A Little Secret About Love

by Karice Bolton

  “Sam, I need to tell you something,” Dina said, seeing the Silver Ridge exit sign and feeling like her world just opened up again. Silver Ridge was where she belonged.

  “Dina, let’s wait until we get home. It’s only a few minutes out.” He pressed his lips together as if he was contemplating saying something else, but he didn’t so she continued.

  “No, I really need to tell you now. It’s important and something I should have told you a long time ago. Months ago, actually.” Dina sat up straight in her seat and stared at Sam, wondering if their baby would have his strong jawline or pouty lips. Would their baby have his color hair or how about his brilliant blue eyes? She definitely needed to tell him this very second. She was almost bursting with excitement and apprehension. Dina just wanted her pregnancy out in the open.

  “You’re madly in love with me? Is that what you need to tell me?” Sam pulled onto the exit and made his way through town. “Or is it that you want to break your lease? Please tell me you don’t want me to hire Dom at the resort.”

  Dina chuckled as they drove through the heart of town and toward the resort she could now call home.

  “I’m not madly in love with you Sam North, but if you keep showing up at my family functions and saving the day it just might happen.” Dina let out a silent and happy sigh. “It was nice having someone on my side for once.”

  “I bet.”

  “You know, whenever Dom and I would see them, which wasn’t often by the way, he’d always side with them.” Dina shook her head and wondered why in the world she kept going back for more.

  “I kind of gathered that.” Sam frowned, as he turned onto the road leading to the resort. “But why do you stay in contact with them?”

  Dina sat in silence for a few seconds as she thought about his question. She’d wondered that too.

  “I don’t know.” Her shoulders sank. “I guess I hope things will change or they will change.”

  “That’s not how it works.”

  “You changed.” She flashed him a sly grin.

  “No. I think this was always who I was.” He laughed. “I just finally found myself.”

  “Is it Romeo you can thank for that?”

  “I’m thinking it might be you.” He pulled into her driveway, and she suddenly didn’t want to leave his SUV. She wanted to freeze this moment and the way he made her feel because she wasn’t sure she’d ever get this feeling again once she told him her secret.

  “Sam, I—”

  Before she could finish, Sam was out of the car, grabbing Romeo and her bags from the back. She sat in the car for a second with her hand on the door handle and watched him climb her steps and stand by the front door.

  Sam’s gaze connected with hers through the windshield and she realized how silly it was for her to still be sitting in the car. She let out a low grunt, touched her belly for good luck, and hoisted herself out of the SUV. Dina couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to move by the end of the pregnancy, but at the moment that was the least of her worries. She was about to tell the father of her child that he was the father of her child even though he was pretty adamant since she’d met him that he wasn’t into that whole father of any child thing.

  Yeah, this ought to go well.

  Dina unlocked the door and pushed it open as he flipped on the lights. She looked around her cozy space and happiness filled her up. This was definitely her home and being here with Sam North only made it feel better. It was crazy how being in a brand new town still felt more comforting than being with her family who she’d grown up with and who should have provided a safety net. She vowed she would provide that for her child.

  “Take a seat.” She motioned toward the couch, and Sam gave her a confusingly knowing smile as he did as she instructed.

  “Am I in trouble?” he asked, sitting on the far end of the couch.

  She began pacing back and forth and took a deep breath.

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked, looking genuinely concerned.

  She stopped abruptly and spun around to face him.

  “I am fine.” She nodded. “But there’s not just a me.”

  His brows went up.

  “I mean I’m no longer only an I.” She bit her bottom lip and blew out a gust of air. “There’s a we inside of me.”

  “Did Dr. Seuss just possess you?” Sam asked as she plunked down next to him.

  “Sam, I’m pregnant.” Her hands covered her eyes. “That’s why I can’t do guacamole any longer. I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant and I’m pregnant with your child.” She slipped her hands down her face and stared at Sam as a smile broke his expression.

  “I know.” He grabbed her hands and pulled them into his.

  She scowled. “Did Autumn tell you?”

  “She knows?”

  “She’s the only person who does.” Dina was waiting for Sam to erupt or panic or bolt.

  Romeo hopped up next to her on the couch and climbed into her lap as Sam still held her hands.

  His smile only grew. “No, she never said a word. I just had a feeling.”

  “A feeling?”

  He nodded. “I could just tell.”

  “Yeah, right.” She felt the stress leaving her body with every passing second. He wasn’t running out of her house screaming or bursting into tears or blaming her for being careless.

  No, he was staying right where he was, holding her hands, and looking at her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “I’m serious. First of all, you have this glow about you.”

  “How’d you know that wasn’t purely part of my charming self?” Her brow popped up.

  He laughed, pulling her into him. “Second, no one gets sick off of my guacamole. It’s world famous.”

  This time Dina laughed.

  “And finally, you haven’t had a sip of anything to drink for months.”

  “You’ve paid that close of attention to me?”

  “When a person is falling in love, they tend to.” His eyes locked on hers, and every fiber in her body lit up with an excitement she wasn’t expecting.

  But she didn’t want him to be saying he was falling in love with her merely because she was pregnant with his child or just found out her entire home life was a lie.

  She didn’t want to be pitied.

  “You’re not falling in love,” Dina said, pulling back slightly.

  “Why do you say that?” His voice lowered as he cocked his head. “Why do you think you’re not worth loving?”

  His words hit her over the head like a hammer, and she found herself rubbing her belly.

  “I’m worth loving. I just don’t think you’re falling in love.” She glanced at her slightly rounded stomach. “It’s probably your emotions talking.”

  Sam rolled his eyes and stood up. “You’re so very wrong, Dina. So very wrong. But yes, it is my emotions. Emotions are okay to have.”

  He walked over to her kitchen and got a glass of water. “Would you like one?”

  “I’m fine.” She met him in the kitchen. “Listen, I don’t want you to feel pressured. I fully intend on taking care of the baby.”

  “I don’t feel an ounce of pressure.” He set the glass on the counter.

  “I’m not asking for money.”

  “It’s fine if you do.” A smirk fell across his expression.

  “I just hope you’ll be there for him or her.”

  “I fully intend on it.” He leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest, watching her carefully.

  “But the one thing I refuse to do is get into a relationship with you because I’m pregnant. This isn’t the 1950’s where you need to join the service and take care of us. I’ve got this.”

  “I don’t doubt for a second that you’ve got this.” His smile turned into an obnoxiously sexy grin. “But this also happens to be a part of me.”

  “True, which is why I want you to be a part of our child’s life.”

  “I’d certainly hop
e so.” He straightened up and glanced at Romeo. “It’s good I’ve gotten some practice, but I want to be here for you and our child.”

  Dina knew better than to believe what was coming out of Sam’s mouth. Men had promised her things before and failed to deliver. This time it was too important to fall for a few one-liners. She had a child to take care of and their hearts to protect.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to get to the three month mark and then life happened.” She tightened her lips. “And then I guess I chickened out. I wasn’t sure how you were going to take it.”

  “I still think you’re not sure.” He walked over to Dina and looped his arms around her waist. “There’s going to come a time in the very near future when I won’t be able to do this so easily. I better enjoy it while I can.”

  Dina laughed and let out a deep sigh. “You’re taking it better than I guessed. I thought you’d panic about your bachelor life changing and—”

  “I stopped being a bachelor the moment you came to town, Dina.” His eyes locked on hers, and she felt a flutter in her belly.

  “If only it were that easy,” she teased.

  “It is that easy, but I’m a patient man, Dina. I’ll wait until you figure that out.” Sam brought his lips down to hers, and for a split second, she let herself believe that Sam North could be a changed man, but she thought back to her family’s inability to change, and her heart tumbled to the ground.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “He wants to go to my next doctor's appointment.” Dina waddled into the back room and sat down next to Anton. “Which is tomorrow.”

  “That makes sense to me.” Anton took a bite of his sandwich. “He seems pretty excited about everything.”

  “I doubt it will last.” Dina sighed and swallowed a bite of her French onion soup.

  “That’s the spirit.” Anton carefully eyed his boss before taking another bite.

  “I’m serious. Players are players.”

  “People can change.”

  “Not often.”

  “I’m glad your clients can’t hear you.” Anton laughed. “They’d wonder why in the world they’re buying a wedding dress from a woman who doesn’t believe in love. You’re a hater. A love hater.”

  “I am not. I believe in love. I love love, and I fully support love for other people. I’m merely old enough to be wiser and more cautious when it comes to love.” Dina stirred her soup and thought about Sam.

  He was kind, sweet, sexy, fun, gorgeous, and the father of her unborn child. It was a complex relationship that she didn’t want to screw up, especially before the baby was even born, and she was fairly certain she could do that. After all, it was a timeless tradition when it came to her love life.

  “He also wants to spend Christmas with me.”

  “Muurder,” Anton joked. “Most women would be thrilled that their boyfriend wants to spend time with them.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “You know, I just read a blog post on Emilia’s—”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. Please tell me it’s not the one about a cheetah not changing its spots or its underwear. My girlfriend was laughing all morning and texting me about it.”

  “It’s a leopard and, yes, that’s the one.” Dina giggled. “But I fully believe it’s not a coincidence that as I’m dealing with a daddy baby I see that post.”

  “You mean baby daddy?” Anton’s brow arched.

  “Whatever, but it’s no coincidence that I saw her blog post this morning about the very same thing I’m debating.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Some men are so charming that women will fall for anything they say. Even if their faults are as clear as day. Time and again, women will overlook these faults and put themselves in emotional danger.”

  “Emotional danger?” Anton groaned and stared at the ceiling of the workroom. “It sounds to me that I’m lucky to still have my girlfriend.”

  “You’re not a player.” Dina patted his back.

  “But I’m sure Emilia could find fault in something about me to write about. After all, I’m human and I’m male.”

  “Nah, you’re practically perfect.” Dina winked just as the door chime rang in the shop. “Duty calls.”

  Anton laughed as Dina walked into her showroom to greet a woman who looked to be about her age. She had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a stomach that rivaled Dina’s.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” Dina asked, resting her hand along the top of her own belly.

  “I’m eloping and need a dress.” The woman rubbed her belly and laughed. “But I think that might be harder than I realized with my proportions.”

  “How exciting. When do you need the dress?” Dina asked.

  The woman frowned. “Next weekend. I’m a procrastinator.”

  “Eloping is the perfect way to wed for a procrastinator. Is it just the two of you or will family and friends be there?”

  “No family.” She laughed. “At least on my side. They are what’s making us elope just to avoid the drama.”

  “Oh, I hear ya.” Dina chuckled. “I have several dresses that might work for you. What style are you looking for?”

  “I don’t know what it’s called, but I’d love a flowy dress. I want it to look like it’s floating over the sand.”

  Excitement trilled through Dina’s veins. She loved helping brides find their perfect dress, and she was pretty sure she had just the dress for this woman. She was also grateful the woman had reasonable expectations because trying to do a fitted dress for a growing belly in such a short time period would be difficult.

  “I think I’ve got the perfect dress. I’ll be right back. There’s a chair next to the dressing room if you need it.”

  The woman flashed a grateful smile and wound her way through the racks of dresses as Dina made her way into the workroom where Anton was taking the last bite of his sandwich.

  Dina beelined to a dress with a peach chiffon overlay and snatched the hanger off the rack. She hoped the peach wouldn’t put off the bride as she rushed back to her.

  “I know this isn’t pure white, but I thought—”

  The bride popped up from her seat and gasped. “It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. I think we all know I’m not a virgin.”

  Dina laughed and helped the bride into the dressing room. “Oh, I’m so glad you like it.”

  “Like it? I love it.” She smiled and stepped out of her leggings and sweater as Dina took the dress off the hanger and helped to slide it over the bride-to-be’s head.

  The fabric slithered down the woman, and Dina zipped her up before she turned around to see herself in the mirror.

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly dabbed them away. “I can’t believe I’m crying. I didn’t think I’d even find a dress, let alone one that looks this beautiful.” She sniffed in and Dina immediately reached for the tissue box she kept in the dressing room for moments like these. Seeing the bride-to-be so happy in a dress Dina designed filled her with a joy that was nearly impossible to explain.

  “It’s just kind of sad, you know? You’d think my mom would want to be here for this.” She wiped away the tears and their eyes connected in the mirror.

  “It takes all kinds to make the world go ‘round,” Dina said softly. “But we’ll both make sure we raise our children so that they know we love them unconditionally. We won’t miss these moments.”

  A lump unexpectedly formed in the back of Dina’s throat as she thought about the mother she’d never know. She quickly forced the thought away and turned her attention back to the woman standing in front of her.

  “Does this happen a lot?”

  “More than you’d think,” Dina assured her.

  The bride blew her nose and nodded. “My fiancé and I were just talking about that. I would never do what my mother did to me. I never would. I’ll always support my daughter.”

  Dina d
idn’t want to pry, but she fully understood what the woman was saying. She still hadn’t dealt with everything her brother had told her about her own biological mother. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d be looking anything up until her child was born, and until then, she just needed to push the thoughts aside, but it made it easier when thinking about the woman who raised her.

  “You look absolutely beautiful,” Dina said, nodding. “Where is the wedding?”

  “Cancun.” The woman smiled. “We’ve been saving up for the trip for months.”

  “What an amazing setting. That’s going to be so memorable.”

  “I hope so.” The woman ran her hand over the fabric and let out a happy sigh. “So I guess I should have asked this first, but how much is this dress?”

  “It’s eight hundred,” Dina said.

  She always hated this part of the process.

  The bride’s expression fell, and it felt like a dagger to Dina’s heart. Not because the bride didn’t want to pay that much, but because Dina knew this dress was meant for this particular bride.

  “But…” Dina drew a breath. The truth of it was that Dina was doing quite well and she could afford what she was about to do. “I feel a connection with you. Maybe it’s the hormones.” Dina smiled. “What can you afford?”

  The woman blushed and her gaze fell to the floor. “Two hundred?” Her voice sounded so meek it nearly killed Dina.

  “Then one-hundred fifty sounds like the perfect price. That way you can leave without feeling like you spent your whole budget.”

  The woman stared at Dina in shock. “I couldn’t let you do that.”

  “Just spread the word about my little shop.”

  “I just—”

  “This dress is meant for you,” Dina assured her. “Let me help you out of it and get it pressed and put into a garment bag for you.”

  The woman looked stunned as Dina prepared her dress and packaged it before helping her out the door. Anton came out, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “You didn’t even cover the cost of the fabric.”

  “Sometimes, it’s just about making people happy.” Dina smiled and shut down the computer up front.