Samantha glanced at the ceiling. “I’m due any day.”
“When was your last one?”
“I don’t remember. I’ve always been irregular.” A sick feeling started to grow deep in her stomach.
Debbie tilted her head to the side. “What have you and Blake been using for birth control?”
“I’m not pregnant.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
Samantha sat up, unable to lay any longer. “Condoms. And we’ve never forgotten. We’ve blown through nearly every box he owned.” A nervous laugh left her lips.
“Condoms have a two percent birth rate.”
“Debbie, I’m not pregnant.”
The doctor patted her on her arm before reaching behind her and grabbing a cup. “You know where the bathroom is. Let’s remove pregnancy from possible reasons for your malaise so we can start looking for another source.”
Samantha hopped from the table, ignoring the slight tremor in her hand. “Fine.”
The next ten minutes were the longest in her life. Sam searched back in her calendar on her smart phone to the time before she and Blake had met, desperately trying to prove Debbie wrong before she walked back in the room.
But when the door opened, and Debbie stepped through the doors, Samantha’s heart plunged to the ground.
“Congratulations.”
Sam jumped to her feet, shaking her head. “No.”
“We can run a serum test, but these things are accurate. You’re pregnant, not sick.”
Everything stood still. The institutional style clock on the wall ticked away the seconds and the room closed in around her. Sam’s chest started a rapid rise and fall as she struggled to take a deep breath. Tears stung the back of her eyes. “But we were careful.”
Debbie patted her hand and encouraged her to sit back down. “I can see this is unexpected. Maybe you both wanted to wait to start a family, but it is what it is.”
What was she going to do? Blake trusted her. How could this be happening? They’d been careful.
“Sit down.” Debbie helped her on the exam table again. “Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay.”
“You don’t understand.” How could she. Debbie saw a newly married woman. Anyone else would be thrilled with the news of a baby.
“Then help me understand. What are you afraid of?”
The loving smile on Blake’s face turning to hatred when he learns of the pregnancy. All the trust and mutual respect would end the minute she told him the news.
“It’s not what we wanted,” Samantha whispered, lost in her thoughts.
“You’re not the first newlywed to get pregnant. I’m sure your husband loves you. He’ll understand.”
But he didn’t love her.
A tear dropped down her cheek.
“Samantha?”
Her gaze traveled to her old friend whose concern was etched into her face. “What’s wrong? You didn’t cry when your mother died, or when your sister ended up in the emergency room.” By now, Debbie was sitting beside her, her hands holding Samantha’s.
Sucking in her bottom lip and forcing her eyes to dry, Sam shook her head. “Women are emotional creatures. Especially pregnant women.” Oh, God. I’m pregnant.
“Are you sure that’s all it is?”
Unable to tell Debbie the truth, Samantha nodded. “I’m in shock. I need time to adjust.”
“You’ve always adjusted, no matter what’s thrown at you.”
“I know.”
“All right. Let’s go over a few things you need to know. I’ll be sending you to Dr. Marzikian…” Debbie outlined the first few months of pregnancy, which Samantha listened to with half an ear.
As she walked out of the office with a prescription for prenatal vitamins instead of birth control, Samantha never felt so alone in her life.
By the time she reached her car, the tears were streaming down her face and she was helpless to stop them.
****
Jeff Melina, Blake’s personal lawyer, sat across from him shaking a paper in the air. “Your father was a jackass.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I’ve never seen a more iron-clad will in my life. You’d think there’d be some loophole somewhere to negate what he’s asking you to do.”
Not the words Blake wanted to hear. “There has to be something.”
Jeff tossed the papers on the desk. “I’ve looked. It’s like your dad knew you’d marry long enough to collect, then divorce.”
Confiding in his lawyer couldn’t be avoided from the beginning. “Blows my plan all to hell.”
“If you could find an unscrupulous doctor to jack up Samantha’s medical records, saying she’s unable to get pregnant… oh, forget I said that.”
Blake shook his head. “Samantha is seeing her doctor back in LA this week to get on the pill.”
Jeff tapped his desk. “So you are sleeping with her. I didn’t think you’d hold out.”
“It was easier to give in than pretend we weren’t interested.” Blake could hardly wait for his flight later that night to get home to sleep with her again. He’d missed her. When they spoke on the phone earlier in the day, she didn’t sound right. Like something was bothering her. He’d asked, but she let on like nothing was wrong.
“You know… there is something you haven’t considered.”
Blake thought himself a very thorough man. “What would that be?”
Jeff leveled his gaze to Blake. “Get her pregnant.”
“What about ‘going on the pill’ did you not understand?”
“You need two forms of birth control that first month.”
Blake stood and started to pace. “Jesus, Jeff. You’re kidding me, right?”
“Women have tricked men into unwanted pregnancies for centuries. They always want equal rights.”
Blake shook him off. “Stop. I know you think I’m an ass, but I’m not that far gone.” Obviously his lawyer was, which might be a good thing in a courtroom, but not in this situation.
“It’s my job to find a way to legally get you what you want. It’s just a suggestion. You might try asking her.”
“Ask her to get pregnant?”
“Why not? She obviously had a price the first time.”
Blake’s jaw started to ache. Jeff was treading a thin line, even if it held some truth. “She’s not a hooker, Jeff.”
“You’re paying her ten million dollars to be your wife for a year and you’re sleeping with her.”
Blake was on the desk in a heartbeat. Gripping the edge, he shoved his face next to Jeff’s. “Don’t go there.”
“Whoa, boy, back off. I didn’t realize you actually cared about her. I’m sorry.” Jeff’s face had gone ashen.
As Blake stepped away, he wondered if he’d have to find a new lawyer. Something in the way Jeff spoke about Samantha as if she were no more than a piece of furniture, made him see red.
“I think we’re done here.” Blake needed to get out of the office before he started throwing punches.
Jeff smoothed his tie as he stood. “If she cares about you half as much as you seem to care for her, she might say yes to having your baby. Women are emotional that way.”
Where had Blake heard that before?
Maybe.
Chapter Eleven
Blake was going to talk to Samantha tonight. Because keeping his father’s shitty will to himself wasn’t something he could do any longer. ‘Honesty is our code word.’ Samantha’s absolute trust in him would make him a better man. It scared him that Jeff thought he could force Samantha into a pregnancy… that Blake would use her that way. Had he deserved that reputation? Maybe he did. There weren’t a lot of people who thought better of him, except maybe her.
Keeping her trust suddenly became paramount.
It was just past six when he walked into his Malibu home. The sound of Mary in the kitchen drew him there first.
“I hope you’ve made enough for two,” he said, catching
the woman’s attention.
“Oh, you’re home. Thank goodness. I thought I’d have to call you.”
“Call me? Why? Is everything okay?” Blake glanced around the kitchen expecting Samantha to walk into the room. She wasn’t as used to Mary’s services and often stood by to lend a hand with the chores.
“It’s Samantha. She’s hardly come out of your room all day.”
Alarm bells went off in his head. “Is she sick?” He was already walking toward the stairs.
Mary followed behind him, dishtowel in hand. “I don’t know. She said she’s fine, but she isn’t eating and I hear her crying.”
Blake took the stairs two at a time and flew into his room. The door opened immediately and he could hear Samantha in the bathroom. Her sobs thrust a knife in his chest. When he heard her swear, he thought it best to avoid an audience.
“I’ve got this,” he told Mary.
Closing the door behind him, Blake stepped into the doorway of the bathroom and found Samantha sitting with her back to the tub, her head buried on her knees.
“Samantha?” He reached her side as he called her name.
When she brought her tear-soaked eyes to his something inside him ripped apart. What could possible be so awful? For all the talk about women being emotional creatures, he hadn’t seen it with the woman in front of him until now. Her lip quivered and a new round of tears started to fall.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” He started pulling her into his arms but she resisted his touch.
“They d-didn’t work,” she said.
“What didn’t work?” He settled on his knees and kept his hands on her shoulders so she couldn’t turn away.
Samantha reached for a box at her feet, and waved it in front of his eyes. “These.”
It took a few seconds to recognize what she held in her hand. Packages of condoms had been tossed around the bathroom as if Samantha had a fight with the latex. Several boxes were on the counter others by the tub.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Samantha picked up another box and threw it across the room at a wastebasket. “They didn’t work!” she cried. She grabbed another packet, threw it, and missed.
Didn’t work? What is she saying?
She buried her head on her knees again. “I’m pregnant.”
Oh, hell. Every nerve in his body jolted. Blake braced himself… for what, he didn’t know. The feeling of dread didn’t come, dismay… no, that wasn’t there either. Shock! Yes, he was definitely shocked. The last thing he thought he’d come home to after an appointment with his lawyer discussing a need for an heir was to hear his temporary wife declare she was going to have his child. His astounded disbelief knowing the trembling woman sitting on the floor of his bathroom was carrying his baby wouldn’t set in for some time.
Damn, no wonder Samantha was so upset.
Blake gathered her in his arms.
She all but crawled in his lap.
“It’s okay,” he cooed in her ear.
Her sobs were so loud, so heartbreaking, that he felt a heavy guilt only the man who put her in this position could feel. “It’s going to be okay.”
And it would be.
Someway.
Somehow.
“Shhh.”
“I didn’t m-mean for this to h-happen,” she hiccupped between words.
“I know.” He did know. Without any doubt, he knew Samantha wouldn’t have ever planned this event.
Vanessa… absolutely! If for no other reason than to be a Duchess.
Jacqueline… probably not, but then she wasn’t mother material.
But Samantha… hell no. His wife was too real for games, too real for this kind of deceit. At least with him. Honesty was their key word, after all.
Blake shifted on the balls of his feet and picked Samantha up to take her away from her war with the condoms. Lord, how was it he had so many boxes of the damn things anyway? Oh, yeah… Vanessa swore she was allergic to anything other than the brand he now saw littered all over the bathroom floor.
In their bedroom, he kept Samantha in his lap and crawled onto the soft surface of the bed. Samantha’s upsetting sobs reduced to whimpers until finally he felt her relax against his chest in what he thought was a much-needed slumber. The entire time Blake held her, stroked her hair, and told her that he was there and that everything would work out.
He’d make everything work.
****
During the night, Samantha woke a few times, always with the weight of Blake’s arm circling her waist or his fingers stroking her skin. Her exhausted sleep gave way to a blurry-eyed morning with a headache that topped the charts. Add to that her typical lack of appetite and utter embarrassment over Blake catching her weeping in the middle of a bathroom floor surrounded by boxes of useless condoms, and Samantha didn’t think things could get worse.
But then she remembered the pregnancy.
Point one for worse.
Her bladder forced her from Blake’s arms and the warm bed. He didn’t stir when she slid from their bed and padded into the bathroom.
Somewhere in the night, Blake must have cleaned up the mess she’d made. The boxes were gone, or tucked away. Good, she mused. She didn’t want to see another prophylactic for as long as she lived.
In the mirror, she noted the dark circles under her eyes, the smudges of makeup on her face. Her hair stuck out in a few places and she’d hadn’t managed to put on any night clothes before collapsing into bed.
What a mess.
Forcing herself away from her reflection, Samantha took her time with a hot shower. As her thoughts shifted to what would happen next between her and Blake, she forced them away.
No more assuming. She’d work through every turn of their relationship with him and did her best to keep her emotions on a tight leash. This pregnancy wasn’t something either of them had wanted. But it was. Sam knew she couldn’t give away a child, or worse, terminate her pregnancy. She was a responsible adult, not a teenage kid without options.
The headache receded into the back of her head as she left the shower. A little cream on her face, some gel under her eyes, and she felt nearly human. When she exited the bathroom in a fluffy bathrobe, she expected to find Blake still asleep.
He wasn’t.
Still in the rumpled clothing he’d slept in, he stood over a small tray he brought up from the kitchen. Samantha noticed coffee, milk, and juice along with a couple of plates. On the serving plates were simple saltine crackers, toast, and hard-boiled eggs.
“What’s this?”
Blake caught her elbow and encouraged her to sit. A serene smile met the corners of his mouth as he took the chair opposite her. “Pregnant women in their first trimester usually start their day off with bland food in order to settle their stomachs.” He reported the facts that Samantha had already learned the hard way as if he were reading from a textbook.
“And where did you learn this?”
“Last night, when you slept, I used my phone for something other than looking up the latest market numbers. I brought coffee, decaf, but the articles I read said you probably wouldn’t want it.” He pushed the one glass of milk on the tray toward her. “But milk is a must for you and the baby.”
With the word baby, Samantha felt tears sting her eyes again. So far, she’d only really looked at what was happening as a pregnancy. An event that changed everything. “This is so sweet.”
“That’s me, Mr. Sweet.”
“Blake—” she started.
“Wait.” He grasped her hand and bent down beside her. “We have a lot to talk about, but right now let’s hold off. You need to eat and I could really use a shower.” His thumb stroked the inside of her wrist as he spoke.
“But—”
He placed a finger over her lips. “Shhh…”
Samantha nodded, conceding to hold off their impending conversation.
Blake smiled and stood. But before he left the room, he placed his lips to hers for a ten
der kiss.
Maybe everything would work out.
An hour later, they both sat on the chaise lounge chairs on the back veranda overlooking the ocean. Blake wore tan shorts and a simple cotton shirt that stretched over his taut chest. The marine layer was far off the coast, giving the sun the opportunity to shine and the temperature to reach the high seventies.
Admittedly, Blake’s idea of breakfast worked wonders, except for the coffee, which Samantha switched to herbal tea and now sat sipping from a warm mug.
Since leaving their bedroom, neither had said one word about the baby. But now the silence stretched between them as vast as the ocean.
“So?” Samantha heard Blake say.
“So.”
A nervous smile played on her lips. Her hands twisted in her lap. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.” It was the one thing she really needed to know Blake understood. The whole reason he’d gone to her to find him a temporary bride was to eliminate a woman wiggling into his life permanently. And here she’d gone and done exactly that. Even if they ended their marriage after a year, a child would be there forever.
Permanent.
“You’ve already said that.”
“I need you to believe me.”
“Look at me, Samantha.”
She hesitated before bringing her eyes to his. There she found a soft gaze and an easy smile. The same one he’d worn when she’d exited the shower. “I never thought for a minute you’d planned, wanted, or expected to be carrying my child.”
A deep-suffering sigh escaped her lips. She spread her fingers over her thighs and forced some of the tension away. “Good. That’s good.”
Glancing back at the ocean, Blake said, “Did you suspect you were pregnant for long?”
Samantha shook her head. “No. I had no idea.” She told him about her doctor visit, about how she’d learned of the pregnancy.
“And the doctor said condoms failed two percent of the time?”
“Yeah. I assumed that statistic was for complacent teens, not intelligent adults.”
They mused over that for a few minutes, this time the silence was a comfort and not a rock in the road.
When Samantha glanced back over at Blake, his face had twisted into a painful expression. “What are you thinking?”
Wife by Wednesday Page 14
