by Mia Carson
“Damn, I’d hoped she was truthful when she agreed you could have this your way. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Blair shook her head. “Nah, I don’t want her messing with you.”
“I can handle myself, sweetie.” She kissed the top of Blair’s head. “Tell Hugh I said hello.”
She promised she would and got out of the car. Once she was upstairs, she texted Hugh to let him know they had a few issues to take care of whenever he got back home. As she waited for him to get out of class, she touched up his apartment and flipped through a few recipes for dinner. She texted Jesse to see how her wedding plans were coming along and laughed when her friend sent her back a bunch of smiley faces followed by a plea to have drinks soon. She swore they would and passed by the bathroom on her way to put up her boots.
Slowly, she stepped back and stared at the drugstore bag on the floor. Her period was last week, but she usually went through an entire tiny box of pads. The bag should be gone, as should the box.
“Blair?” Hugh called as the front door opened and she shook her head, forgetting about how light her last period had been. “Hey, I thought you would be with your mom all day?” he asked, kissing her. “What’s wrong?”
“Your mom, to be blunt.”
Hugh set his messenger bag on the chair and walked to the fridge, pulled out two beers, and offered her one. “How did I know?”
“Sorry. I was under the impression she was willing to let us do things our way, but Kella tells me a very different story. She and your sister have changed everything.”
Hugh choked on his beer. “Everything?”
“Yeah, everything. We’ll have to go behind her back and somehow not go to the wedding she’s planning.” She gulped her beer, thinking of the best way to approach this without causing a scene or making things worse for Hugh. If classes were over, she could tell him about her backup plan, but they were a few weeks away from that still. “I’m sorry.”
“For what? It’s not your fault my family likes to control everything. I’ll go over there and talk to her.”
“No, don’t do that. It’ll only make things worse. It was hard enough today getting a dress.”
“Did you find one?”
She sipped her beer with a smile. “Oh, did I find one. I think you’ll love it.”
“I will love anything you wear.”
“I’ll remember you said that down the road.”
He rested his forehead on hers. “What do you want me to do?”
“Help me plan our wedding in secret? Let her think we don’t know what she’s up to, and we’ll get married a week before she planned.”
“So diabolical—I love it,” he growled and captured her mouth with his. “Wedding planning aside, are you ready for the gallery opening in three weeks?”
“Not even close, but I will be, don’t you worry about that.”
“And you still don’t want to announce to everyone who you really are?”
“One stressful situation at a time.”
“If you say so, but I don’t think it would be all that stressful.”
Blair shrugged one shoulder. “My mom will be okay with it, I think. It’s your parents who might blow a gasket.”
“Let’s not worry about them tonight.” He took the beer from her hands and picked her up as she squealed with delight. He flipped her over his shoulder and spanked her ass as he carried her to the bedroom. “You need a bubble bath and a bottle of wine, my lovely soon to be wife.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right. No more stressing tonight, deal?”
“Whatever you say, future husband.”
“Damn straight I am,” he replied and cackled loudly as he kicked the bedroom door closed.
Hugh parked the Corvette and grabbed the bags of takeout from the passenger seat. Blair’s new gallery opened tomorrow, and she said she would be there all night with Jesse and Henry getting things set up. She told him he didn’t have to come, but this week had taken its toll on her.
She was sleeping so much, and he thought she was coming down with a cold. If she wasn’t better after this weekend, he would drive her to the doctor’s himself to make sure she wasn’t overextending herself. Classes were over, but that only meant the wedding plans would take over their lives. They had gone ahead and re-planned everything his mom had undone behind their backs. Jean found out and offered to pay for whatever they needed, but they wanted to keep it small and not flashy. A few close friends and family out at the horse track where they’d spent so much time together. That was what Blair and he wanted and that was what he would ensure she had.
Hugh walked up the few steps to the gallery and peered in the windows, but the sight he saw had him rushing inside and yanking Justin away from a very pissed-off looking Blair.
“What are you doing, man?” Justin snapped, tearing himself away from Hugh.
“I could ask you the same thing. You all right?” he asked Blair.
“Fine,” she said, tugging his cardigan around her body. She’d taken to wearing it and he wasn’t complaining. “He came in and said he was looking for you.” Her eyes said his friend did much more than that.
“I was wondering what she was doing here,” Justin explained. “I saw her through the window.”
“I have a job here,” Blair replied sharply. “I told you that.”
“A job doing what? I was curious, really, at what Blair Fraser is doing in a place like this that has nothing to do with her degree.”
Hugh set the food down on a stool nearby. “How about we go outside, huh?”
“Fine, if that’s what you want. Nice seeing you, Blair.”
Blair’s nostrils flared and her toes curled as Hugh dragged Justin outside.
“Seriously, what are you doing? Were you hitting on her?” Hugh asked in disbelief.
“I merely stopped in to say hi. What’s wrong with that?”
“You were not just saying hi. She’s my fiancée. I told you, either accept it or stay away from her.”
Justin placed a hand over his chest mockingly. “I’m your best man at the wedding. I can’t possibly stay away from the bride forever. If she stays the bride,” he added.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” he said, holding up his hands. “I worry, is all.”
“She’s not going to stab me in the back, and if I catch you bothering her again, I won’t be so cordial.” He stormed away and returned to the gallery.
Henry spoke quietly with Blair. “My dear, you look exhausted. Were finals that terrible?”
“Yeah, finals,” she sighed. “Finals, life in general. I’m fine, really.”
“No, you’re really not,” Hugh argued, and her brow furrowed in annoyance. “He’s right. You’ve been tired the past couple of weeks. You don’t sleep at night, and you hardly eat unless I remind you.”
She wrapped the cardigan tighter around her body. “I haven’t been hungry. Besides, aren’t brides supposed to starve themselves before their weddings?” Henry scowled at her as Hugh stared her down with him. “You two are ridiculous.”
“We care about you. Now then, I’m taking off for the night. For the love of God, Hugh, don’t let her stay here all night.” Henry strolled out the front door, leaving Blair and Hugh alone.
She pulled the food out of the bag and set it on the rolling cart beside her, not speaking. Without taking a bite of anything, she turned back to the photographs needing to be hung up and murmured under her breath.
“No, no working until you eat,” Hugh argued and pulled her back.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’ve been saying that a lot lately.” He ran his thumb gingerly under her eyes. “You’re stressing out way too much and I don’t like it.”
“Classes are over. I’ll be fine, really.”
“You’re lying,” he stated and she looked away. “Talk to me, please.”
Her head fell forward, her curls covering her face. “T
here’s nothing you can do about it. It’s how I deal with stressful situations. Your mom’s being pushier than normal, and Devin keeps glaring at me every time I’m over at the house.”
“Tune them out. It’s what I do.”
“It’s not that simple sometimes,” she snapped, covering her face as she groaned. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right.”
“I get it, I do. I’ve dealt with them my whole life, remember?”
“Yeah, and look what they did to you.”
He flinched. “Ouch, that was a little harsh.”
“I’m being honest. That’s what your family does. They wear people down by stomping on them over and over, and I don’t want you getting in the middle of it because they’ll either make you hate me, or they’ll break you down, too, and I don’t want that.”
He backed away from her. “You really have that little faith in me.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I think you did.” He ran his hands through his hair as his annoyance at dealing with his family while trying to keep Blair sane turned into anger. He was so busy worrying about her falling apart, he hardly had time to breathe or think. Every day, he put out fires, either from his mom or from Blair. “You could stand up to her.”
“You think I haven’t tried?” she yelled. “She doesn’t listen to me. Hell, she doesn’t even listen to my mom. She listens to your dad and Devin.”
“I can only do so much.”
“Because? You’re scared they’ll disown you? Jesus, we’re supposed to be planning a wedding, and all we’re doing is watching her take over our lives!” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she paced around the gallery. “We swore we wouldn’t let her do this and look what she’s doing.”
He crossed his arms, glaring at the floor.
“This wedding—it’s taking over our lives and driving us crazy. If I push too hard, she warns me my big mouth will ruin your name, and if you push, she’ll threaten to kick you out of the family. We’re trapped no matter what we do.”
Hugh wished he could rewind the evening to when he first walked in and not mention her stress, not push her so hard. “Are you saying you don’t want to get married?” he asked quietly, unsure why he asked.
Blair’s eyes widened. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“It sounds like you are,” he argued. “Do you want to call the wedding off? Walk away?”
She opened her mouth but clamped it shut just as fast. They locked gazes, and he saw the warring emotions in those blue irises. They crinkled and her cheeks reddened. She was smiling. No, not smiling. She was trying to hold back laughter.
“Blair? I’m not sure this is a laughing matter.”
“I think it is. Look at us,” she said through her hysterical laughter. “We’re fighting because of your parents. Look what they’re doing to us. This isn’t us, not even close.”
She was right, and the tension from their spat flowed away. He cursed and reached for her. “Come here.” He drew her into his arms and held her close as they laughed together. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I am. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. The kiss started gentle and sweet, but their touches became urgent. She dragged him by his shirt down towards the back of the gallery and through a door leading to a small supply closet. The space was small, but that didn’t stop them from sharing a quickie to make up. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so he said it without words, pressing her body against the wall as she held fast to his shoulders. Their mouths never parted, and he swallowed her cries, she muffling his in return. His anxiety gone and his mind relaxed, he held Blair, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as they stayed in their private sanctuary.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice yelled, and Blair cursed, which was followed by a giggle.
“Jesse’s here,” she told him. “We should get out there before she thinks something happened to us.” They adjusted their clothes and stepped out from the back of the gallery. “We’re here. You’re late.”
Jesse glanced from one to the other, and Hugh grinned wider. “Apparently, that was a good thing. Getting a little hanky-panky in while you’re at work, eh? Not a bad idea.”
“I was going to offer you fries, but I think I might not do that now.”
“Aww, don’t do that. I’m your friend, honest. I won’t tell anyone I heard you two bumping uglies,” she teased.
“You didn’t,” Blair whispered, mortified as Hugh cackled.
“Oh, I most certainly did. I was being polite and letting you finish.”
“Such a good friend.”
Blair muttered something about grabbing the rest of the pictures from the back, leaving Hugh alone with Jesse. He waited until she was out of earshot before asking Jesse, “Are you as worried about her as I am?”
Jesse’s bright smile faded. “Yeah, I am. I keep asking her, but she doesn’t tell me much. I know she thinks she’s stealing my thunder, but Mark and I aren’t planning our wedding ‘til next year. She can steal it all she wants. Is she sleeping at all?”
“Not much,” he confessed. “When I wake up in the middle of the night, she’s not in bed.”
“What’s she doing?”
“Sitting in the living room, staring out the windows.” He tugged at his beard, now steadily growing longer, remembering how lost she looked at four that morning when he woke to find her sitting on the windowsill. He hadn’t said anything, merely watched her. His gut told him she was hiding something from him, but if she hadn’t told Jesse, she was either waiting for the right time or didn’t want anyone to know. “Do you think I should push?”
“You should know better than anyone that girl is a flight risk.”
Blair had been a runner when they were younger. She dealt with her stress by running off—to the pond, the creek, or the treehouse. She managed to get as far as the stables one time and gave her mom a heart attack.
“You don’t think she’ll run now, do you?”
“She loves you, Hugh, know that if nothing else,” Jesse said and patted his arm. “But everyone has their breaking point, and that girl is making a beeline towards hers, if you ask me.”
“I was afraid of that.”
Hugh was torn between doing exactly what Jesse told him not to do and willing Blair to tell him what he needed to hear before he got to desperation point and pushed anyway. Blair stepped back into the room a few minutes later, and the bags under her eyes looked even worse than before. She’d lost a few pounds, too, and he worried it was just the beginning. Once they were home, he would tell her she had to get her butt to the doctor on her own or he would follow through and be the obnoxious fiancé who dragged her there himself.
Blair picked at her nails as she sat in the exam room, waiting for the doctor to return. They had taken blood over an hour ago. Her doctor said it wasn’t uncommon to be so rundown with all Blair had been doing the past few weeks, but she wanted to run some tests to be sure nothing else was going on behind the scenes. She commented on her lack of eating, and Blair confessed she felt nauseated sometimes and nothing sounded good. The lack of sleep she couldn’t explain, except to say every time she closed her eyes, she had nightmares of Bridget and Devin turning her into a robot. Weird, but not surprising after what she dealt with day in and day out.
Bridget and Devin were planning again. Kella called her over the weekend to warn her Bridget was far too happy as she strolled through the house. Blair hated to imagine what that horrible woman was up to and didn’t dare bother Hugh about it. After their spat at the gallery, she vowed to keep her concerns to herself as much as possible. Only one of them needed to be a wreck all the time.
“Blair,” her doctor said as she walked back in the exam room. “Blair, are you sleeping?”
“Hmm? Sorry,” she said, yawning as she forced herself to sit up. “I didn’t realize I dozed off.”
“I have your results back,” her doctor said. “Congratulati
ons, you’re two months’ pregnant.”
Blair’s heart skipped a beat, and she wiggled her finger in her ear. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I said you’re pregnant, about two months.”
“No, no I can’t be…I can’t be pregnant…oh, God.” She hopped off the table and vomited in the trash can, her hands shaking and knees weak as the reality of her situation fell on her shoulders. She was pregnant. Those two days she’d missed her pills was all it took. The doctor handed her a few paper towels for her mouth as she straightened. “Sorry.”
“Are you not happy with his news?” she asked, worried.
“I am,” she said, surprising herself, but doubts rose in her mind and she gulped. “It’s unexpected, is all. You said two months?” Blair counted the months in her mind. When Hugh and she married, she would be eight months pregnant. There would be no way to hide the size of her belly.
“You are healthy, though I am going to suggest you take some prenatal vitamins and try to eat more. And you said you’re planning a wedding?”
“Partially,” she grunted as her stomach rebelled again, but she held it down. “It’s not the wedding that’s stressful as much as the future in-laws.”
“You tell them you’re pregnant and they’d better lay off. It’s not good for you or the baby.”
“I’ll get right on that,” she lied. No way could she go to Hugh’s parents and admit she was pregnant. What about Hugh? How would she tell him? Was he ready for this? Because she had no idea if she was. “Thanks. I promise I’m happy, really.”
“You’ll be a great mother,” she assured her. “You can get dressed and I’ll be back with a checklist for you. Stop taking your birth control, don’t forget that.”
Blair laid back on the table when her doctor left, flinging her arm over her face. She was pregnant with Hugh’s child. Her hand rested on her belly—still flat, thankfully—and wondered how she would break this news to him.
Chapter 10
Hugh watched Blair all through dinner at his parents’ house. She ate, at least, but she neglected her wine and an after-dinner drink. It’d been two weeks since her doctor’s appointment and she appeared to be better, but she also spent less time with Bridget discussing the wedding.
