Baby Surprises 7 Book Box Set

by Layla Valentine

  “That’s…so sweet of you,” she said. “Really, Johnny.”

  “I would’ve called you to let you know I was coming, but we never exchanged numbers. Hope it’s not a problem.”

  “It’s not,” she said with a smile. “Not at all.”

  I could tell by the look on her face that she meant it. My mind was spinning trying to reconcile her strange behavior with the fact that she was glad I was there.

  We arrived at the Thai place, and I held the door open for her to enter. Sweet and savory smells rushed up to greet us, and we were soon seated in a comfy booth.

  “Something to drink?” the waiter asked.

  “Beer list is right here,” said Kendra, passing it over to me.

  “I’ll take a bubble tea,” I said. “Mango, if you have it.”

  Kendra regarded me with a curious expression.

  “That sounds good,” she said.

  The waiter nodded and left us.

  “Bubble tea?” she asked. “No beer for the rock star?”

  I chuckled. “I decided to go easy on the booze for a while. After the whole Alcatraz thing.”

  She laughed. “I saw that. Figured there had to be some booze behind that particular sequence of events.”

  “You’d be right about that,” I said. “And it’s been great. I haven’t just been taking a break from booze—I’ve been taking a break from the whole rock star thing.”

  “Oh yeah?” she asked. “And how’s that working out for you?”

  “Amazing,” I said. “I get up early, and when the rest of the band’s sleeping off their hangovers, I do normal person things, like go to the gym and actually explore the cities I’m in.”

  “That sounds nice,” she said.

  “It is,” I said. “But you don’t have to skip a drink on my behalf if you want one.”

  “Nah,” she said. “I’ve actually been not drinking too.”

  “Why’s that?” I asked.

  She looked away quickly for a brief moment before speaking.

  “Just…wanting to be a little healthier, I guess. I’ve been so busy with work and everything else that it seemed like a smart thing to do. Can’t afford to waste even a single day being hungover, right?”

  “I know what you mean,” I said.

  The waiter returned with our bubble teas, and we both put in our orders. It wasn’t long before we had a plate of delicious-looking shrimp spring rolls in front of us.

  We both said nothing as we dipped our rolls into a pool of dark orange peanut sauce and took our first bites.

  “So,” she said. “Did you come into town just to say hi?”

  Looked like we were getting right to the heart of the matter.

  “No,” I said. “Though that was part of it. I was going insane not being able to see you. I’ve…missed you like crazy, Kendra.”

  “Me too,” she said softly.

  I reached across the table and took her hand into mine. Feeling her skin against my own was more than I was ready for. The emotion that ran through me at her touch was almost too much to take.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I said. “Because I’ve been doing some thinking.”

  “About what?” she asked.

  “About you and me.”

  She said nothing, her expression indicating that she wanted me to go on.

  “You’re like no woman I’ve ever met before. I knew there was something special about you when we spent that weekend together, but it didn’t dawn on me until after I’d gone what I was leaving behind. I thought, at first, that I’d get over you. Sure, maybe we’d see each other again years down the road, but for now, I needed to move on. But with each day that passed, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to just get over you. You’d gotten into my heart, and you weren’t leaving.”

  “I-I feel the same way,” she stuttered.

  My heart leaped at the news, and I continued on.

  “I can’t even look at other women because you’re the only one I want. So, I came back to Seattle not just to see you, but to put everything out on the table. I know things aren’t in an ideal place right now for either of us. But I want, more than anything else, to try to make things work.”

  “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

  “I am,” I said. “I want to be with you, Kendra. Long-distance or not, I don’t care. I think that what we have is so special we’d be stupid to leave it to only one weekend. I want to see where this goes because I think it’ll go someplace very, very good.”

  And that was it. Now, it was her call to make.

  Chapter 25

  Kendra

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I grabbed my bubble-tea cup and took a long sip. Not because I wanted it, but because I needed something to do while I thought.

  What Johnny had just said to me was exactly what I’d wanted to hear...three months ago. I would’ve screamed, leaped across the table and thrown my arms around him.

  Now, things were different. The spark—that electricity—hadn’t changed. He was as gorgeous and warm as ever.

  But there was the baby. Our baby. I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t. If this is what Johnny was saying now without knowing I was carrying his kid, he’d surely throw caution to the wind and risk everything if I told him the truth.

  I could imagine him calling Rick right then and there, telling him to screw the tour and screw the contract, that he had a child to raise.

  God, it sounded so nice. Having Johnny by my side while I went through this pregnancy would be heaven. But I couldn’t have it. I had to keep this pregnancy a secret for the both of us.

  “This is all so much,” I said.

  “Too much?” he asked.

  I didn’t know how to answer that. It wasn’t “too much” in the sense that it wasn’t what I wanted. What was “too much” was having to balance my wanting him with keeping my secret. My head was spinning, and my heart pounded.

  “It’s just that with you on the road and doing your tour…”

  His expression fell. “Yeah. There’s that. And there’s more.”

  “What do you mean, ‘more’?”

  “The tour’s been going really, really well,” he said. “We’ve sold out every show that we’ve done, and we’re moving so much merch that the warehouses can barely keep up. We’ve been getting major press, and things really seem like they’re on the verge for us.”

  “Like you’re about to become superstars,” I said.

  “That’s right,” he said. “We’re already crazy successful, but with how things are going right now, we’re looking to be on the verge of a level of success that only a handful of other bands have gotten to. I can hardly believe it.”

  “That’s so great,” I said. “I’m so happy for you.”

  I meant it. I’d worked with enough struggling bands to know how much making it big like this was something they all dreamed about. Johnny was about to reach the pinnacle of one of the rarest, hardest-to-succeed-in careers there was. I was likely speaking at that moment to a musician that people were going to be talking about for decades to come.

  But there was something he was getting to.

  “So,” he said.

  Here we go.

  “Rick decided that this was the definition of ‘striking while the iron was hot.’ He did some talking with Redemption, and they want to extend the tour.”

  “Are you serious?” I asked. “For how long?”

  “For another eight months,” he said. “At least.”

  I felt the energy drain out of me as I slumped back into my seat.

  “Eight months?” I asked weakly. “That means you’re going to be gone for the rest of the year.”

  “At least.”

  “At least,” I repeated.

  “I know it’s a long time,” he said. “But I think we could make it work. I could come visit you whenever I’m in this part of the country, and maybe if you get a break from your label work you could come visit me where
ver I am.”

  “I don’t know, Johnny…” I said.

  He reached across the table and took my hand.

  “It’d be a lot,” he said. “But I haven’t changed my mind about quitting after this tour’s over. We wouldn’t be like some high school kids swearing that we’re going to stay together after they both go away to separate colleges. We’d have a year of hard work, and that’d be it.”

  Yeah, then seventeen more years of hard work that he didn’t even know about yet. I was beginning to feel totally overwhelmed.

  “Okay,” he said, letting go of my hand. “I can tell I just dumped a lot onto you.”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  He didn’t even know the half of it. If it weren’t for this whole thing with Rick, I might consider it. But as it stood…

  “So how about this—we have dinner, then we can go hang out at your place for a while. If you want to talk about it some more then, we can.”

  A little time to get my head in order was exactly what I needed. No way could I respond to what he’d said right then.

  “Perfect,” I told him. “I know this is all weird right now, Johnny. But I’m so freaking glad to see you, I can hardly stand it.”

  The waiter arrived with our meals—pad thai for the both of us—and by that point, the baby was crying out for some food. We ate, Johnny and I spending the time catching up on what we’d missed in each other’s lives since we’d last seen one another.

  By the time we were done and back outside, we’d fallen right back into the easy rapport that we’d had that magical weekend months ago. We talked and joked and cuddled as we walked, and part of me didn’t want the evening to end.

  After a detour for some ice cream, we were back at my apartment. Johnny balanced his ice cream as he flipped through my vinyl and put on some mellow folk music for us to listen to.

  He plopped onto the couch, and I found myself imagining what it would be like for him to live with me, for us to be a real couple.

  Then I realized that even if I wanted it, it wouldn’t be possible for a year. Who the hell knows what could happen between now and then?

  “So,” said Johnny as I sat down next to him. “I don’t know if I can wait any longer.”

  There was no putting it off. I’d made my decision, and I had to lay it all out there for him. I took a deep breath and spoke.

  “It’s been so good to see you,” I said. “And with you telling me what you have, it almost seems like a no-brainer for us to try and make something work between us. But a year… Johnny, I don’t know if it’s possible for us to have anything like a normal relationship for that long. You’ll be on tour, and I’ll be here, and talking on the phone and you coming in to visit every now and then just won’t be enough.”

  For a brief, transient moment, a pained look flashed across his face. A stabbing pain cut through my heart as I realized that he knew what I was going to say next.

  “So I don’t think us trying to have a relationship right now is a good idea. I appreciate that you want us to be together, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way. But…I don’t know if my heart could take it.”

  I was lying, and I hated it. Sure, I was being sincere about how difficult it would be for us to be together, but the whole issue of my pregnancy made it even more of an impossibility. But there was no way I could tell him that, not without risking everything.

  “I want us to keep in touch, and I want you to be in my life. But I think it’s better if we do it as friends.”

  He glanced down and nodded slowly.

  “I get it,” he said. “And I know it was asking a lot. But I’d be kicking my ass from now until forever if I didn’t at least give it a shot.”

  “You’ve got a real poetic way of saying things, Johnny,” I said with a laugh.

  He smiled, then leaned in and kissed me softly, chastely, on the lips. God, I’d missed his kiss so much.

  “What can I say?” he replied ruefully. “You bring it out of me.”

  He stood up.

  “Probably a good idea if I get going,” he said.

  “You can stay,” I said. “I could, um, make up the couch for you.”

  I wanted him in my bed so much it was almost physically painful. But I knew there’d be no way for him to spend the night with me without him finding out about my secret. I could hide things with awkward wide-hipped hugs and baggy sweaters, but spooning in bed would surely give the game away.

  “Nah,” he said. “Think I’ll grab a hotel room and catch up on some songwriting. But thanks for the offer.”

  I stood up and gave him another hug.

  “It was so good to see you, Johnny. And I mean what I said about us keeping in touch.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” he said with a smile. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”

  One more kiss, one more longing look, and he was gone.

  The door closed, and I was alone.

  I sat back down on the couch, my eyes on my little baby bump. I knew I’d done the smart thing, but what if I’d just blown the one chance I had to come clean with him?

  I’d made my choice, though, and there was no going back. Now it was time to live with the consequences.

  Chapter 26

  Kendra

  January

  I took the pack of diapers from the shelf and held the box in front of me.

  “Are these the right ones?” I asked. “I honestly have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to be buying.”

  Blaire craned her neck over and checked out the big box.

  “Looks like diapers to me,” she said. “Not sure if you can get the wrong kind. Unless the baby’s born with two butts or something.”

  I laughed at the idea. “Doubt-butt baby.”

  Blaire chuckled.

  “Toss ’em in,” she said. “But really, I have no idea why you’re getting all this stuff now. You’ve still got four months left before this kiddo comes out.”

  “Because I want to be so ready that it’s not even funny,” I told her. “No surprises, no nothing. After we get stuff here, we’re going straight to the bookstore, and I’m going to build a little library out of baby how-to books.”

  As much as I hated the idea of not telling Johnny about the baby, Rick had come through with the monthly stipend. It was more than enough to cover all my expenses and even to start building a small savings in case of any emergencies. And not having to worry about check-up costs at the doctor’s had been a huge help.

  The only catch was that the father had to be totally in the dark. A hell of a trade-off.

  “Any word from the man himself?” asked Kendra as we pushed the cart down the brightly lit aisles of the store.

  “Um, yeah,” I said. “More than a few words, actually.”

  Kendra looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean he’s taking the whole ‘keeping in touch while on the road’ thing really seriously.”

  “Like how?”

  “Like in that he’s been inviting me to come see him on his tour. Several times now.”

  Shock flashed on Blaire’s face.

  “Are you serious?” she asked. “Like, asking you to come along on tour with him?”

  “Not that serious,” I said. “But yeah, he’s sent me a couple texts from spots on the East Coast telling me how much he wants to see me.”

  “Hottest rock star in the world,” she said. “He could have any girl he wanted, and you’re the only one he’s thinking about.”

  “I know, I know,” I said. “But…”

  I gestured to my big belly bump.

  “Right,” said Blaire. “There’s that. The whole ‘baby’ thing.”

  We continued along, both of us taking occasional glances at my list and plucking the items off the shelves as we passed them.

  “So, what have you been telling him?” she asked. “Just like, ‘uh, too busy to hang with Johnny Maxton himself’?”

  “I’ve been maki
ng totally lame excuses about work,” I said. “I mean, I have been really busy so they’re not total lies, but they’re not totally true either. I could easily carve out a weekend to go visit him.”

  “You think he’s getting suspicious?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Part of me was surprised that he was fine with me telling him that I wanted to keep in touch as friends. If I keep doing what I’m doing, he’s probably going to assume that I don’t like him and am letting him down easy.”

  “Plenty of guys would’ve assumed that by this point, I bet,” Blaire said. “Most guys know by this stage in the game that when a girl’s constantly making excuses why she can’t see him, that she’s really just trying to let him down easy.”

  “Not Johnny,” I said. “And I’m glad.”

  We made our way to the register and paid.

  “Coffee?” Blaire asked after we’d loaded up our things in the trunk of my car.

  “Coffee sounds perfect,” I said. “Well, more specifically sitting sounds perfect.”

  “Oh no,” said Blaire. “Are you starting to get the pregnant-lady sore legs?”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe,” I said, reaching down and rubbing my thighs. “I’ve still got months to go, and I’m already really feeling it.”

  After taking a second, we started toward a nearby coffee shop.

  “You’re being a real trooper,” Blaire said. “Being pregnant all on your own like that.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “But you’re being a huge help, too, you know. I really appreciate you.”

  A short time later the two of us were seated at our usual spot near the window, my legs crying out in relief as soon as I put my butt on the chair. The city was bustling outside, the crowds all dressed up in chilly-weather wear.

  “So,” said Blaire, the steam from her coffee curling up and around her face. “How’re things besides being a single pregnant lady?”

  I shook my head and looked away.

  “Crazy,” I said. “The label’s been busier than ever, but I can’t even be there as much as I’d like.”