by Lori Maguire
“I’ll check with Tom. I know we won’t be visiting his parents on Christmas since it’s difficult to get his family all together. We are going this weekend instead since it was convenient for everyone. What about your parents?”
“I called mom last night and she said they had friends to visit with. Besides, Xavier had flown them out for Thanksgiving, so my mom didn’t want to travel again. She fears the weather in the winter.” I paused for a minute. “Um, I need to go to an appointment in downtown at one, okay?” I carefully looked over at Renatta.
“Okay. What kind of appointment? You’re acting a little …” She paused for a moment narrowing her eyes at me suspiciously. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you’re pregnant?” Her voice shot up several octaves.
I nodded at her. “I just found out Saturday by doing a home pregnancy test. Xavier doesn’t know yet so please don’t say anything.” I rushed to tell her.
“I didn’t realize you guys were trying again already. Wait, what do you mean Xavier doesn’t know yet?” She frowned at me.
“We really weren’t. We were supposed to wait two months, but obviously that didn’t happen. I really want to get it confirmed by the doctor first. Besides, I figured what better Christmas present to give the man who already has everything.”
“Oh, Ella. I’m so happy for you. Congratulations. He’s going to be ecstatic. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling really good. Other than being a little nauseous the last several mornings and feeling very emotional, I haven’t had any other problems.”
“Are you going to be able to keep this quiet until Christmas?” she asked doubtfully.
“I seriously doubt it. I might have to give in and tell him this weekend.” I sighed heavily.
Just before one o’clock, Renatta and I made our way to Dr. Ellington’s office. I sat nervously waiting while I eyed all the other pregnant mothers in the waiting room. How did I get here? Just three months ago, I had known Xavier for all of a week and here I was living with him and pregnant. We’ve barely had time to be a couple. We weren’t even married. The panic started to rise. My heart was pounding in my chest.
“Ella? Everything okay?” Renatta asked, frowning at me.
“I don’t know, Ren. Maybe this is a mistake. We aren’t even married. What are my parents going to think? What’s everybody going to think if we run out and get married now? Everybody’s going to think that he’s only marrying me because he knocked me up. He kept our engagement out of the paper. They are going to think I’m a gold digger who trapped him. We should’ve waited. We should’ve been more careful. I shouldn’t have let this happen.” My eyes were wide as I was clutching onto her arm.
Renatta gave me a sympathetic look. “You’re over thinking this, Ella. First, your parents are going to be thrilled. You’re their only child. They gave up hope of ever having their own biological grandchildren until now. Second, it doesn’t matter what the world thinks. Those that are closest to the two of you are going to know differently and that’s all that matters. This is not a mistake. It’s a miracle, Ella.” Renatta placed her hand over mine and squeezed. “Besides, you said you were feeling emotional. Don’t panic. Everything is going to be great.” She smiled widely at me.
She was right. I was emotional and over thinking it all. I sighed and took a deep calming breath. “Thank you, Ren. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d have a full blown panic attack,” she said teasingly.
An hour later, I walked out of the doctor’s office in a complete daze. Silently, Renatta calmly followed me back to the SUV, but I could tell she was dying for any tidbit of information. As soon as we got into the SUV, she started talking rapidly.
“Well, Ella? How is everything? I can’t tell by the look on your face, but you look scared to death, which of course has me a little scared. You were back there for a long time, and my imagination is really starting to run away with me.”
I grabbed her arm and squeezed. “I’m sorry. I just got bombarded with tons of information. Thankfully, they gave me reading material and websites to go visit, because I was in such a daze I know I didn’t catch everything the doctor said. She did a pelvic exam and a pregnancy test. They also took blood.” I glanced down at my arm. “Damn, I hope this doesn’t bruise. How am I going to explain I had blood drawn?” I frowned at the bandage currently in place in the crook of my arm.
“And? Come on, Ella. Is everything all right?” she asked anxiously.
“Yes. Sorry. Yes, everything is all right. She confirmed the pregnancy. My hormone levels were low, but she said not to worry that we may have just caught it early.”
“Oh my God, Ella,” Renatta breathed. “You’re going to have a baby!” she said excitedly. “How far along are you?”
“According to her calculations, I’m about six weeks. I have a due date of July 27th.”
“I can’t believe it. A possible Leo baby,” Renatta said shaking her head.
“Huh, I hadn’t even thought of that.” I smirked at her. “Let’s get back to work.”
Once we finished out the day, Renatta and I visited the local Carter’s store in Tukwila. I found exactly what I needed there for my gift to Xavier. I dropped Renatta off and headed home.
Xavier’s black SUV was in its marked spot when I pulled into the garage. I reached over and grabbed the Carter’s bag and stuck it in the bottom of my Coach bag along with the information pamphlets I had gotten from the doctor. Xavier never went into my pocketbook, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.
As soon as I stepped off the elevator, I paused. The soulful sound of Luther Vandross was coming from the living room. I took a deep breath. The wonderful smell of P. F. Chang’s filled my nose making my stomach grumble. What exactly was he up to?
I quickly deposited my pocketbook and camera bag in the bedroom, and headed out to find my handsome man. The only light coming from the living room was from a fire in the fireplace and the colorful glow of the Christmas tree. The lights of Seattle twinkled through the windows behind the tree. I stopped and admired the view for a moment. It looked like the front of a Seattleite’s Christmas card. I made a mental note to grab my camera before the night was out.
Then my eyes found and focused on Xavier. Of course I knew he was sitting there intently watching me because my skin tingled with awareness as soon as I came down the hall. Xavier was tucked in the corner of the couch. His left arm was draped casually over the back while his long legs were stretched out in front of him. He still had his Armani trousers on minus the vest, tie, and jacket. The first few buttons of his dress shirt were undone and he had the sleeves rolled up over his forearms. He looked sexy as hell. He looked very much the same as he did the first night we were intimate.
“Good evening, sweetness,” he said huskily. The way he spoke in that sexy baritone made my nipples harden.
I stood on the threshold of the living room. “Good evening, hotness,” I quietly replied.
He smirked and shook his head before he shrugged off the couch and sauntered over to me. Stopping before me, he placed his warm, long fingers on either side of my neck while his thumbs pushed my chin up forcing me to look him in the eye. His beautiful blue eyes twinkled with amusement. He pressed his lips to mine for a kiss, but pulled away all too quickly.
“Did you have a good day?” he asked.
“Yes, and it seems to only be getting better.” I winked at him. “You?”
“I had a good day, but how it ends is going to be up to you.” He grabbed my hand. “Come. I picked up your favorite for dinner.” He led me to the dining room.
I was surprised to find two place settings made up at the end of the huge dining room table. He used the same white linen tablecloth and crystal goblets from the first time I had dinner with him months ago. A small vase with six red roses was placed in the middle of the place settings with the familiar silver candleholders with white taper candles.
He pulled my chair out for me
and gently pushed me in. He leaned over and lit the candles. I noticed a bucket with a bottle of wine sitting off to the side. Shit. I can’t have wine. How am I going to get around this?
“I thought I would change things up a little tonight. I got egg rolls instead of lettuce wraps and pepper steak instead of Mongolian beef. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s fine. As a matter of fact, anything from PF Chang’s is fine.” I smiled up at him.
He moved to grab the bottle of wine. “If it’s okay, I think I’ll pass on the wine tonight. I’ve been fighting some acid reflux all day, and I’m afraid the wine will only irritate my stomach more.”
He paused and frowned at me. “Okay, baby. Sparkling water or sparkling cranberry juice?”
“Mmm, sparkling cranberry juice would be divine. Thank you.”
Minutes later, he was pouring the sparkling juice into my goblet. He placed all the containers of food on the table. “Dig in,” he said playfully.
I quickly started in on the pepper steak as soon as I devoured an egg roll. Xavier eyed me suspiciously. “Were you hungry, Ella? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat with such gusto. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were …” His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.
“Pregnant?” I shook my head. “Sorry, no such luck. I’m just about to get my period.” The despairing look on his face almost broke my resolve. “Don’t look so sad, hotness. I’ve really enjoyed all of our attempts so far.”
“As have I, sweetness.” He gave me a scorching look. “Finish up. We can give it another go tonight if you’re up to it.”
I continued eating. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I would swear you were trying to butter me up for something.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
He put his fork down, took a gulp of his wine, and cleared his throat.
“You are, aren’t you?” I asked accusingly.
“Sweetness, I … I have to travel over the next couple of days. I just wanted us to have an enjoyable night tonight before I have to leave,” he said with a doleful tone.
I gaped at him. “Travel? How long are you going to be gone?” I whispered.
“I need to go to Vancouver. I’ll leave tomorrow. I’m hoping to be back on Thursday.”
My eyes were drawn to the flame of one of the candles. I stared into it wistfully. “Two nights?” I solemnly asked. We haven’t been apart for any amount of time in months.
“I’m sorry, baby. If I didn’t have to go I wouldn’t,” he said apologetically.
“No, it’s all right. I understand. You have a job to do. You news just surprised me.”
He reached over and placed his hand on my forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Listen, I got your text about Tom and Renatta being able to join us for the holiday. So, I planned something special for us this weekend. Just the two of us.”
“Oh?” That got my attention.
“It’s a Bavarian village my parents used to take Gabriel and me to. It’s wonderfully decorated for the holiday.”
“I look forward to it.” I smiled weakly at him. The thought of having him all to myself for the weekend might get me through the next forty-eight hours without him.
Once we were done eating, Xavier tucked me in front of the fireplace while he cleaned up from dinner. How much longer was I going to be able to keep this pregnancy to myself? Since Tom and Renatta were going to be joining us for the Christmas holiday, maybe I should tell him this weekend when it’s just the two of us. If he’s going to be in Vancouver too I won’t have to worry about trying to avoid alcohol. I hope after he finds out that he’s not upset with me for keeping it a secret like this. I just want to make it special.
“Hey, why do you look so deep in thought?” he asked curiously.
“I was just thinking about how this will be our first real separation.”
He curled up next to me. “I’m sorry, baby. Stop thinking about it tonight.” He lifted my hair and started planting feather soft kisses along my neck. “I’m sure I can figure out some way to distract you,” he said softly against my skin.
“I’m sure you can,” I said breathlessly.
Grabbing my face in his hands, he crushed his lips to mine, thrusting his tongue into my mouth hungrily. He guided me down onto the couch as he leveled his body over mine. He made sure that my only thoughts for the rest of the night were focused solely on him.
Tuesday morning, Xavier woke me so I could share a shower and have breakfast with him before he left. I was grateful for the extra time with him since I wouldn’t be seeing him until Thursday night. The thought of having to go that long without him depressed me. I tried not to let that fact dampen the time I had with him, but my emotions were all over the place. I silently blamed the pregnancy.
While I waited for him to gather his things, I wandered over to the Christmas tree. Our new Waterford heart ornament immediately caught my eye. Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around me from behind. One warm hand spread out over my abdomen and pulled me tight against him. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to rest on his chest.
“You’re killing me, Ella,” he whispered in my ear. “Please don’t look so sad, baby. You know I’ll hurry back as soon as I can.”
“I’m not hiding my disappointment very well.” I sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. I know you will. Take care of business and then we’ll have the weekend.” I softly caressed his hand that was spread out on my abdomen. “Thank you for getting me up this morning so we could have this time together.”
He gently turned me around and cupped my face in his soft, warm hands. “I needed that time. Memories of how your body arches beneath my touch. The little sounds you make when you get really excited. Those wonderful moments spent with you will carry me through the next two days,” he said softly.
I blushed furiously at the images his words invoked. His thumbs ran over my heated cheeks. Those glorious, blue eyes were locked onto mine. That musky, manly smell that was Xavier filled my nose. I snaked my hands under his jacket and wrapped them around his back. He sealed his mouth over mine. The warmth of his hands left my face so he could run them down to my lower back. He pressed me tight against him. I ran my nails over his back, and was rewarded with that sexy rumble from his chest that I loved so much.
“Excuse me, Mr. Hart?” Stewart’s voice broke through my euphoric haze.
Xavier’s face slowly pulled away, but his arms remained locked around me. Embarrassed at being caught by Stewart, I tried to step away from Xavier but he held me fast.
“We need to go, sir.”
“Thank you, Stewart.” Xavier turned back to me. “I’m sorry, sweetness. I’ll call you as soon as I land.” He grabbed my face and kissed me chastely. “I miss you already.”
All I could do was nod at him. Placing my hands over his as he held my face and mouthed, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said softly. Another chaste kiss and he was gone.
I plopped down onto the couch feeling desolate. The weight of his absence pressed down on me making it difficult to breath. Fighting tears, I dropped my face into my hands. Xavier’s scent clung to them, which only caused the tears to silently flow down my face. What the hell was wrong with me? My hormones were wrecking havoc with my emotions.
Suddenly, the couch dipped next to me. A feminine hand gently rubbed my shoulder. “Is everything all right, Ella?” Bev softly asked.
Embarrassed by my ridiculous reaction to Xavier’s departure, I swiped at my cheeks. “Yes. Everything is fine, Bev,” I said hoarsely. I tried to clear my throat. “I should get ready to leave for work. I don’t want to keep Renatta waiting.” I went to stand up and swayed when a wave of dizziness hit.
“Ella?” Bev grabbed my arm and guided me back down to the couch. “This isn’t just about Xavier leaving. I know this is none of my business, but are you feeling all right? You look pale and completely dra …” Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened. She just figured out I was pregnant. It was all
over her face.
I paused for a moment. “Bev, the answer to that look on your face is yes. I’m pregnant.” I gave her a small smile.
Her eyes welled up with happy tears. “Congratulations, Ella.” She wrapped her arms gently around me. “I’m so happy for you two.”
“I haven’t told Xavier yet.” She pulled away quickly and frowned. “I just had it confirmed by the doctor yesterday. I have a surprise in mind for telling him. I’m going to do it this weekend, Friday to be exact. The only other person who knows is Renatta.”
“It’s probably best that you waited anyway. Otherwise, I fear Xavier never would have left for his business trip today. He’s going to be thrilled. Have no fear. Your secret is safe with me. When are you due?”
“July 27th.”
“So close to both your birthdays. You’ll let me know if there is anything in particular you are craving or if there is anything special you need? I’ll gladly make a special trip to the store for you,” she said, winking at me.
“Thank you, Bev.” I gave her a hug. “I really should be going.”
By the time I got to Equinox, Renatta was pacing on the sidewalk. Her frown morphed into a smile as soon as she saw me.
“Where have you been?” she asked as she climbed in.
“I’m sorry. Xavier lingered a little longer then he should have this morning,” I said sadly.
“Shit. I’m sorry, El. I forgot he was leaving,” she said apologetically. “Are you okay?”
“No. My damn emotions are all over the place. Bev figured it out. I only confirmed what she already knew.”
“You told her? You’re not worried about her telling Xavier?” she asked incredulously.
“No. Bev won’t say anything. Besides, Xavier gets back Thursday night and we leave Friday morning for the weekend. I decided to tell him Friday night. I can’t keep avoiding wine with dinner without him getting too suspicious.”
Renatta nodded in silent agreement.
While we were at our first location, Xavier called. “Hey, hotness.” I tried to sound upbeat, which was easier to do than I expected based on the huge smile that broke out on my face at the sight of his name on the screen of my phone.
