I poured him a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and made him a cup of coffee, acting like a domestic goddess as I floated around the kitchen in my silk shorty robe, matching nightgown, and open-toe kitten-heel slippers with feathers across the straps, all in Justin's favorite blue. Which he confused for violet or lavender.
Somehow, I made it through breakfast. Though nerves on top of morning sickness was not fun.
Jus laughed at me. "You're more excited for this birthday than I am."
"I'm just eager for you to open your presents!"
He looked at the small pile of them. "At breakfast? Then I won't have anything to open later."
"You'll have plenty to open later from everyone else." I bit my lip and clenched my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking. "I wanted you to open the gifts from me while we're alone."
"Oh." His eyes lit up with the wrong idea. "In that case, what's first?"
I pointed to the package with the colorblind correction glasses. He opened it, teasingly, slowly, taking great care with the wrapping.
"Just get on with it, Jus! You're not an old lady."
He started folding the wrapping paper like he was going to save it for later and reuse it.
"Jus!" I practically screamed at him. I was so nervous and jumpy. "Stop teasing. We can afford to buy new wrapping paper. You're just being obnoxious."
When he finally got the package open, he pulled the glasses out and stared at them with a puzzled look. "Sunglasses?"
It was clear he didn't understand my excitement. The lenses were light gray. It was easy to confuse them for sunglasses.
I shook my head. "Colorblind correction glasses." I clapped. "What do you give the guy who has everything? The gift of color!"
He frowned, clearly at war with himself. He obviously didn't want to disappoint me by being disappointed with my gift. But he clearly wasn't thrilled. "Kay—"
"I know. I know. You like seeing the world the way you do. But I have a reason for giving them to you. Trust me. I'm hoping the way they change the color of your world will be a good thing. It's never wrong to try to see the world from a different perspective, is it?"
"You've become philosophical now?" He looked both amused and bemused.
"Just open the next one." I pointed, feeling like I was about to toss my cookies—or monkey bread, in this case. Everything hinged on the next gifts. On the revelation they contained. "That one."
Here goes everything.
He picked up the box and shook it. "It's in a shirt box. It shakes like a shirt. I'm guessing it's a shirt."
He opened this one more quickly. Probably because he sensed, rightly, that I would slug him if he didn't. Being his birthday wouldn't stop me.
He pulled off the lid and pulled back the tissue. "It is a shirt! A T-shirt." He frowned. On the shirt was a picture of a block of aged cheese with a small piece missing. He read the words on it aloud. "The old block?" He stared at me.
I bit my lip.
"What's this? A tiny T-shirt." His frown deepened. "The chip?" It had a picture of a small chunk of cheese on it.
Okay, it wasn't as tacky as it sounded. Britt had done an excellent job procuring them. They were exactly what I wanted. Funky and cool. Stylish for T-shirts. In top-quality cotton, breathable and comfortable. Organic and chemical free for the baby. And funny on his birthday. Him, at twenty-two, being "the old block."
"Is this part of our new Doggy and Me line?" He held the T-shirt up to Data, who barked happily at his feet, worked up by the excitement.
For a genius, he was kind of slow at this.
"It's part of a new line, all right." I pointed to the last gift. I hated to resort to this. But what could you do? "Before you open it. Put on your new glasses."
He sighed and did as I commanded.
"They make you look sexy and mysterious. Like James Bond or a CIA agent." I folded my hands together and pressed them to my lips.
He stared at me, looking at me with a startled expression. "Kay! Your eyes…and your nightgown and robe…they're…a color I've never seen before."
Oh crap! I hadn't counted on him becoming distracted. He sounded almost upset. Like the world didn't look right.
"Just open the present," I said in a rush. "Don't look anywhere else. Keep your eyes on the contents of the package." I still had my fingers pressed to my mouth so my words came out a little muffled.
He shrugged and opened the box. When he pulled the pregnancy test wand out, he looked at it and at me. "What the hell? What is this?"
"Oh, just something I peed on for you." I laughed. "Yeah, I went all out for your birthday, as you can tell. And gave you a part of myself. Nothing says happy birthday like bodily fluids—"
Understanding was beginning to dawn on him. "Kay—"
"It was important you be able to see pink, Jus. Just this once, you had to be able to see pink. There are two pink lines in the test window. See them? That means the test is positive."
"Chip off the old block?" He paled. And then his face lit up. "Does this mean…?"
"We're going to have a baby, Jus. I don't know how it happened. It was a complete accident. That damn one percent failure rate of the pill—"
He let out a whoop and grabbed me in a hug so tight I thought he was going to bruise my ribs again. "I love you, Kay," he said into my neck.
I felt something wet.
When he pulled away there were tears in his eyes. He put his hand on my abdomen. "I love you both."
I'd never seen him so emotional.
"A baby for my birthday?" He still sounded stunned. "You really did go all out." He paused. "Best birthday ever! When is it due?"
* * *
Justin
I stared at Kay with new eyes. I was so damned happy! She hadn't just given me the gift of color. Or the gift of fatherhood. She was mine now. It was only natural for me to ask her to be my real wife. Not now. I had to do it in some romantic way. A real proposal. I'd cheated her out of a wedding. She deserved for me to go down on one knee for her.
The clock in the living room chimed.
"Shit! It's late. I have to get to work."
"Time flies when you're having a baby!" Her eyes sparkled.
I gave her another quick kiss and headed to the bedroom to change, still wearing the glasses. In awe of how different the world looked now that I was going to be a dad.
In the closet, my clothes looked different. Seeing color through the glasses, I finally saw what everyone else did. I held up a shirt and pair of pants I used to pair. "These really do clash! When seen through your eyes, you were right."
I took her hand. "Now that I've admitted I was wrong, can a guy get a birthday screw?" I nuzzled her neck, going hard for her. "It won't hurt you…or the baby?"
The baby. I was going to be a father. Shit, that sounded grown-up and odd.
"I thought you were running late?"
"What I have in mind won't take long." I moved her hand to my dick.
"Jus," she said softly. "We've been making love and it hasn't hurt that baby. And you've been so gentle with me, it hasn't hurt me, either." She dropped her robe and slid her nightgown off until she was wearing only a tiny thong panty.
With the glasses on, I could see the faint green tinges of her bruise for the first time. At least, I deduced the color I was seeing was green. "This is a hell of a way to see green for one of the first times." I softly kissed her ribcage, scooped her into my arms, carried her to bed, and made love to the mother-to-be of my child.
On my way to the office, I got a call from Dex.
"Have I got a birthday present for you!" He sounded excited. "The birthday present to top all birthday presents."
I doubted that.
"Dude, we got her! We got everything on her."
The last time I'd heard Dex this excited, we'd won the all-campus college video game tournament.
"What?" I couldn't believe it. This birthday had just run past golden, right on to platinum.
D
ex started rattling off details. "Time to put the plan in action." He gave an evil laugh.
At Flash, I could hardly keep my smile down. People thought I was obnoxious about birthdays. I promised Kay not to spill about the baby to anyone until we'd told our parents and family. Britt, however, had helped with my present. She gave me a knowing look and whispered, "Congrats, Papa!" in my ear.
They had cake for me in the cafeteria. And then I was off to a meeting. I missed Kay when she stopped by while she was out running errands. I suspected she'd been to the bakery by Flash to pick up my birthday cake.
Ophie caught me just as I returned to my office. She was waving a phone. "You Greens and your phones! This fell out of your wife's purse, I believe. She's going to need it. She said something about expecting an important text or email or something from the hospital about the sample sale. Shall I have someone run it over to her? I think she said she was heading home from here."
"I'll take it to her." I was too happy to stay in the office. It was my company and my birthday. Why couldn't I take the rest of the afternoon off?
I'd ordered a balloon bouquet and flowers for Kay. I wanted to deliver them myself. I decided to pick them up on the way home and take them and the phone to Kay. Surprise her by coming home early.
"Good idea," Ophie said with a smile that was too smug. She looked damn happy about something.
"I'm taking the rest of the day off, too."
Ophie nodded. "Of course, boss. It's your birthday. You deserve it. We can handle things here." She clutched my arm. "Happy birthday, Jus."
* * *
Kayla
I'd picked up the cake and set up for Justin's party. I wanted to wear something special tonight. I wanted to look glamorous for Jus before I became so big I waddled around, and serene and happy for our parents. We'd decided that it wouldn't be stealing Justin's birthday thunder to announce another birth at his party tonight. Why not when we had so many family and friends together?
I did my hair and makeup carefully. Put on my sexy new bra and panties—I'd already promised Jus another round of birthday sex after the party. And laid out three dresses I was trying to decide between on the bed.
I was about to try one on when the buzzer rang. Odd, why didn't whoever was there text? I expected it to be a delivery. I pulled on my robe and went to the entryway to answer it.
"Kayla? Lazer. Hope I'm not interrupting. I know you're busy getting ready for tonight. And I swear I'm not just an extremely early guest. But I have a present for Justin I wanted to drop off while I was in the area."
"I'll buzz you in." I pulled my silk robe tighter around me. There was no time to change before he got here.
A couple of minutes later, I was welcoming Lazer in.
He handed me a gift wrapped in birthday paper. "It's a peace offering for Justin." He looked a little shamefaced. "It needs an explanation. At first it seems self-serving. It's a collector's edition copy of the new video game."
"He'll love it!" I said. "Congrats on the release. The news is full of its success. One of the fastest-selling games in recent history."
Lazer nodded, looking almost modest. Complete modesty was asking too much of him. "Thanks in no small part to my awesome beta testers."
I stifled a laugh. Modesty didn't sit well on Lazer.
"It has a little special Easter egg in it for Justin and you. To be viewed in private." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
I laughed.
He told me how to find it. "You'll want to play it together."
"You leave me curious. You won't tell me what it is?" I said.
"You'll find out soon enough." He shook his head. "It's my way of apologizing for hitting on his wife. I don't want things to be awkward between any of us." He took a deep breath. "And to come clean with you. When I first heard about Justin's surprise wedding, I suspected you of marrying him for his money."
"Didn't everyone? You were by no means alone, Sherlock."
He grinned. "I have a financial interest in Flash. Selfishly, I was afraid he'd made Flash vulnerable by marrying you."
"You thought I was going to divorce him and take half of his share?" I raised one eyebrow.
"Yeah. Do you blame me?"
I shrugged. "Does no one believe in love at, I'd guess you'd call it, second sight?"
"Money makes people more attractive."
"The curse of being a billionaire—is her love real? Or is her love for your money?"
"Damn, Kayla." He took a deep breath, looking apologetic again. "You're making this hard on me. I hit on you on purpose to see how you'd react. If you could be separated from him. If you'd just married him for his money.
"And then I surprised myself by feeling a spark between us. I thought you reciprocated. And…you know the rest. But something changed," he said. "You really love him."
"Don't sound so surprised! Of course I do." I shook my head. "Who wouldn't? Jus is sweet and adorable." I paused. "I'm sorry if I led you on."
"No, it's nothing." He paused again. "The path not taken. I just wanted to say this one time before we live the rest of our lives as good friends. I think you could have been the one. I think I would have fallen in love with you. Is that crazy?"
I had a lump in my throat. I opened my arms.
He pulled me into a tight, intimate hug.
"Not crazy at all. If not for Jus, I would have fallen in love with you. I'm sure of it." I smiled at him with tears in my eyes. This pregnancy was making me so emotional. "I'll always love you—"
* * *
Justin
I was on my way up the elevator in the penthouse with the balloons and flowers in my hand. Imagining the surprise on Kay's face when I came home early. Her cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out out of habit. She had an email from Britt.
Congrats, girl! Way to take advantage of the situation. You got pregnant ASAP!! Just like I told you to. Hook him for life. His money is yours. Did you flush the pills like I said? Ha ha! Whatever you do from now on doesn't matter. You're set for life! Money, money, money!!
My stomach cramped up. I felt suddenly cold. No! No, Kay wouldn't…
But this was from her best friend. The woman she told everything to. The woman who helped her with the gift to tell me about the baby.
I took a deep breath as the elevator reached the penthouse. I had to get a grip. The elevator doors opened. Kay was in the entryway, wearing her thin, skimpy, sexy, short robe, wrapped intimately in Lazer's arms. Gazing into his eyes. And she was saying, "I'll always love you."
What’s Next and a Free Offer
The story continues…
If you liked In Sickness and In Wealth, you’ll want to read To Love and To Cherish, Episode 7, the exciting conclusion of Switched at Marriage, right away!
To Love and To Cherish,
Switched at Marriage 7
Jet City Billionaires
* * *
Thank You!
Thanks for reading In Sickness and In Wealth. I hope you enjoyed it!
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Still can’t get enough of Kayla and Justin? Curious about Kayla and Justin’s college years? Get the Rushed Series and get a peek at what Kayla was like in college.
Also by Gina Robinson
Switched at Marriage, a Romantic Comedy Serial Romance
The Switched at Marriage Series
Part 1—A Wedding to Remember
Part 2—The Virgi
n Billionaire
Part 3—To Have and To Hold
Part 4—From This Day Forward
Part 5—For Richer, For Richest
Part 6—In Sickness and In Wealth
Part 7—To Love and To Cherish
The Rushed Series
Book 1—Rushed, Zach and Alexis’ story
Book 2—Crushed, Dakota and Morgan’s story
Book 3—Hushed, Seth and Maddie’s story
The Reckless Series
Book 1—Reckless Longing—FREE!
Book 2—Reckless Secrets
Book 3—Reckless Together
About the Author
Gina Robinson's books have delighted readers and received positive reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Romantic Times Book Reviews.
A voracious reader and fan of all types of romantic stories, she writes romance and women's fiction across a wide variety of subgenres—new adult, contemporary, historical, and romantic suspense. Her love stories are infused with a happy blend of romance, adventure, a bit of mystery, and humor. Readers are drawn to the light touch she gives even serious topics and the fast, fun, easy-to-read pace of her books. From college campuses to Seattle to Las Vegas to England, her settings become almost characters of their own, driving the story.
She believes in the power of true love and passion, and that every great romance should have a happily-ever-after. To get an email when Gina releases a new book, sign up to join her VIP list by visiting her website at www.ginarobinson.com
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