“No.”
“Well there you go. You might not be pregnant at all, babe. Maybe you ate something weird and your period is just late. It happens. The chances of your birth control having failed are way less than the chance of it being some freak coincidence.”
“You’re probably right,” I acknowledged with a grumble. “Still, I can’t help but worry.”
“I completely understand that,” she replied. “I’d be freaking out too if I were in your position. Right now, though, try to relax a little. When you have a spare minute and you’re feeling a little more grounded, go to the drug store and get yourself a pregnancy test. You can take it while you’re on the phone with me if you want.”
I sighed. “No, that’s fine. I can do it on my own. I wish you were here with me though.”
“Me too, though I will say I don’t mind living the white sandy beach life in the meantime.” She chuckled. “Too bad you’re not still at the Fox. Calypso has tests on hand for freak outs like these. Even though the girls are always safe, you’d be surprised how often these scares happen.”
For some reason, that made me feel a little better. Being pregnant wouldn’t be the end of my world since, at the end of the day, I did want to be a mother eventually, but it would certainly add some complication to my life. I’d only just begun this little affair with Brendon and I highly doubted he’d be interested in being a dad all of a sudden. Especially since we barely knew each other.
I let out a long exhale and gathered myself up off the couch. “I should have gone to the pharmacy on the way home,” I muttered as I grabbed my purse.
“You needed some time to unpack,” Amy assured. “It happens. Want me to stay on the phone while you head down there?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you afterward and let you know what the verdict is.”
“Okay my love, I’ll be waiting for your call.” She blew a kiss into the phone. “And remember, whatever the result of that test, things are going to work out.”
I forced out some halfhearted acknowledgement and hung up the phone, already halfway to the door.
The trip down to the pharmacy didn’t take very long but it felt like forever. The way home was even longer. It was like time was stretching thinner and thinner, and by the time I’d peed on the stick it was passing so slowly that the two minutes I had to wait until the lines that dictated my fate showed up were the two longest minutes of my life.
Luckily for me, the test didn’t need two minutes for the positive pregnancy sign to show up. The test left no doubt—I, Aurora Frayser, was up the duff.
Chapter 13
Brendon
I tried to hide my smile as I strode toward Aurora’s office, but it was hard not to show my elation. I reminded myself that nobody else knew there was anything between us beyond professional courtesy and I tampered the expression down to a small quirk of my lips.
She was sitting at her desk with a pencil in hand, keyboard shoved up against her monitor as she worked on her drawing. She looked up questioningly as I entered, with the same nervous smile she’d been exhibiting for the past few days. There’d been something off about her lately, but I couldn’t tell what. I was hoping that my news would brighten her out of her funk, whatever it was.
I closed the door and began closing the blinds.
“What are you doing?” Aurora asked.
I glanced over my shoulder at her as the last set of blinds closed, effectively blocking out the rest of the office. “Closing the blinds.”
She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Why are you closing the blinds?”
I grinned and stalked toward her, pulling her up out of the chair and planting my mouth on hers. “So I can do this,” I murmured against her lips, pulling a sigh deep from her throat. Even if there was something clearly bothering Aurora, she always melted the moment I pulled her into my arms. It was one of my favorite things about her.
I wrapped my arms around her tight and pulled her closer as I deepened the kiss, unable to resist this piece of mid-morning solace. We’d been trying to stay away from each other while we were at work, but sometimes that was about as easy as stopping time.
“What’s all this about?” she asked breathlessly when we pulled a part a moment later. “You seem to be in a very good mood.” She raised an eyebrow. “A dangerous mood.”
I pecked the end of her nose and slackened my arms a little, though not enough to let her go. “I’ve got exciting news,” I replied. “We’re leaving early next week to tour some of the bigger Lock Knocks stores, starting with the west coast.”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “What? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
She grinned. “That is exciting! I can’t wait! How long are we going for? I can’t wait to see the stores in person. I’m super visual so it’ll help if I have a picture of them in my head.”
I could already see the gears whirring in her head. She’d thrown herself into this redesign project with gusto, and I loved her enthusiasm. Hell, was there anything this woman didn’t do with gusto? Since the day I met her she’d been full steam ahead, though from what she told me about her life back in Bridgefield, that hadn’t always been the case. I wondered if it was something to do with her family that was bothering her.
I reached out and lay a gentle hand on her cheek. Her skin was warm and soft, and I brushed my thumb over the faint blush of her cheekbone.
“I’ve noticed you’ve seemed a little off lately,” I said softly. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
Her expression flitted briefly into horror before she reined herself back in.
“I’m fine,” she said, though I didn’t find it very convincing.
I was about to press further when my cell rang. I pulled it out, intending to silence it and continue our conversation, when I noticed it was my brother’s wife calling. Her and I weren’t what I would consider friends, though we liked each other well enough. If she was calling, it was probably important.
I looked up at Aurora. She read my expression and nodded. “Take it.”
I pulled her in to kiss her forehead as I answered the call. “Hello?”
There were sniffles from the other end of the line. “Oh, Brendon. Thank god. Avery’s been in an accident.”
My grip on Aurora stiffened and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. “What do you mean? Is he okay?”
“He’s stable for now,” she said hoarsely. “He was in France for work and there was a car accident. They can’t move him yet and he’s all alone over there.” Her voice broke and she took a long, ragged breath. “I need to get to him but I can’t leave Jude all alone…”
“Say no more, Morgana. I’ll look after him while you’re gone.”
“Really? I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
Aurora was looking up at me with wide, questioning eyes. I held her close, drawing comfort from her warm figure in my arms.
“Of course,” I said. “Take as long as you need. I’ll come over to pick him up right now.”
She sighed. “You’re the best, Brendon, thank you. I’ll call you as soon as I have more news about Avery.”
“Anytime. That’s what family does.”
I ended the call and tossed my phone onto Aurora’s desk so I could pull her in to a giant hug. She nestled her head against my chest but didn’t speak at first. I appreciated the silence. My heart was hammering as panicked adrenaline rushed my system, and I needed a moment to calm down enough to explain that my brother was badly injured in a French hospital somewhere.
This, this was what I loved about her the most. She always seemed to know exactly what I needed, whether in bed or out of it. Right now, I needed her silent comfort, and she gave it freely. Her hand stroked up and down my back, slowly bringing down my heart rate until I felt like I could breathe again.
“Avery’s been in an accident in France,” I told her quietly. “I’m going to look after Julian while Morgana goes over there to look after
him.”
She pulled back and looked up at me, forehead creased with concern. “Are you okay?” Then, quieter, “Is he going to be okay?”
I nodded. “I’ll be fine. As for Avery, he’s just as persistent as he is pretentious. He’ll make it through.”
She seemed to accept that and pressed her cheek back into my chest as I held her, swaying.
Even as I said it, I wasn’t so sure. I’d never heard Morgana so distraught before. She was normally a composed and dignified woman who favored minor displays of emotion when possible and evened out Avery’s sometimes morbid enthusiasm. Hearing her so upset shoved a knife of worry deep into my chest. What would I do without my brother? We had our differences, but I loved him and couldn’t picture my life without him in it? Oh god, had somebody told Mom yet?
Slowly but surely, the life I knew began to crack under my feet. If Avery didn’t pull through soon, I worried I’d crash through it altogether.
Chapter 14
Aurora
The last thing Brendon needed was another problem to layer on top of his brother’s tenuous condition, so I was glad I didn’t tell him about the pregnancy. I didn’t even feel guilty for withholding the information like I had for the past few days because I knew that he needed his full attention to process his brother’s accident. His family was close, so close that I knew losing his brother would be a blow he might never recover from. He was putting on a brave face, but I could see in his eyes how worried he was.
“Can I come with you to pick up Julian?” I asked.
Brendon blinked and looked down at me. He gave an almost imperceptible nod, and his shoulders relaxed a little. Knowing him, he wouldn’t want to be alone right now. “We should go now though. Morgana’s waiting.”
I grabbed my purse from the desk and returned to his side. “Let’s go.”
I hadn’t met anyone from Brendon’s family yet. Our relationship was more than just an office liaison, but I wasn’t sure how much more. It hadn’t been enough yet to score me an invite for family dinner, and I didn’t even know if he’d told any of them about me. From what I’d heard about Morgana, she was probably least likely in the clan to take a shine to me. She was the stone that kept Avery from blowing off in every passing breeze and I worried that she would find me wishy-washy and unimpressive. Not that she’d be taking my measure while I was picking up her son in a time of crisis. If she even noticed I was there I’d be surprised.
Her and Avery lived in a picturesque brownstone near the west village on an avenue shaded with oak trees. It was the kind of place I could only dream of having one day. The kind of life I could only dream of having one day. One look at her when she opened the door, however, and I knew she’d give it all up in an instant just to hear that her husband was going to be okay.
Her eyes were tear-stained and puffy. She was wearing a disheveled pant suit, strands of hair sticking out from the sides of her otherwise tight bun. She was a corporate lawyer and looked the part to the tee, minus her obvious distress.
“Thank you for coming,” she sniffed. “Jude’s all ready to go. He’s in his room.”
Brendon stepped forward and enveloped her in a tight hug. He gave the best hugs. Her arms wrapped around him and squeezed hard, fingers almost white-knuckled in their pursuit of comfort. I wanted to dive into the fray and pull her into a hug myself but it didn’t seem appropriate. She just looked so sad. I could tell that her and Avery must love each other very much and it tore at me to see her upset like this, even though I didn’t know her. It just wasn’t fair.
“If you tell me where his room is, I can go tell Julian we’re here,” I offered, sensing that the pair of them needed a moment alone together. They both loved Brendon’s brother very much.
Morgana peeked over his shoulder, pink eyes narrowed on me. After a second, her features relaxed. “Upstairs,” she said. “Second door on the right. You can’t miss it.”
I bowed my head and skirted around the embracing mourners, taking the stairs slowly and admiring the home’s simple but beautiful decor. There were paintings on the walls. Real paintings. No room for prints here. I admired the brush strokes and colors of the abstract works in the hallway before turning to face the second door on the right. Julian’s name was spelled out in wiggly colored letters on the white door, and I knocked quietly. When there was no reply, I gently opened the door.
It was like opening a doorway into the past. The little boy curled up in the corner of the race car bed was the spitting image of Brendon, and looked more to me like a tiny gentleman than he did a child. He was wearing a black collared shirt, and he pulled his blanket up to the collar when I entered.
“Hey Julian,” I said softly. “I’m Aurora. I’m a friend of your uncle Brendon’s.”
He eyed me warily. “What are you doing here?”
I kept my distance from the bed, not wanting to alarm him. This kid had the same judicious gaze as his mother.
“Your mom told you that you’re going to stay with your uncle for a bit, right?”
He nodded.
“I just came up to tell you that he’s downstairs talking to your mom. Are you all ready to go?”
Julian let out a world-weary sigh that I could have sworn belonged to a much older boy, then slowly disentangled himself from the sheets. He rose from the bed and grabbed the backpack at the foot of it, which was shaped like a red race car.
“Do you like cars?” I asked as he slowly trudged over the carpet.
He shrugged and passed by me without even looking up. I wasn’t discouraged. Any kid would be that dismissive to a stranger, but especially one who’d just gotten some horrible news. I doubted Morgana had told Julian the seriousness of the accident, but he must’ve picked up enough just from being around her. I felt bad for him. I felt bad for all of them. All I could do right now was try to comfort the Ralston boys and hope that Avery would make a full recovery.
I followed Julian down the stairs, where Brendon and Morgana were making hushed conversation. They stopped when they saw Julian, and Brendon forced his mouth into a wide, friendly grin.
“Hey Jude,” he said. “Good to see ya buddy.”
Julian hefted another sigh and walked straight into Brendon’s arms, hugging him tightly just like his mother had. Brendon’s smile slipped away and he exchanged a weighted look with Morgana.
She shrugged. He shrugged. The whole family was full of shruggers.
“I’ll call you if there are any updates,” Morgana said. “I’ll be traveling for the next twelve hours though so my service will be in and out.”
“No problem.” Brendon smiled. “We’ve got this. Tell Avery I say to get his ass better and stop worrying us all.”
Morgana gave a small, sad smile. “I will.”
It didn’t take much to tire out Julian and get him to bed. He was already emotionally exhausted, so a slice of pizza and some cartoons later, his eyelids sagged and Brendon carried him off to the spare room for bed.
Brendon came back out afterward, and it was the first time we’d been alone since before we got to Morgana’s place. We hadn’t talked about Avery then, and I didn’t know if we would now. He looked tired, more tired than I’d ever seen him, and I figured it was probably his bedtime too.
“Do you want me to go?” I asked as Brendon walked back to the couch.
He stopped mid-step and studied me. Finally, with a small shake of his head, he said, “No.”
My heart filled with warmth. I was worried that this first emotional ride in our relationship was going to force him away from me, which I would have understood. Still, it was nice to feel wanted. It was nice to know that I could be here to comfort him, which was the only place I wanted to be.
He extended a hand to me and I took it, rising to my feet without breaking eye contact.
“Thank you for everything tonight,” he murmured, pulling me in close.
I wound my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. He bent down to kiss my forehead. I
closed my eyes and let his scent fill my nostrils, let his heat sink under my skin.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“I do,” he said. “I really do. I don’t know what I would have done without you here.”
I pulled back and looked up at him, smiling. “Don’t worry about it. I was happy to help.”
Brendon studied me for a moment, eyes moving from my face to my hips, then leaned down to capture my mouth.
The kiss was soft and slow. Gentle. He brushed his lips over mine in a feather soft touch.
His hands came up to cup my cheeks as he deepened the kiss. He tasted of sadness and desire, an intoxicating mixture that stirred deep emotions in my breast. I wanted to be everything Brendon needed tonight. I wanted to be everything he needed to get through what was going to be a trying few days. And when he kissed me, I felt like I was uniquely qualified to do so.
“Let’s go to bed,” I murmured, taking his hand.
He nodded with dark eyes and followed me as I led him through the apartment, pulling him into his room and then closing the door softly.
Brendon was unusually quiet. A symptom of the evening, I supposed. It was an opportunity for me to take the lead, and I was more than happy to do so.
I stepped forward and kissed him again, working on the buttons of his shirt until the garment fell away from his sculpted shoulders. He ran his hands down my sides and over the curve of my ass, cupping me through the denim of my jeans as he hardened against my stomach. I ran my hands down his broad chest until I found the snap of his pants, which I opened and unzipped in one smooth motion. The pants fell to the ground, and I pushed down his underwear next, until his full naked glory was on full display. I sucked in a breath when I looked down at his cock, fully engorged and practically pulsing with need. My mouth watered.
Brendon started to tug on the hem of my shirt to lift it, but I pushed him back with two hands on his chest.
“Lie down on the bed,” I said.
His eyes narrowed, and for a moment I thought he was going to fight me on it. Then, with a sigh, he stepped over to the large bed and pulled himself up on it until he was lying in the middle. I stood at the foot of the bed, and he propped up his head on a pillow to watch me.
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