over to Graystone’s offices to tell him about the baby because she thought he needed to know.