He blinked. “So the trust fund is more than ten million?” He had a concept of that kind of money, thanks to his career, but he had never dreamed of being around someone who had access to that much wealth.
She laughed. “More than ten times that. I’d have to work at blowing that much money in my lifetime.” She shrugged. “I know my wealth bothers you, but it’s not something I can change unless I give it all to charity.”
Tony frowned. “I’m not sure how I’d feel about that either.”
“You can’t have it both ways. To me, the money means nothing and never has. It’s just something that’s always been there. I’d be the same person without it.”
He nodded, not sure if she was right or not, but he had no way of proving it either way. He knew he wouldn’t be the man he was if he’d been born with wealth. He’d had to work for everything he’d ever had, and he’d watched his mother do the same. She’d told him it built character, and he’d believed her. Jenni had character too though. He thought she did anyway.
Jenni sighed. “I wish it wasn’t such a big deal to you.”
“Me too.”
*****
It was less than a week before the move when Jenni started throwing up. She had never had a lot of stomach issues, so she was immediately concerned, but she stayed home from work, and packed the apartment when she felt like she could.
On the third morning, when she was vomiting once again, she called in to work, angry with herself. Heidi was pregnant, and she knew having to deal with the stress of having a nurse out wasn’t helping her. “I’m sorry! I feel so miserable when I wake up, and I can’t stop vomiting, but I always feel better by afternoon.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Heidi asked, “Are you pregnant?”
Jenni hadn’t even considered that possibility. She and Tony had been married for over two months, and they had decided not to use protection, since they both wanted children. She sat down on the edge of her bed and thought back to her last cycle.
“I’m pregnant.” Somehow, she’d been sure she would've had a harder time conceiving like her mother had.
Heidi laughed softly. “Go take a test. If it’s positive, come in when you feel better. I’d say go see Slade, but that would be weird.”
“No, I’ll find a different doctor if that’s what it is.” Jenni rubbed the back of her neck. With as weird as Tony was still being about money, she really didn’t want to spring a pregnancy on him. “I’m going to go get a test.” She’d have sent Tony, but he was working out like he did at that time every morning. She had yet to meet his racquetball buddy.
Twenty minutes later, she had the test stick in her hand. Positive. She wasn’t sure she was ready to have a baby! How on earth was she going to tell Tony?
*****
Jenni debated with herself all day about whether or not she should tell Tony about the baby right away. He had a right to know, and he’d wonder why she wasn’t doing much with the move if she didn’t tell him, but she knew he would only worry about the whole financial situation even more. She really didn’t understand why he was so upset because she had money, but she couldn’t stop his feelings. No one could.
She was in the kitchen cooking supper when he got home that evening.
He came to her and felt her forehead. “Are you feeling better?”
She nodded. “I am.” She took a deep breath. “We’ll talk over supper. Are you hungry?”
He nodded, a look of concern on his face. “Did you see a doctor?”
“No, I didn’t.” She served them each a bowl of the soup she’d fixed before sitting down at the table. “I’m not sick.”
“Oh, good. I was starting to get really worried something was wrong.” He frowned. “Did you stay home from work again?”
“I worked this afternoon.”
Tony took a bite of the soup. “What’s going on then? Why are you feeling so badly?”
“I’m pregnant.” Surely there was a better way to announce your pregnancy to your husband, but it was out. She waited a moment while he stared at her in disbelief.
“Already? But we’re moving in just a few days!”
“I know we are. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m pregnant. You’re not upset, are you?” She twisted her hands together in her lap, more nervous than she’d thought she’d be.
“I’m not exactly sure what I am.” He thought for a moment, feeling as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “You’re sure?”
Jenni nodded, wishing he’d show more emotion. “Yeah. I have all the symptoms, and I took a test. It’s definitely positive.”
“Are you going to see a doctor soon?”
“I made an appointment for two weeks from now. Do you want to go with me?”
“Do you need me to?” Tony asked. He’d never been around a pregnant woman. How was he supposed to know if he should go or not?
“I don’t need you to, but there’ll likely be a sonogram, and I thought you might want to be there to see the baby.”
He swallowed hard, grabbing the water she’d put in front of him and swallowing it in one big gulp. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Jenni frowned, staring at the soup in front of her. All of her joy about the pregnancy was gone in one minute. “We should probably call your mom after supper.”
“What about your parents?”
She shrugged. “They’re not desperate for grandkids the way your mom is. My parents are better told over a nice, civilized dinner. Maybe when the baby is three? Or six?”
He smiled, taking her hand in his. “I’ll go with you, and we’ll tell them together.”
They’d been back to see her parents’ once more since that first visit, and her dad seemed to be getting along well with Tony. Her mother had expressed her concern about Tony when they’d spoken on the phone, but there was never anything real she was concerned about. She just didn’t think her daughter should have married without them checking her future husband out first. She could just imagine what her mother would say if she found out he’d been chosen for her and checked out before she’d met him.
“All right.” She took a bite of her soup. “Are you going to tell your mother right after supper?”
Tony nodded. “Of course. You’re right. She’ll be over the moon about it.”
Later that evening, after he’d called his mother, she called hers. “We thought it might be nice to see you sometime soon. Can we make a dinner date?”
There was a long, dramatic pause after which her mother said, “You’re pregnant.”
“Well, I guess we don’t need to come for dinner to tell you our news. You figured it out.”
“You never ask to come for dinner. You wait until I browbeat you into it.” Her mother sighed. “A grandchild. I guess I’ll have to get used to the idea.”
“Most of your friends are already grandmothers several times over.”
“I’m not most of my friends. Do you know yet if it’s a boy or girl?”
“No, I just found out I’m expecting today. I won’t know that for a few months yet.”
“Well, as soon as you find out let me know, so I know if I should buy pink or blue gifts.”
Jenni sighed. Her mother would overwhelm the baby with gifts either way. “We’re moving into our new house in Southlake in a few days. Do you want to come over and help me decorate it?”
“Throwing your mother a bone?”
“No, I thought you’d genuinely enjoy it.”
“And would you enjoy doing it with me?”
Jenni bit her lip. “Sure I would. It’ll be fun.”
“All right. You call me when you’re all settled in, and I’ll come over. We’ll decide exactly what we want to do with the space. It’s too bad you won’t know if you’re having a boy or girl yet, because we could pick a nursery theme if you did.”
“We can pick a nursery theme anyway. I’d love to do Mickey Mouse.”
There was silence. “I was thinking
something more along the lines of blue or pink.”
“No, I want Mickey Mouse. Then it won’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl.” Jenni hadn’t really thought about it, but now that she was considering it, she was definitely warming up to the idea.
That night as she lay in bed with her head on Tony’s shoulder, she told him her worries. “I know it’s a big deal to my mom to help me with the decorating, but I’m a little afraid she’ll try to take over. I know you don’t want anything super fancy.”
He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “I don’t want anything fancy at all. We don’t need anything spectacular. We just need a place where we can be comfortable. I don’t ever plan on doing the kind of entertaining your mother does.”
“I agree. I want a place where our children can grow up and be happy. I was never really allowed to play in the house, because I could trip and break Great Aunt Esmerelda’s priceless Ming vase. I want my children to be able to be kids in our home.”
“I agree.” He stroked her hair. “Did you really have a great aunt Esmerelda?”
“Yes, on my mother’s side.”
“That’s crazy,”
She grinned, tracing small circles on his chest with one finger. “What’s so crazy about it?”
“Esmerelda? I didn’t think anyone was actually named that unless they were a character on a silly sitcom from the sixties.”
“Oh, trust me. There are some very interesting names in my family. Pretentious doesn’t begin to cover it.”
“How did you get so lucky to have a name like Jennifer then?” he asked.
“I didn’t.” She couldn’t believe she was married to a man who didn’t even know her name. Had it never come up in conversation?
“It isn’t? What’s your name then?” He frowned down at her. Did they know anything about each other? He knew they both worked a lot, but they’d been married for three months and were expecting a baby. He should know her name! Of course, she’d always used Jenni for everything legal, so how could he?
“Jenessa.” She’d always kind of liked her full name, but it had been shortened since she was a little girl, so she’d never complained. She’d thought about going by Jenessa when she started college, but she couldn’t remember to introduce herself that way, so she had remained Jenni.
“That’s really pretty. Why did I think it was Jennifer?”
“Because that’s what Jenni is usually short for, I guess. I just happen to have a more unusual name than that.”
He was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking. “Have you thought at all about what you want to name our baby?”
“No idea. Kaya would say we should name it Matt if it’s a boy and Mattea if it’s a girl.”
“Mattea?”
She shrugged. “She has this thing for the name Matt and any variation thereof. She thinks everyone in the world should be named Matt.”
Tony frowned. “Have I mentioned yet how strange your friends are?”
“Once or twice. Although, I do kind of like the name Mattea if it’s a girl.”
“How long before we know the gender?”
“Twenty weeks is what Heidi said when we talked about it at work today. How excited is your mom?”
“She hopes it’s twins so you can have one, and she can take one home with her.”
Jenni sighed. “Like I’d give up one of my babies.” She kissed his shoulder softly. “I knew this girl when I was a kid, because our parents ran in the same circles, and she was afraid of twins. Like identical twins creeped her out. It was a phobia of hers.”
“That’s really strange,” he told her, frowning. “You don’t share that phobia, do you?”
She shook her head. “No, but I can’t think about twins without remembering how afraid Amber was of them.” She sighed. “You may know of Amber. Have you heard of Amber Knight? She’s on the show Lazy Love.”
“I’ve heard of the show, but not of her. Do you watch it?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I have it set to DVR, and whenever you work late, I watch it. It’s the only show I really care about.”
“Wasn’t there some kind of scandal about the show last month?”
“Not really about the show, and I don’t know if I’d call it a scandal. The two main stars got married. The scandal part was Valerie Dobson had only broken up with her boyfriend a few hours before they caught a flight to Vegas to marry. Did you know they film the show here in Texas?”
He shook his head. “Never really thought about it.”
“Well, if you’re not a fan, you wouldn’t.” She leaned on one elbow, looking down at him. “Are we okay? You’re not all freaked out that we’re having a baby, are you?”
Tony shook his head. “No, not really. I mean I wasn’t quite ready for the news, but I knew we hadn’t done anything to prevent a baby, so it shouldn’t bother me too much.”
“Are you worried about the money thing?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still not sure how to feel about all that money. I’m sure you’ll want to spend it to give our child the best life possible, but I’m not sure that’s the best choice. I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
“You want our child to have to earn everything on their own the way you did, don’t you?”
He nodded. “In a way. But I also want to give him the world on a silver platter. I’m torn.”
“As long as you’re torn and not angry with me or super worried about it, I’m good.”
“Why would I be angry with you?” Tony asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d be angry that I was pregnant,” Jenni told him. “We just got married.”
“We did just get married. We also didn’t use protection, so that baby is as much my fault as it is yours.”
Fault. The word sent chills through Jenni. She refused to think of their baby as a “fault.”
Chapter Nine
Once they were moved, and her mother had helped decorate, Jenni and Tony settled into a normal routine. As it warmed up, and her morning sickness waned, she spent every spare moment in their pool, determined to keep in shape even though she was pregnant. Swimming had always been her favorite sport, and she loved the time in the sun. She just wished he’d join her, but he never seemed to have the time.
Tony hadn’t made love to her since the night she’d told him she was expecting, and she wasn’t certain why, but whatever the reason, it was frightening her. She worried their marriage was ending before it had ever really begun. Now that she wasn’t so sick, she was actually feeling very good, and she missed their time together. He was working more and more hours, obviously avoiding her.
It was a late afternoon in mid-June when she was worried enough that she decided she just had to talk with him. He’d been attentive when they were together, and he’d gone with her to her appointments. The baby was growing, and they had yet to find out the sex. She just felt like they were becoming more and more distant as time went on, instead of growing closer.
She fixed a special meal, hoping they’d be able to have a good talk while they ate. He got home thirty minutes later than she’d expected, but she didn’t complain. She never did, feeling like she didn’t know how she’d handle it if he got angry with her. They knew so little about each other, despite being married and having a child, that it was just strange. Already she loved the man he seemed to be, but how would she know more about him if she didn’t make a real effort?
He hadn’t been able to change his days off to the days she was off, so they didn’t even have weekends to share with one another. What he’d thought would be a simple change of days had not worked out at all. She’d thought long and hard about working, and she knew she didn’t need to. Maybe it would be better if she did PRN work, and only went in when she was needed.
She had no real answers, but she couldn’t go on the way they were, and more importantly, she couldn’t let things get worse. No matter how busy they were, she and Tony needed to find time to spen
d together. It was important, because she wasn’t about to get a divorce, no matter how bad things got between them.
When they were seated at the table, she took a deep breath and started the conversation. “I’m worried about our marriage,” she began, knowing she needed to really get his attention. He seemed to be in his own world a lot.
Tony stared at Jenni, surprised by her words. “You are? Why? Have I done something wrong?”
She sighed. “Nothing wrong, exactly.” She shook her head. “We just never see each other, and we haven’t made love since we found out I was pregnant…”
He frowned at her. “It’ll hurt the baby, won’t it?” Of course he wouldn’t touch her, because he needed to be careful of her and their little one.
“Of course not. Why would it?”
“I thought…You mean, I’ve been being noble for months, and we could have made love at any time?”
Jenni wanted to laugh, absolutely relieved. “That’s really the whole reason? When I snuggled up next to you, what did you think I was doing?” She’d felt rejected by him night after night, and he’d been trying to be noble? She should have said something sooner!
“Being affectionate?” He felt like a fool and a first-class jerk. “I hope I didn’t make you feel like I didn’t want to make love. I can’t look at you without wanting to grab you and drag you into the bedroom.”
“Really?” She’d worried so much that he was turned off by how big she was getting.
He nodded emphatically, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. “I can drag you there now to prove it if it will make you feel better. I’m all about making you feel good.” It sounded like a really good idea to him. He was hungry, but not hungry enough to care about food if there was a wife to be had.
She laughed. “Maybe we should eat first.”
He looked down at his food as if just noticing it for the first time. “I guess I can do that.”
“While we’re on the subject…”
He frowned at her, not even sure what subject they were on except going to bed together. “Yeah?”
Teasing in Texas (At the Altar Book 10) Page 9
